Ethiopian immigrants to Israel, part of “Operation Tzur Israel” (“Rock of Israel”), after exiting the plane at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Dec. 3, 2020. Photo: Olivier Fitoussi/The Jewish Agency for Israel.

i24 News – As a civil war prolongs in Ethiopia, some 8,000 Ethiopians of Jewish descent are waiting to be brought to Israel, by a government’s decision dating back to 2015, to be reunited with their families.

A storm of feeling rages on in the hearts of Ethiopian Jews in Israeli communities, as the fate of their brethren wavers on the Israeli parliament’s coalition.

Engadaye Alamnekh, an Ethiopian Jew living in Israel, described how she collects empty cans to support her children and grandchildren who are still in the East African country.

“I’ve been waiting for 15 years for them to be brought here,” she told i24NEWS.

Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Head of Institute for Aliyah Policy & Strategy at Nefesh B’Nefesh – an organization that facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel – claimed that Israel has a responsibility to “bring this story to a close.”

“There are lists of people who have been waiting… some of them for as long as 20 years to be reunited with their families.”

Israel’s failure has “taken a tremendous toll on families, children, parents…” Cotler-Wunsh, former chair of the Caucus for Ethiopians in Israel, added.

Since the Covid pandemic erupted in early 2020, Israel has dealt with an uptick in Aliyah cases, mostly from countries like France and Argentina.

However, Ethiopian Jews are still trying to integrate into Israel, as they seek to escape from their war-torn country.

“Part of the paradigm shift has to understand that… what we strive for is diversity and the dignity of difference, and acknowledging the importance of having diverse voices and experiences,” Cotler-Wunsh told i24NEWS.