Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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In 1984 and 1985, thousands of Ethiopian Jews were rescued from the Second Sudanese Civil War. Operation Moses, and later Operation Joshua, saw Ethiopian Jews relocated to Israel, where they would go on to lead new lives in a completely different society.

Between 1984 and 1985, Israel - working with the CIA and the US Government - mounted covert airlifts to evacuate thousands of Ethiopian Jews from famine-stricken refugee camps in Sudan and resettle them in Israel.

After Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres publicly revealed the operation in early January 1985, Sudan halted the flights, before the United States revived the evacuations in March with Operation Joshua, flying hundreds more Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

These ITN reports capture the challenges and changes faced by Ethiopian Jews as they built new lives in Israel.

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