The journey from Sudan to Israel almost cost Orit her life
Orit recalls: “I came to Israel through the Jewish Agency’s operation Moses, which rescued thousands of Ethiopian Jews and brought them to Israel. My father, was murdered by Ethiopia’s Marxist regime. I was just a child then, but that loss drove me and my brother and sisters to move to Israel.
We started the journey to Israel on our own. The road was very hard. We moved without water and without food for six days and nights of walking.
Two days before we were about to enter Sudan, I began feeling bad and collapsed. I passed out. friends dragged me for two days, until we were in Sudan, and I was able to rest and recover.
ABOUT THE AGENCY
For more than 65 years, The Jewish Agency has kept an unwavering promise to the Jewish People: to bring any Jew, from anywhere in the world, to safety in Israel.
Since 1929, The Jewish Agency has facilitated the immigration to Israel of more than three million Jews, including hundreds of thousands of Jews who were rescued from war zones, countries without diplomatic ties to Israel, and from other places where Jewish lives were in peril.
The Agency continues to bring all Jews who seek a better future to the Holy Land.

Bottom: Ethiopian Jewish immigrants arriving on a Jewish Agency flight to Israel. Photo: Nir Kafri
We arrived at the Amarkuba refugee camp. We were living in hot tents, drinking steaming water. We had nothing to eat. I spent four months at the camp. It was very difficult. Every day ten or twenty people would die because of starvation and neglect.
Finally, rescue came. An Israeli Air Force plane landed, soldiers helped us board, and we were on our way to Israel.”
The operation, coordinated by the government of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Jewish Agency for Israel, rescued over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews.
After Orit and her family landed in Israel, the Jewish Agency provided them with housing, food and clothing. The family was given a three-bedroom apartment in the ancient Jewish city of Safed (Tzfat), near the Sea of Galilee, was supported by the Agency’s professional staff.
Since coming to Israel, Ms. Efraim’s family has prospered. Her daughter has been serving as a Jewish Agency emissary for over three years. Her nephew received a PhD from Israel’s technical institute, and has won a Fulbright fellowship. His sister is a neurologist who studied at UC Santa Barbara, and yet another niece, Dr. Rachel Masalla, has a PhD in chemistry.
“Today, I work at the Jewish Agency absorption center in Hanita”, she tells us,” helping new immigrants to Israel. This is truly coming full circle. I received help, and now I am giving back to my brothers and sisters.”
The Efraims’ miraculous return to Israel and their successful integration into Israeli society would not have been possible without the Jewish Agency’s help. The Jewish Agency was there for Ms. Efraim and her family, from the covert rescue operation from Sudan, through providing them with free housing, clothes and Hebrew language education, to supporting them emotionally during their first months in Israel.
Through the Jewish immigration program, the Jewish Agency has brought more than 3,000,000 Jews to Israel from all over the world, with 30,594 moving to the Holy Land in just the past year.
While Orit arrived safely in Israel and is blossoming in her new home, many more Jewish families around the world still await their chance to reach Israel.
The Jewish Agency’s rescuing of Jewish lives and their deliverance to Israel is made possible by the generous giving of friends from around the world.
By donating to the Jewish Agency’s programs, you will be providing support to those who need it the most.
Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council is a tax-exempt public charity in the United States under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by U.S. la
The Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council – Aliyah

Bottom: Ethiopian Jewish immigrants arriving on a Jewish Agency flight to Israel. Photo: Nir Kafri
We arrived at the Amarkuba refugee camp. We were living in hot tents, drinking steaming water. We had nothing to eat. I spent four months at the camp. It was very difficult. Every day ten or twenty people would die because of starvation and neglect.
Finally, rescue came. An Israeli Air Force plane landed, soldiers helped us board, and we were on our way to Israel.”
The operation, coordinated by the government of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Jewish Agency for Israel, rescued over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews.
After Orit and her family landed in Israel, the Jewish Agency provided them with housing, food and clothing. The family was given a three-bedroom apartment in the ancient Jewish city of Safed (Tzfat), near the Sea of Galilee, was supported by the Agency’s professional staff.
Since coming to Israel, Ms. Efraim’s family has prospered. Her daughter has been serving as a Jewish Agency emissary for over three years. Her nephew received a PhD from Israel’s technical institute, and has won a Fulbright fellowship. His sister is a neurologist who studied at UC Santa Barbara, and yet another niece, Dr. Rachel Masalla, has a PhD in chemistry.
“Today, I work at the Jewish Agency absorption center in Hanita”, she tells us,” helping new immigrants to Israel. This is truly coming full circle. I received help, and now I am giving back to my brothers and sisters.”
The Efraims’ miraculous return to Israel and their successful integration into Israeli society would not have been possible without the Jewish Agency’s help. The Jewish Agency was there for Ms. Efraim and her family, from the covert rescue operation from Sudan, through providing them with free housing, clothes and Hebrew language education, to supporting them emotionally during their first months in Israel.
Through the Jewish immigration program, the Jewish Agency has brought more than 3,000,000 Jews to Israel from all over the world, with 30,594 moving to the Holy Land in just the past year.
While Orit arrived safely in Israel and is blossoming in her new home, many more Jewish families around the world still await their chance to reach Israel.
The Jewish Agency’s rescuing of Jewish lives and their deliverance to Israel is made possible by the generous giving of friends from around the world.
By donating to the Jewish Agency’s programs, you will be providing support to those who need it the most.
Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council is a tax-exempt public charity in the United States under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by U.S. la
The Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council – Aliyah
ABOUT THE AGENCY
For more than 65 years, The Jewish Agency has kept an unwavering promise to the Jewish People: to bring any Jew, from anywhere in the world, to safety in Israel.
Since 1929, The Jewish Agency has facilitated the immigration to Israel of more than three million Jews, including hundreds of thousands of Jews who were rescued from war zones, countries without diplomatic ties to Israel, and from other places where Jewish lives were in peril.
The Agency continues to bring all Jews who seek a better future to the Holy Land.
pray for the peace of jerusalem may they prosper who love you
Psalm 122:6