After months of pressure from the Ethiopian community and their supporters worldwide, the Israeli government agreed to dramatically increase the number of Ethiopian migrants allowed to immigrate to the Jewish state. The new arrangement will mean that 250 Falash Mura -- Ethiopian Jews whose ancestors converted to Christianity more than a century ago -- will be allowed to move to Israel each month, more than twice the previous allowance.
Israel will open and develop new immigrant absorption centers to deal with the increased flow. Advocates of increased Ethiopian immigration to Israel say that the Falash Mura community in northern Ethiopia often faces economic hardship and persecution and note that immigrants will undergo conversion to more traditional Judaism upon arrival in Israel.
