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Fascinating Tanzania!

By MARTIN ZEILIG Our small motorized mangrove and mahogany canvas covered boat bounced along the choppy turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean as the captain and owner, Ahmed, manoeuvred the outboard engine towards Changuu Island, a small island about six kilometres northwest of Stone Town, Unguja Zanzibar.
As we sped along, a number of cargo ships and a Chinese fishing trawler were moored off shore, while long thin hulled dhows with billowing sails skimmed speedily on that sun searing day through the world’s third largest ocean.
I was at the tail end of my second trip to Tanzania in just over a year. The first trip was an eight day safari adventure in Northern Tanzania in June 2018. It was, as I wrote in a major two part article for the Lifestyles supplement of The Jewish Post & News afterwards, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to go on safari in some of the big game parks, including the fabled Serengeti National Park, of East Africa.
This second trip in October 2019 was unplanned and unexpected. I was invited by a Canadian based representative of the Tanzanian government to attend the Swahili International Tourism Expo (S!TE), a three day event (October 18-20) held at the modern Julius Nyerere International Conference Center in Milimani City a region of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Dar es Salaam, which is situated on the Indian Ocean, is the largest city, former capital and commercial centre of Tanzania. The yearly event attracted 426 exhibitors, including safari tour operators from throughout Tanzania and other parts of Africa, and almost 1000 visitors over the three days. It also featured speakers, including representatives of the government of the United Republic of Tanzania.
I jumped at the opportunity. Why not? It also included a selection of four day side trips, or Familiarization Trips, afterwards to other parts of Tanzania. I chose to visit the historic town of Iringa and Ruaha National Park— the largest national park located in the middle of Tanzania and covering an area of about 13,000 square kilometres about 130 kilometres from Iringa. I also spent two days in Zanzibar upon returning from Ruaha.
Here are some other memorable moments:
The Expo centers around inbound and outbound travel business to and inside Africa. Tourism companies from 60 countries —Finland, Denmark, Lithuania, Ukraine, Malaysia, South Korea, Canada, India, among others — participated in the event.
“Protection and Sustainable tourism, and in addition tropical tourism and going inside East Africa, (is the goal of S!TE),” the Tanzanian Minister of Tourism, said during the opening address. “The tourism industry is here to help the economy of our country. Tanzania is a safari country in Africa. We are proud that Swahili was born in Tanzania. We encourage our foreign guests to see why we say, ‘Unforgettable Tanzania.’”
(at left): Being entertained by the Dar es Salaam based, Tot Jazz Band, one of the biggest jazz bands in Tanzania, at the opening entertainment event at SITE. They perform a fusion of Swahili jazz and more recognized numbers.Strolling along the shore of the Indian Ocean by my hotel, located on the outskirts of Dar, in the evening with the twinkling lights of yachts and merchant ships moored in the distance was a peaceful way to unwind after being at the hectic SITE all day. The surf’s fresh and salty smell combined with the exotic locale was intoxicatingVisiting the National Museum & House of Culture: It takes you on a journey through Tanzania’s colorful past. The museum displays important fossils of some of the earliest human ancestors unearthed during the Leakey digs at Olduvai Gorge. You can also learn about Tanzania’s tribal heritage and the impact of the slave trade and colonial periods. Other highlights of the museum include ethnographic displays on traditional crafts, customs, ornaments, and musical instruments, as well as a small collection of vintage cars, including the Rolls Royce used by former president, Julius Nyerere.
Iringa: Iringa is a city in Tanzania with a population of 1,211,900 (as of 2020), according to Wikipedia. The name is derived from the word lilinga, meaning .
Iringa is the administrative capital of Iringa Region. Iringa Municipal Council is the administrative designation of the Municipality of Iringa. “Iringa has been one of the coldest regions in Tanzania due to its geographical location but that has attracted a lot of tourists from colder regions abroad especially Western Europe,” notes online information. Iringa also hosts one of Africa’s largest national parks, the Ruaha National Park.
We also visited the Isimila Stone Age site, which lies about 20 km (12 mi) to the southwest. It contains archeological artifacts, particularly stone tools, from human habitation about 70,000 years ago. Homo Erectus lived here 300,000 years ago.
