Jewish Ethiopians stage protest

Representatives for thousands of Ethiopian Jews have said they will stage a mass hunger strike if Israel eliminates funding to allow them to join their families in that country.

Hundreds gathered at a synagogue in Addis Ababa to express concern that Israel’s proposed budget removes funding to help them reunite with relatives. Most of the nearly 8,000 Ethiopian Jews in the East African nation are said to have family members already in Israel. Some have been separated for more than a decade.

Activists say Israel’s government in 2015 pledged to bring the remaining Ethiopian Jews to Israel.