Operation Joshua, also known as Operation Sheba, was the 1985 airlifting of

Ethiopian Jews Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, is a Jewish group originating from the territory of the Amhara and Tigray regions in northern Ethiopia, where they are spread out across more than 500 small villages over a wide territory, alongside predominant ...

from refugee camps in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Ethiopian Jews had fled to refugee camps in Sudan from a severe famine in their country. The Israeli Operation Moses had previously airlifted 8,000 people to Israel from November 21, 1984, to January 5, 1985, but when word leaked out to the press, under pressure from other Muslim countries,

blocked further flights, leaving many behind. All 100 United States senators signed a secret petition to President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, asking him to have the evacuation resumed. Vice President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

then arranged a follow-up mission called Operation Joshua. On March 22, 1985, six United States Air Force

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

transport aircraft were dispatched, landing near Al Qadarif. "Around 500", "more than 500" or "around 650" Jews were located and transported to Ovda Airport in southern Israel.

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Operations Moses and Joshua
{{Israel–United States relations, state=collapsed 1985 in international relations 1985 in Israel 1985 in Ethiopia 1985 in Sudan Aliyah operations Airlifts Jewish Ethiopian history Beta Israel Al Qadarif State United States Air Force Ethiopia–Israel relations Ethiopia–Sudan relations Ethiopia–United States relations Israel–Sudan relations Israel–United States military relations Sudan–United States relations

See also

Further reading

References

External links