Dignitaries, including Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog (center-right) and Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata (center), welcome new Ethiopian immigrants at Ben Gurion Airport on March 11, 2021. Photo: Government Press Office/Jewish Agency.

JNS.org – Nearly 300 new immigrants from Ethiopia landed on Thursday at Ben-Gurion International Airport on the ninth and final flight of “Operation Tzur Israel” (“Operation Rock of Israel”), launched last December after the Israeli government approved the aliyah of 2,000 members from the Ethiopian community.

Among those who arrived are 893 children; 70 babies less than a year old; 250 young adults ages 18 to 24, who will soon enter the Israel Defense Forces; and 35 individuals age 70 years or older.

The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency of Israel helped settle the olim in absorption centers throughout the country, where they will receive support and guidance in all areas of life, from learning Hebrew to entering the workforce and the Israeli education system.

They will join the 1,700 other Ethiopians who have already arrived as part of “Operation Tzur Israel,” which was led by Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata and Jewish Agency for Israel Chairman Isaac Herzog.