Excavation work was done by paleontologists from the University of Chicago, 1957-58; University of Illinois, 1968-70, and South Korea in 2003. Scrapers, slingshots, knives from stones, and different weapons were found and can still be seen in large open sided enclosures.
Iringa Region is home to the Hehe people.
“After their stunning defeat at Lugalo by the Hehe on August 17, 1871, led by Chief Mkwawa, the Germans built a military station at ‘Neu Iringa’ to avenge the death of their commander Emil Von Zelewski and to teach the Hehe respect for German authority,” says information in the Iringa Boma – Regional Museum and Cultural Centre. “The fortress and headquarters of Chief Mkwawa was in the nearby village of Kalenga, Alt Iringa.” It was only in July 1898, after being trapped, that Mkwawa shot himself. The Germans removed Mkwawa’s head and sent it to Germany.
Mkwawa still has “the status of a national hero in Tanzania,” even after over 120 years. A movie should be made about this man.
Ruaha NP: Ruaha is in a northern and southern transition zone.
Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in Tanzania. It covers an area of about 13,000 square kilometres.
It is located in the middle of Tanzania about 130 kilometres from Iringa. The park, which is located in the Great Rift Valley (East African Rift), is part of a more extensive ecosystem, which includes Rungwa Game Reserve, Usangu Game Reserve, and several other protected areas.
The name of the park is derived from the Great Ruaha River, which flows along its South-Eastern margin and is the focus for game-viewing.
The park can be reached by car via Iringa and there is an airstrip at Msembe, park headquarters.
I was part of a group that included three Dutch journalists. Our safari driver/expert guide, Serafino, was the owner of the Center for Research and Action, Limited (CRA)– a new company that started in 2019– in Irigina.
During our two days exploring Ruaha we encountered lions– including a male and female that mated several times as we clicked away on our cameras or cell phones– resting under a baobab tree and along a dry river bed; a beautiful male leopard nestled in the shade of an acacia tree a few hundred metres away from the lions; elephants, Cape buffalo, zebra, giraffes, elands and more. Ruaha is believed to have the highest concentration of elephants of any National Park in East Africa.
And it’s home to over 10 percent of Africa’s entire lion population, which is estimated to be only about 20,000 animals whereas about a century ago there were more than 200,000 lions in Africa, according to the World Atlas online. The International Union Conservation of Nature, though, has estimated that there might be as many 30,000 wild lions left on the continent. “From 1993 to 2014, the planet lost 43 percent of its population of African lions, conservationists estimate,” says National Geographic magazine (October 2019).
The park is home to the Ruaha Carnivore Project, which was established in 2009 by Dr. Amy Dickman, as a Kaplan Senior Research Fellow under Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, says the RCP website.
“Ruaha’s Carnivore Project’s work in protecting lions and livestock, and helping local tribes, is clearly a win-win situation,” Sue Wats, an award-winning writer who specializes in African travel and conservation, wrote in an online article, How the Ruaha Carnivore Project is saving Tanzania’s Lions (SafariBookings).
It is also a place where magnificent mammals like Kudu, Sable and Roan antelopes can easily be spotted in Miombo woodland. The park is also a habitat for endangered wild dogs, although we didn’t see any. Other animals in the park include cheetah, giraffes, zebras, impala, bat eared foxes and Jackals.
The park also harbours a number of reptiles and amphibians such as crocodiles, poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, monitor lizards, agama lizards and frogs. We also spotted hippos relaxing in the Great Ruaha River. Ruaha is famous for being “Tanzania’s bird paradise” because more than 570 species of birds have been identified inside its boundaries, and some of them are known to be migrants from within and outside Africa, says information in a the park’s headquarters.
At one point on our bouncy dusty ride in the Land Rover, Serafino stopped at the side of the narrow dirt road. He got out of the vehicle and grabbed a handful of still steaming elephant dung, and told us all about its different uses by villagers. He then broke it open to reveal insects that were using the manure as a food source and to lay their eggs.
“When I stop for animals and trees and dung, it’s best for guests to listen carefully,” Serafino said afterwards. “It’s better to share with my guests.”
