With a charter flight of approximately 240 Olim from Ethiopia, half of them children, scheduled to arrive in Israel tomorrow, the Ethiopian Aliyah will begin to wind down. The flight, the first under Operation Dove’s Wings, was organized by the Jewish Agency for Israel pursuant to the July government decision to increase the rate of Ethiopian Aliyah in order to complete the immigration of the remainder of the Falash Mura to Israel.

The Jewish Agency’s Ibim Absorption Center located in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council will be reopened and approximately 600 of the Falash Mura will be accomodated to house the new arrivals. In order to facilitate the reopening, the Jewish Agency raised 12 million NIS in addition to five and a half million NIS invested by the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.

Operation Dove’s Wings is expected to be completed by October 2013, with the immigration of the remainder of the eligible Falash Mura, who have been waiting in Gondar.