Eighty-two Israelis from Ethiopia filed an appeal to the Supreme Court on Thursday asking to be recognized as “Prisoners of Zion.” The plaintiffs say that current Israeli policy discriminates against those from Ethiopia.
The state recognizes as a Prisoner of Zion any person who is eligible to make aliya (immigrate) to Israel who is imprisoned or exiled for six months or more due to Zionist activity in a country where Zionist activity is forbidden.
Prisoners of Zion are eligible for compensation for injuries sustained during their imprisonment, and families of prisoners of Zion who died while taking part in Zionist activity are eligible for compensation as well.
Many Ethiopian Jews spent months in jail after being caught attempting to infiltrate Sudan on their way to Israel. However, those who were imprisoned were informed by Israeli officials that they would not be recognized as Prisoners of Zion. The term Prisoner of Zion refers only to a person who engaged in ongoing, organized Zionist activity, and the trek from Ethiopia to Israel does not qualify as such, dangerous as it may be, officials said.
The plaintiffs say the exclusion of aliya from the category “Zionist activity” is illogical and discriminatory. “The decision that an attempt to make aliya to Israel by marching for hundreds of kilometers through a barren desert, endangering one's life in the process, is not Zionist activity – is extremely unreasonable,” they stated.
The 82 immigrants are asking to be recognized as Prisoners of Zion, and in addition, are asking that the law be changed to define more Ethiopian Jews who suffered due to their attempts to reach Israel as Prisoners of Zion. Any person eligible for aliya who was imprisoned or exiled by Ethiopia or a neighboring country while trying to reach Israel should be considered a Prisoner of Zion, they say.