“It was gross, but interesting,” said fellow traveller Noel Vanbemmel, editor of the Travel section in the Dutch newspaper De Volkakrant, the biggest serious newspaper in Holland. “I’ve been on many safaris in sixteen different African countries, but this was the first time I’ve seen this demonstrated. He was doing his best.”
I booked my two day tour to Zanzibar at the SITE with Hassan Luzuba Majid, the owner of Hazaim Holiday and Safaris. His company is based in Zanzibar City (or Zanzibar Town or Stone Town, often simply referred to as Zanzibar)–the capital and largest city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. It is located on the west coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, roughly due north of Dar es Salaam across the Zanzibar Channel.
My boat trip was onboard a super fast twin turbine powered ferry boat operated by Azam Marine Boats in Dar. The trip took a little over two hours.
I stayed at the not too pricey exotically named Golden Tulip Boutique Hotel. The rooms are spacious and the service is first rate.
Its open rooftop restaurant has a stunning view of the harbour.
Among the places I visited were the Jozani Forest, the largest area of indigenous forest on Zanzibar Island. Situated south of Chwaka Bay on low-lying land, the area is prone to flooding, which nurtures a lush swamp like environment of moisture-loving trees and ferns. Josanzi is the home of rare Red Colobus Monkey, which is only endemic to Zanzibar. We also spotted some grey and black monkeys.
The nearby Jambo Spice Plantation, about 12 acres in size, is owned by three families. This is a demonstration farm where you can see all different varieties of spices grown in Zanzibar. This farm is only for demonstration system.
Changuu Island saw use as a prison for rebellious slaves in the 1860s and also functioned as a coral mine, say the historical markers.
The British First Minister of Zanzibar, Lloyd Mathews, purchased the island in 1893 and constructed a prison complex there. But, it never held prisoners. Instead it became a quarantine station for yellow fever cases. The station was only occupied for around half of the year and the rest of the time it was a popular holiday destination. Visitors are able to explore the old prison and even stop for refreshments at an outdoor restaurant.
Spending time, along with other tourists, amongst the 200 giant Aldabra tortoises on Changuu Island was a wondrous experience. In 1919 the British governor of Seychelles sent a gift of four Aldabra giant tortoises to Changuu from the island of Aldabra, say information signs. These tortoises bred quickly and by 1955 they numbered around 200 animals. The Zanzibar government, with assistance from the World Society for the Protection of Animals- Now known as World Animal Protection– built a large compound for the protection of the animals and by 2000 numbers had recovered to 17 adults, 50 juveniles and 90 hatchlings.
Their ages are painted in blue on their shells.
“The oldest right now is 195 years old,” said my outstanding guide in Zanzibar, Nemes Raphael. “The youngest brother is 161 years old, but bigger in size.”
Old Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s narrow, meandering streets mean that pedestrians vie with motorized vehicles for the right of way.
I also took a tour of the former slave market site. On June 6, 1873 the slave trade was officially abolished in East Africa. The slave trade continued underground, though, until 1909. It’s a sobering and claustrophobic experience to spend even a short time in the dank dungeons from the 16thcentury where slaves were squashed together under inhumane conditions before being taken to market for sale. The slaves from West Africa were sent to America. Those from East Africa were sent to Arab countries.
In 1869, Bishop Edward Steere from England settled in Zanzibar. Along with some British missionaries, Bishop Steere purchased the site of the slave market and began building the Anglican Christ Church there.
“He didn’t like the selling of slaves,” my guide at the site, Freddy, said. “He decided to go to the slave market. After purchasing slaves, he would teach them the bible and convert them to Christianity and then set them free. This is history. It’s very terrible. Sometimes I feel pain. My ancestors were among those who were set free from slavery by Bishop Steere.”
Having just seen the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, I visited Freddie Mercury House, which is now the Tembo House Hotel, on Kenyatta Road in Old Stone Town. Mercury, the former lead singer of Queen, was born in Zanzibar in 1946 where his name was Farrokh Bulsara. His father worked for the British colonial service and the family lived in various locations in Stone Town before immigrating to England.
Meanwhile, Forodhan Park is a busy seafood night market with n open sea front garden where people wait for friends or colleagues who are either arriving or leaving on the ferry.
