Operation Solomon was a covert Israeli military operation from May 24 to 25, 1991, to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Non-stop flights of 35 Israeli aircraft, including Israeli Air Force C-130s and El Al Boeing 747s, transported 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 36 hours. One of the aircraft, an El Al 747, carried at least 1,088 people, including two babies who were born on the flight, and holds the world record for the most passengers on an aircraft. Eight children were born during the airlift process.
An abandoned synagogue in a Jewish village which became a tourist attraction after desertion of its inhabitants in 1991. No rural Jewish communities remained in Ethiopia after the transfer operation to Addis Ababa that had taken place between 1988 and 1991.
Ethiopian Olim stepping out of the IAF's Hercules, May 25, 1991
The Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, are an African community of the Jewish diaspora. They coalesced in the Kingdom of Aksum and the Ethiopian Empire, which is currently divided between the Amhara Region and Tigray Region in modern-day Ethiopia. After the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, most of the Beta Israel immigrated to Israel or were evacuated from Africa through several initiatives by the Israeli government.
Religious ceremony of Ethiopian Jews in Gondar, 1932
Raphael Hadane, the former Liqa Kahenat (High priest) of Beta Israel in Israel
Beta Israel women in Israel
Modern Synagogue in the city of Netivot in Israel