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World Jewish News
Israeli "Ethiopians" want to go down in history. What about the "Russians"?
20.05.2009 Israeli "Ethiopians" want to go down in history. What about the "Russians"?
The community of Ethiopian expatriates demand to include a chapter about the mass repatriation from this country, which started 30 years ago, in the history textbooks. Should we demand the introduction into these textbooks the history of the Great Alliyah from the Soviet Union, which began 20 years ago? Blitz poll among the deputies.
As reported by the Ynet information agency, the representatives of public organizations of people from Ethiopia appealed to the Ministry of Education with the requirement to include a chapter on the repatriation from this country in the history textbooks. The repatriation from Ethiopia, which began 30 years ago, was marked by severe suffering of Jews and their family members who were forced to huddle in refugee camps, walking on foot for long distances, dying from diseases and the attacks of bandits. Some 4000 immigrants died this way, never making it to Israel.
Repatriates from Ethiopia also demanded of the Ministry to hold memory lessons in schools on this day every year. The lessons should be devoted to the repatriation, which brought to Israel over 50 thousand people.
The IzRus portal addressed the Russian-speaking members of the Knesset in order to find out their opinion on this subject, as well as on the possible appeal to the Ministry of Education to include the Great Alliyah from the FSU into the textbooks.
"Certainly, I think that the alliyah from Ethiopia should be taught to children at school. Thousands of people have endured tremendous hardships to come here. On Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, there is a monument to thousands of returnees who have not reached the Promised Land. They walked through Somalia; they were dying from the diseases and bandits. This is the page of history, which the students need to know," told the MP Marina Solodkin ("Kadima") to the IzRus portal. She stressed that the chapter on the history of the repatriation of the 1990s from the USSR - CIS countries also needs to be included in the textbooks.
"I support the idea of adding the "Ethiopian chapter," this is a page of our history. But there must also be a chapter on the mass "Russian" alliyah. A million people have arrived in the country, and left an indelible mark in all the spheres. This was an event of a global scope, and naturally it has to be reflected in the textbooks of history," said to the IzRus portal Faina Kirshenbaum (Israel Beiteinu).
"Both the "Russian" and "Ethiopian" waves of repatriation deserve to be included in the textbooks on history," said Minister of the Diaspora Affairs and Information Yuli Edelstein ("Likud"). "By the way, back in 2000 I appealed to the Ministry of Education with such a proposal on the introduction of the page on alliyah from the FSU into the educational program on history. Then we celebrated the decade of the regular great wave of alliyah. They promised to start a project associated with this, but this initiative was not implemented. Maybe now is the time to introduce the two events in the textbooks - the 'Ethiopian' Alliyah 30 years ago and the 'Russian' - 20 years ago," noted the Minister.
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![Israeli "Ethiopians" want to go down in history. What about the "Russians"?](http://img.jewseurasia.org/data/image/cats/15/logo.png "Israeli "Ethiopians" want to go down in history. What about the "Russians"?"){kind=logo}