I crammed so much into my two day visit to Zanzibar.
Tanzania is unforgettable.
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How to read fixed, daily, and progressive jackpot labels at Betscore Casino
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Decoding fixed and daily jackpot displays in casino lobbies
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For “Daily” jackpot displays, the interface uses visual cues to highlight the time-based nature of the prize. You’ll often see the jackpot label paired with a reference to days or a timer-style icon, sometimes in the form of a calendar symbol or a clearly defined time window. These elements are usually grouped with the label and placed at the top or side of the tile so you can instantly tell that the jackpot is awarded on a daily basis. The combination of wording and visual accompaniments ensures that the daily structure stands out. This consistent tagging makes daily jackpots particularly easy to sort when scanning the available offerings.
How progressive jackpot meters stand apart and quick display checks
Within the lobby, “Progressive” jackpot labels are closely linked with animated or meter-style visual treatments. The jackpot amount is shown as an ever-increasing figure, typically larger or highlighted in a contrasting color, to draw attention to its dynamic nature. Often, the progressive badge sits beside or above this meter, so the relationship between label and rolling number is obvious and direct. In Betscore Casino, this design philosophy visually distinguishes progressive jackpots from fixed or daily options at a glance, creating an immediate sense of anticipation around the changing prize amount each time you browse the lobby.
When identifying jackpot types quickly, three main cues make reading the tags straightforward. Fixed jackpots always feature a stable, non-animated number next to their badge, keeping things simple and clear. Daily jackpots consistently add a day-based timeframe indicator, which could be text or a countdown, usually positioned close to the label for easy association. Progressive jackpots, by contrast, are marked by a running total or animated meter, making them stand out as prize amounts increase. Paying attention to these conventions, you’ll find it much easier to compare options and navigate the jackpot categories provided with confidence and efficiency.
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Some random thoughts on the AMIA bombing, Operation Solomon, Arab migration to Palestine, and Jeffrey Epstein
By BERNIE BELLAN When I received an email from an Ethiopian Jew who is now living in Winnipeg who reminded me of the incredible efforts made by so many different people to help rescue Ethiopia’s Jewish population and bring them to Israel during Operation Solomon in 1991 (Operation Solomon) I began to ask myself why that particular event doesn’t get paid more attention within our own Jewish community here?
Recently our community held another commemoration of the AMIA bombing in 1994 in Buenos Aires, which claimed the lives of 85 people (not all Jewish) and injured over 300. Each year B’nai Brith holds a solemn ceremony during which 85 candles are lit and the names of the deceased are read out.
Yes, that was a horrific tragedy, but I wonder how much it still resonates with people. There have been so many other horrible events since that AMIA bombing, including of course the massacre of October 7, but more recently there was also the Bondi Beach attack in Australia last December, during which 15 people were killed and 40 injured. Are we also going to have commemorative events held here in Winnipeg going forward to mark that particular event?
Compare the solemnity with which tragic events such as the AMIA bombing and the October 7 massacre are remembered with the total lack of celebration of something that should be as uplifting as was Operation Solomon. Could it be because Operation Solomon happened in far away Africa and the people who were rescued were black – and seemed so foreign to those of us who can even remember what happened in 1991? I don’t know whether there’s an element of racism involved in the lack of recognition anywhere of Operation Solomon, but I thought it most interesting when I was rereading articles in The Jewish Post & News written by the one individual in our Jewish community who did more to help in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews than anyone else – the late Elliot Levine, and Levine noted the total lack of support from the Winnipeg Jewish Community Council for what was known as “The Committee for Ethiopian Jews,” I couldn’t help but wonder how much race has played a part in sidelining Operation Solomon as a momentous event in the recent history of the Jewish people.
When one considers how much attention is paid to the AMIA bombing, which affected people who, simply put, look more like us, to the lack of attention paid to Operation Solomon – well, I think you get my point.
The Ethiopian Jewish community now living in Israel has had a difficult time being accepted by mainstream Israelis, but over the years many members of that community have made significant contributions to Israeli society and the more recent descendants of the original Jews who were brought to Israel are now proud Israelis. It would be nice for our own community to hold some sort of event to mark Operation Solomon, since it is now the 35th year since that momentous achievement occurred.
