111 new immigrants from Ethiopia who landed today at Ben Gurion Airport on a special flight of the Jewish Agency, will get to fulfill their dream and be reunited with their relatives in Israel after many years of waiting.

Upon their arrival in Israel, the immigrants were welcomed in Israel by the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Major General Doron Almog , who said: "I welcome the new immigrants who arrived in Israel today on a special flight of the Jewish Agency, accompanied by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mark Wilf Jewish Agency. This is the home of the immigrants and we embrace them and work to ensure their safety. I send reinforcements to the security forces and congratulate them on significant actions to thwart terrorism and protect the citizens of the country. Together with the new immigrants we will ensure the continued development of the country, shoulder to shoulder we will add and build."

The group of immigrants is coming to Israel as part of the "Create Israel" operation that was launched in December 2020 by virtue of the government's decisions in October of that year. In the first phase of the operation, which ended in March 2021, about 2,000 people were waiting. The second phase of the "Build Israel" operation was launched in June 2021, and as part of it, the immigration of 3,000 more immigrants began.

Operation Zur Israel is led by the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption and the Jewish Agency that prepares immigrants from Ethiopia for immigration to Israel, in coordination with the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption and in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health. The operation operates with the help of donations from the Jewish Federations of North America, the Foundation, the Friendship Fund, the Christian Embassy, and friends of Israel from Korea who mobilized to help the great aliyah operation.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Agency, Mark Wilf, headed a special delegation of leaders and influencers that accompanied the new immigrants on their journey from Ethiopia to Israel: "Landing in Israel together with the new immigrants from Ethiopia is a breathtaking moment that reminds us how lucky we are to have the The State of Israel as a homeland and as a safe haven. The arrival of the new immigrants to their new lives in Israel embodies the dedication of the Jewish Agency to its historic and uncompromising role for the Jewish people, wherever they may be."

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America Julie Platt : "I am happy in the joy of these immigrants because this moment is the fulfillment of their personal 'hope', the hope that they have not given up on for so many years that one day they will arrive in the Land of Israel. "It is a real privilege to cooperate with the Jewish Agency in helping the immigrants' aliya journey and receiving them in their first steps in the Jewish homeland. Our commitment for decades to aliya from Ethiopia is a duty that we at the Jewish Federations are very proud to fulfill."

The group of immigrants who landed today joins more than 95,000 immigrants from Ethiopia who immigrated to Israel with the assistance of the government and the Jewish Agency since the establishment of the state.