0:00:02 > 0:00:05In 1978, a letter arrives in Israel.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08It sparks a modern Exodus.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11One of them somehow managed to send a letter to Israel
0:00:11 > 0:00:15saying we are here in Sudan, we are stranded,
0:00:15 > 0:00:17we need your help, help us.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20The plea comes from an unlikely source.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22Fleeing famine, civil war
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and religious persecution in their homeland, a desperate
0:00:25 > 0:00:29cry for help reveals a lost community of Jews in Ethiopia.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35We walked for more than three weeks in order to get to Sudan.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39The Ethiopian Jews claim to be one of the original 12 tribes of Israel,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42lost for 2,000 years in Africa.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46When the Israelis decided that the Ethiopians were indeed Jews,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49one of the 12 lost tribes of Israel, they realise that they
0:00:49 > 0:00:51are going to have to smuggle 20,000 people
0:00:51 > 0:00:55out of East Africa, a region almost universally hostile to Israel.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58It was an almost impossible task.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Israel assembles a team to work under cover, outwit dictators
0:01:02 > 0:01:06and overcome a civil war to rescue the lost tribe.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13I was on my way in a helicopter when the pilot told me that he
0:01:13 > 0:01:18had a message from Jerusalem saying that he should do a U-turn
0:01:18 > 0:01:21and go straight to Jerusalem, the Prime Minister wants to see you.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27This is the story of how a British businessman, a Mossad spy and a
0:01:27 > 0:01:32seasoned diplomat risked everything to save the forgotten Jews.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45For 2,000 years, Jews had lived in Ethiopia.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50The mid-70s, there was a revolution in Ethiopia
0:01:50 > 0:01:54and civil war and the Jews,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58many of them fled to Sudan.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Having escaped civil war in their homeland,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04the Jews are stuck in appalling refugee camps.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07In Sudan, their religion makes life even harder.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12You couldn't say that you were a Jew otherwise they would get,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15you know, afraid of you...
0:02:15 > 0:02:19My sister - they burnt her clothes
0:02:19 > 0:02:21that were hang on the rope.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27News of their desperate plight reaches Israel.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30One of them somehow managed to send a letter to Israel
0:02:30 > 0:02:34saying we are here in Sudan, we are stranded,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36we need your help, help us.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin decides to act.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Begin was himself a refugee.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48He fled from the Nazis in Poland during the Second World War,
0:02:48 > 0:02:49leaving his family unfortunately to
0:02:49 > 0:02:51suffer their fate in the holocaust,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54and since then he had become convinced that
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Israel must do everything it can to help Jews when they were in trouble.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01So when this letter turns up, he knows he must do everything
0:03:01 > 0:03:03he can to save the Ethiopian Jews.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08Begin turns to his secret service - the Mossad.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11The Prime Minister - he called the chief of the Mossad,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15and he told him we have this news about Jews in Sudan,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19bring me the Jews of Ethiopia out of Sudan.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24Now how do you take them out? Because Sudan is an Arab country,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27enemy, member of the Arab League.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31With official relations between Israel and Sudan blocked,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Mossad need a way to work covertly.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36They approach a then little-known Manchester businessman.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39He receives a phone call he never expected.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43When I received a telephone call my secretary was
0:03:43 > 0:03:45giving 15 minutes to them.
0:03:47 > 0:03:53When I heard the story I cancelled my appointments and we discussed...