Speaking of past achievements, the furor over the Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has continued to spark heated discussion. I’ve received a number of emails from various members of our community responding to articles I’ve written about the Nakba exhibit (and in some cases articles written by others that have appeared in the Jewish Post). I don’t mind admitting that I’m not at all sure where I stand on the whole issue of the Nakba exhibit. I can see the merits of arguments that have been made on both sides of the issue and I try to keep an open mind as I hear different perspectives. But, no matter what argument is being made, I encourage everyone to listen to what people have to say and think carefully about the pros and cons of the particular points being made.
As I noted in an earlier column, rather than descending into an argument over which group has a more valid reason to feel aggrieved – Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes in Palestine (and I’m not going to debate whether the majority left willingly or not; that’s an issue that will never be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction) or Jews who were forced to leave their homes in Arab lands, I’d rather concentrate on thinking about where can we go from here?
Unfortunately, the clear consensus in Israel now seems to be that there can never be a Palestinian state and even those politicians who might have been willing to enter into at least some sort of discussion about the possible creation of a Palestinian state have moved so far to the right – in response to the clear shift in public opinion in Israel that sees no room for even contemplating a Palestinian state, that the issue of a future Palestinian state has been completely taken off the table.
At the same time though, as much as I’m generally sympathetic to the Palestinian aspiration to have a state of their own, just as I prefer to refer to historical evidence when it comes to debating what actually happened during the “Nakba,” I also like to look at the evidence surrounding just how many true Palestinians there are.
By that, I mean how many people who call themselves Palestinians can trace their roots back to the actual land which can be referred to as “Palestine.” Remember that there was no such thing as “Palestine” per se until the British Mandate over Palestine began officially in 1923. Prior to that what we now regard as “Palestine” was simply part of the Ottoman Empire.
According to figures compiled by one of the pre-eminent experts on demographic in the Ottoman Empire, Professor Justin McCarthy, there were approximately 500,000 Arabs in what is referred to as Palestine at the turn of the 20th Century, while there were approximately 23,000 Jews.
By 1945 the Arab population of Palestine had grown by over 600,000 to approximately 1,100,000 while the Jewish population had grown to over 550,000. There is much debate over whether a good part of the increase in the Arab population was due to the surge in economic activity brought on by the influx of Jews, but let’s leave that argument aside for the moment. A point that I made in another column about the Arab population of Palestine at the time when Israel was declared a state is that approximately 750,000 Arabs left what had been Palestine – but whether they left voluntarily or not was irrelevant to me. What was relevant to me, I emphasized, was that there could not have been a “Jewish” state with a majority Arab population.
I have heard nothing from those who would criticize the Nakba exhibit at the CMHR about that point.
Again – as I noted previously, I’m not arguing the morality of what happened to the Palestinians; I’m simply making the observation that Israel could not have come about had those 750,000 Arabs who did leave had chosen to stay. I don’t suppose my making that point makes one whit of difference to anyone who is criticizing the CMHR exhibit. I just wanted to reiterate my support for looking at what happened in 1948 objectively. And I’m well aware that even suggesting that one can be “objective” about such a contentious issue is up for debate – but can’t we even try for a little objectivity?
Finally, what about Jeffrey Epstein – and what’s he got to do with everything I’ve just written?
Well, it was the persistently nagging questions surrounding Epstein’s relationship with Trump that led directly to Trump deciding to join in with Netanyahu and attack Iran. Trump was desperate to “change the channel,” especially when so many of his diehard MAGA supporters kept asking questions about why Trump was so keen to put the Epstein issue aside. So now Trump is caught up in a war that he thought would divert attention from Epstein, but the most likely scenario is that he’ll end up trying to bring the war to a conclusion by ceding control over the Hormuz Strait to Iran and abandoning the notion of forcing Iran to give up its quest for a nuclear weapon. And if the only way to reduce Trump’s march toward total authoritarianism is to elect enough Democrats to at least take over the House of Representatives then what we’re going to see is a bunch of “woke” Democrats in Congress who will be wanting to end American support for Israel – and, they’ll be pushing for a Palestinian state.
