Dozens of Ethiopian immigrants held a mock Passover seder on Thursday opposite Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Jerusalem office. The only food at the seder was bitter herbs, which immigrants said represented their bitterness and suffering due to their separation from family members who have not been allowed to enter Israel.
Over 8,000 people claiming descent from the Ethiopian Jewish community are waiting to be allowed to make aliyah (immigrate) to Israel. Many have family members in the country. Israel has not prevented Jews or descendants of Jews from any other country on earth from making aliyah, protestors argued.