0:03:55 > 0:04:02They wanted me to be involved because of my trade on cotton.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06David is an unlikely saviour of the Ethiopian Jews.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10At 13, he had left school to become a market trader
0:04:10 > 0:04:11in his native Iran.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Five years later, in search of his fortune, he moved to
0:04:14 > 0:04:19Manchester, setting up a series of successful textiles companies.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23The Israelis approached David Alliance because he was a successful
0:04:23 > 0:04:26international businessman with good contacts in the Sudan.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31This enabled him to set up an office in Khartoum and it's from that
0:04:31 > 0:04:35office that the Mossad agents were able to plan their rescue operation.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Mossad enter Sudan and begin to establish the mission.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43For the covert plan to work, David has to keep all details secret.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48I was told that if it's not kept under cover
0:04:48 > 0:04:51and the news came out,
0:04:51 > 0:04:58the Arab countries might pressurise Sudanese
0:04:58 > 0:05:01to stop it, so we have to keep it quiet and that's what we did.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Using David's office to travel in and out of Sudan, Mossad discover
0:05:09 > 0:05:14a perfect base close to the refugee camps to carry out the evacuation.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Gad Shimron is recruited to help run it.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24I went down to Sudan as a member of the operating team of the new
0:05:24 > 0:05:30holiday village Arous - 40 kilometres from Port Sudan.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Mossad even went so far as to create a fake holiday
0:05:32 > 0:05:36village in the Sudan, complete with a booking office in Switzerland.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Now occasionally reality intruded, when real paying customers
0:05:39 > 0:05:43turned up and the Mossad agents had to pretend to be holiday reps.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45But this subterfuge worked
0:05:45 > 0:05:48because it allowed the agents to move freely around the country
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and work out how to get the refugees out of their camps.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55It allowed you to go round the country
0:05:55 > 0:06:00and to drive to Port Sudan and bring tourists and go out at night and day
0:06:00 > 0:06:04whenever you want actually with your rubber boats because you were,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08you know, you're bringing tourists to the unique diving spots of Sudan.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Gad and his team create a plan.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15They will pick up Jewish refugees at confidential meeting points,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17rendezvous with the Israeli navy offshore
0:06:17 > 0:06:20and then escort the Jews to Israel.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25We had what we call the committee members.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Committee members were young Jewish boys in the camps who were our
0:06:29 > 0:06:35contact liaison people in case we said tomorrow,
0:06:35 > 0:06:3820 hours, or 8pm, 200 people
0:06:38 > 0:06:42at the quarry 10 kilometres south of the refugee camp.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46And we would come with our trucks, pick them up,
0:06:46 > 0:06:51drive through the police control and army control.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56Usually we have done it smoothly by bribing our way through.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58All this activity by Gad
0:06:58 > 0:07:02and his team does not go unnoticed by the Sudanese authorities.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07It was just a normal operation on one of the bays of the Red Sea
0:07:07 > 0:07:10and as it happened there was a unit of the Sudanese army
0:07:10 > 0:07:12looking for smugglers.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15They saw us and they charged...
0:07:15 > 0:07:20and with their Kalashnikovs firing.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26The officer was a young officer,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29he didn't understand what actually is going in front of his eyes.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33The commander of Gad's team is a still-serving undercover agent
0:07:33 > 0:07:36known by the alias, Danny.
0:07:36 > 0:07:42I saw Danny, the doctor and two more guys standing with their hands up
0:07:42 > 0:07:48surrounded by Sudanese soldiers with nervous
0:07:48 > 0:07:53fingers on the triggers of the Kalashnikovs, shouting at them,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and I was sure this is the end of the operation.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01And then I saw Danny, he started shouting at the officer.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05"You're an idiot, what are you doing?
0:08:05 > 0:08:09"Don't you see, I'm bringing tourists to this country,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13"night diving and bringing money to this country and you charge
0:08:13 > 0:08:17"and fire and shoot at us. You are crazy!"
0:08:17 > 0:08:21You could see that the officer, you know, he didn't know how to react...
0:08:21 > 0:08:26and Danny understood that he is on the right path.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31In the 1980s, relations between Israel and Sudan were tense.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35The Sudanese have strong ties with their Arab neighbours.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40Rumours of Jewish refugees leaving for Israel alert the Sudanese
0:08:40 > 0:08:42to a potential Mossad plot.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46They shut the borders to Ethiopian Jews.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53The rescue now hinges on whether the Israelis can find a way
0:08:53 > 0:08:55to reopen the border.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58What they needed was a trusted middleman with good business
0:08:58 > 0:09:01contacts and enough political clout
0:09:01 > 0:09:03to influence senior Sudanese officials.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06There was only really one candidate.
0:09:06 > 0:09:13At that point I was asked again to go in and help, which I did.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Again, David needs to keep his real motives
0:09:15 > 0:09:18hidden for the Ministers to meet him.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Once more he uses his Sudan office
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and arrives under the pretence of a trade mission.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30It was in 1984 when I went to Sudan.
0:09:30 > 0:09:37And the aim was to buy cotton and at the same time, through that,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40to try and help to bring the Jews out.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43The Ministers he meets are unwilling to open the border or allow
0:09:43 > 0:09:47any Israeli activity until David comes across an official
0:09:47 > 0:09:50who studied in his adopted city of Manchester.