Thank you, Jeffrey Epstein, for being the cause of this whole mess.
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35 years ago 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were rescued and brought to Israel in a short, but brilliant 36-hour operation
By BERNIE BELLAN My memory of an event that took place 35 years ago was jogged recently when I received an email from someone who himself was one of 14,000 Ethiopian Jews who were brought to safety in Israel during what was known as “Operation Solomon.”
That individual wrote that he wanted to thank me for articles I had written over the years, including about the rescue of Ethiopian Jews.
Here is part of what he wrote: “I am an Ethiopian Jew who live in Winnipeg. I recently came across Bernie Bellan’s articles and i was very fascinated by the depth of them and the fact they are informative and educational. I am not sure if he wrote anything about the thousands old dream of Ethiopian Jews who at the end reached their destination Israel. Thanks to operations Solomon and Moses that airlifted the Ethiopian Jews to become Israel’s citizens. I personally am grateful for the support i got from a couple of Jewish individuals in Winnipeg….My ancestors were hiding who they were in Ethiopia and i will never stop from telling who i am and my support for Israel. Please tell Bernie i said hello and i pray for his health so that he will continue sharing his knowledge. Little did he know that one day an Ethiopian Jew will read one of his articles.”
Reading that email led me to look back at articles that appeared in The Jewish Post & News around the time of Operation Solomon, also a later article that I wrote in 2013 about Israeli Brigadier General Eden Attias, who was deeply involved in Operation Solomon and who appeared at an event in Winnipeg that year.

I would be remiss, however, to write anything about Operation Solomon without mentioning the absolutely pivotal role that the late Professor Elliot Levine played in orchestrating support among some Winnipeg Jews to help in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews. I found two articles Levine had written around the time of that incredible rescue effort in which he described the clandestine work in which he – and several other Winnipeggers were involved in reaching out to Ethiopian Jews at a time when anyone in Ethiopia who openly announced they were Jewish put their lives in peril.
To begin with, here’s some background about what led to Operation Solomon – taken from my 2013 article about Israeli Brigadier General Eden Attias. General Attias had played a key role in Operation Solomon, including having been on the ground in Ethiopia during the actual rescue operation. He was introduced at that 2013 event by the late Yude Heneleff.
“Henteleff gave a brief overview of Operation Solomon: ”In 1991 the Ethiopian government was threatened with being toppled,’ explained Henteleff.
“For several years previous Israeli operatives had been secretly working in Ethiopia to procure the escape of as many ‘Falasha’ Jews as possible (whom Henteleff noted should be rightfully referred to as ‘Beth Israel’.)
“Concerned that a new government would put a stop to this ongoing exodus of Ethiopian Jews, the Israeli government decided to implement a bold plan to ferry out as many Jews as possible in a condensed period before the window of opportunity was closed.
“Thus ‘Operation Solomon was born and carried out with precision. It involved the use of 34 aircraft, including several El Al passenger aircraft, as well as Israeli Air Force planes. In 36 hours the planes carried over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to safety in Israel. In fact one Boeing 747 set the record for the most passengers ever transported on one aircraft when 1,122 passengers were crammed into the plane.
“During his talk Gen. Attias gave a detailed explanation of the events leading up to Operation Solomon, beginning as far back as 1862, when a group of Ethiopian Jews began the trek to Israel through the hostile territory of Sudan. Very few actually survived that journey, Attias noted.
“Through the years there had been various other attempts to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel, with the most notable effort prior to Operation Solomon being ‘Operation Moses’, which was carried out in 1984. That operation was undertaken with the complicity of the Sudanese government and involved Mossad agents working to bring Ethiopian Jews to secret departure points in Sudan. Unfortunately members of the Israeli media learned of the operation and, even though they were asked to withhold revealing what they knew, went ahead and published details. That brought the operation to a sudden end, and with the rescue of only 7,000 Jews.”
Prior to Operation Solomon Ethiopia had been engulfed in a civil war that had contributed to mass starvation and brutal violence. In 1991 the Marxist regime that had been in power was threatened with being toppled and there was heightened concern within Israel – also in many communities in the diaspora, for the safety of Ethiopia’s Jewish population. As has already been noted, there had been other efforts to rescue Ethiopian Jews, but with mixed results. Thus, the bold plan to rescue as many Ethiopian Jews in one fell swoop was hatched. But in order to bring that rescue about contacts had to be made within the Ethiopian Jewish community.
