Ambassador Naim to discuss Operation Solomon, Israel

MOUNT VERNON – Former Israeli Ambassador Asher Naim will discuss “Ethiopian Jews then and now—from Operation Solomon 1991 to Israel 2009” on Tuesday, December 1 at 3:30 p.m. in Hedges. The lecture is free and open to the public.

In 1991 14,200 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in a single day—one of the most remarkable rescue efforts in modern history, largely due to the efforts of Ambassador Naim. Naim will recount this incredible day and discuss its implications for the nearly two decades since.

Ambassador Naim immigrated to Israel in 1944 from Libya with his family. He fought in the Israeli War of Independence, and earned a Master of Jurisprudence from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is a 45-year veteran of Israel’s Diplomatic Service and has left his mark everywhere he served.

Naim served as the Ambassador of Israel to Ethiopia at the time of Operation Solomon. He was instrumental in the negotiating process with President Mengistu Haile Mariam and later with the winning rebels, headed by Meles Zenawi.  He has co-authored two books on Jewish education and a book on Jerusalem. His most recent book, Saving the Lost Tribe: The Rescue and Redemption of the Ethiopian Jews, reveals the inside story of Operation Solomon.