How those many thousands of Ethiopian Jews were contacted is in itself a totally fascinating story. That’s where Elliot Levine’s description of the cloak and dagger nature of the work that was involved in making contact with those Jews was so vividly described in the two articles he wrote for us in 1991.
Levine noted that the vast majority of Ethiopian Jews – also known as “Falashas” (which is a derogatory term meaning stranger that was commonly applied to Ethiopian Jews by other Israelis) lived in Gondar province, which is in the north of Ethiopia.
As he wrote in the first of his articles describing the part that some Winnipeg Jews played in that rescue effort (published in the June 5, 1991 issue of The Jewish Post & News), “In April 1990 an agent if the American Association of Ethiopian Jews went into Ethiopia from North America….
“By May 1990 thousands of Ethiopian Jews had arrived in Addis Ababa with the help of a field worker placed by the American agent. A ‘truck stop’ outside of Gondar city was the rendezvous point. A few dollars a head paid for the road transport to the capital.
“By early June, however, an arrest had been made and a message had been sent out not to replace the field agent. Thereafter, those who made their way out of the hills had to make their own arrangements…
“With over 10,000 now in the capital (Addis Ababa), overburdened workers reported the weekly death tolls… By month’s end, emergency meetings and commitments had been made in Israel…
“In Winnipeg meanwhile, our Council of Rabbis was briefed on the situation and their response, among other things, funded an Ethiopian Jewish ‘agent’ we sent from Israel to assist families with particular problems.”
Levine went on to describe the invaluable assistance that agent played in helping Ethiopian Jews through “nighttime meetings, escorted tours that evaded security patrols and interviews with Ethiopian Jewish refugees.”
Levine noted, however, that the effort to help rescue Ethiopian Jews was organized entirely by a group of private individuals – with no assistance whatsoever from what was then the Winnipeg Jewish Community Council (later to become the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg). Further, the Committee for Ethiopian Jews – as the group was known, was an initiative led by members of Temple Shalom, Winnipeg’s Reform congregation.
At this point I want to return to that initial email I received from the Ethiopian Jewish individual who had reached out to me. In very dramatic fashion he described what happened when one father was approached by one of the agents who had been dispatched by the Israeli government to make contact with Ethiopian Jews and try to persuade them to flee their homes in Gondar:
“ ‘The silent call’ Operation Solomon
“ ‘good morning my name is …..i am here to tell you that we are on a mission to send a lot of people from Bet Israel( Ethiopian Jews) to Israel. And we know you are one of them. Are you interested’
“ ‘no I am not a Jew I went through horrible times I do not want to talk about myself and how would I know you are not a spy’
” ‘No I am not a spy please I know your family that is why I came to tell you about this mission’
“ ‘yes I am and please don’t tell anyone I am a Jew’
“This was a conversation that took place with the father of Anna and Jerusalem, 13 and 15 year olds who were sexually assaulted in front of their mother who took her own life the following day.
“That month in March 1991 preparation to evacuate 14000 Ethiopia Jews was planned secretly.
“In that same year 1991 bitter civil was raging in the Western part of Ethiopia, Just a month later the military junta was about to be overthrown.”
To return to Elliot Levine’s account of the role Winnipeg Jews played in the rescue of some Ethiopian Jews, in the follow-up article he wrote about that effort, he noted that Winnipeg Jews often responded quickly when told of specific urgent cases of individuals in need of direct help: “In the months preceding the airlift we had the luxury of responding to emergency appeals quickly….We in Winnipeg had arranged an especially prompt conduit – on most favourable terms. We also functioned as supporters of last resort for some of the inevitable cases that fell between the cracks. Recipients often confirmed receipt of our aid within a few days of our being notified of their plight.”
Ultimately, Operation Solomon helped rescue over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews in just 36 hours – from May 24-25, 1991. Non- stop flights of 35 Israeli aircraft were involved, including military and civilian planes. Almost all of Ethiopia’s Jewish population was rescued as a result.