0:09:51 > 0:09:58He gave a cocktail party that night, and another gathering
0:09:58 > 0:10:03the next day and I met some people who were able to help me to open
0:10:03 > 0:10:11the door again for the Ethiopians to move, which was very satisfying.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16David is introduced to several influential ministers.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20They are persuaded by his requests and reopen the borders.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26News spread in Ethiopia that the escape route to Israel is
0:10:26 > 0:10:31open again. Increasing numbers begin to make the hazardous journey.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36We felt that Ethiopia is not our place
0:10:36 > 0:10:41and we should go to another place - to Jerusalem.
0:10:41 > 0:10:47I grew up hearing stories about Jerusalem, and about our
0:10:47 > 0:10:52ancient dream of getting to Jerusalem and live a Jewish life.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55We left the village at night
0:10:55 > 0:10:59because we were escaping from the authorities in Ethiopia.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01It's about 800 kilometres.
0:11:01 > 0:11:08We walked for more than three weeks in order to get to Sudan.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13There are many dangers on the road.
0:11:13 > 0:11:19There were robbers stopping us and asking for money, otherwise
0:11:19 > 0:11:22they will kill us and we were in the middle of nowhere.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29In Sudan, they are put in temporary camps rife with disease.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33We realised that we were going to stay in that desert,
0:11:33 > 0:11:38live in tents for many months, maybe years.
0:11:38 > 0:11:4314,000 Jews leave their homes in Ethiopia, many do not
0:11:43 > 0:11:48complete the journey and thousands succumb to epidemics in the camps.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Around 6,000 people die or disappear.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56They say that there is no family that got into Sudan
0:11:56 > 0:11:59and didn't lose one of her members.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04To get the Jews out of Sudan, Gad and his Mossad team need a new
0:12:04 > 0:12:08plan that bypasses the heavily armed Sudanese coast.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13So why not to land Israeli air force C130 transport aeroplanes
0:12:13 > 0:12:18in the desert and bring in the Jews and fly them directly to Israel?
0:12:20 > 0:12:25Sounds crazy, we tried it, it worked once and twice.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30At this stage, the Jews are being smuggled out in relatively
0:12:30 > 0:12:34small numbers every couple of weeks on military C130 transport planes.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37It was a tried and tested method that had been used a few
0:12:37 > 0:12:41years earlier to rescue Israeli hostages from Entebbe in Uganda.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44But when word spread around the world that a terrible natural
0:12:44 > 0:12:46disaster had hit the region,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48they realise they are going to have to speed things up.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50They need bigger planes.
0:12:52 > 0:12:53In a year, a million people die
0:12:53 > 0:12:56from one of the of worst famines to blight Africa.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59It was now a race against time to save
0:12:59 > 0:13:02the Jews before they died of hunger.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05And to do this, Israel asked the United States to intervene.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09After secret talks with the President, Nimeiri, a deal was done.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13He will turn a blind eye as long as the operation is kept secret,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17not only from his Arab allies, but also from his own people.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21It's this that allowed the Israelis to plan a mass airlift.
0:13:22 > 0:13:256,000 refugees are stranded in the camps
0:13:25 > 0:13:28and need to be airlifted to safety.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Considered a modern exodus, this mission is named Operation Moses.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38The US, Israel and Sudan put the final details together.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43The operation takes place in a total blackout.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Sudan's allies cannot know it is assisting Israel.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50A Belgian aviation company fly via Europe.
0:13:50 > 0:13:56The Jews were taken from the refugee camps in military convoys, actually.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58I mean, the Sudanese soldiers didn't know.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02They thought those are refugees being evacuated to Europe.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06They were taken to Khartoum international airport,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10flown to Europe and from Europe straight to Israel,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13sometimes, you know, the airplane would only touch and go
0:14:13 > 0:14:16in Athens, you know, change call number and continue to Israel.
0:14:16 > 0:14:22In a short period of seven weeks, over 6,000 Jewish refugees
0:14:22 > 0:14:26were lifted, airlifted out of Sudan.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29With a few days remaining before all the Jews in the camps can be
0:14:29 > 0:14:33evacuated, the story breaks.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37The news was spread on the radio, the international radio and media
0:14:37 > 0:14:39and TV, and Nimeiri of course had to say,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42"Oh, I didn't know, I stopped it."
0:14:42 > 0:14:44And that was the end of Operation Moses.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50With rescue from Sudan no longer possible, the Israeli
0:14:50 > 0:14:54government focus on the remaining Jews trapped in Ethiopia.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57From 1985 until 1990,
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Israeli efforts to negotiate with the dictator of Ethiopia fail.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Ethiopia's dictator was Colonel Mengistu,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08known as the butcher of Addis Ababa,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11because he came to power in a military coup in 1977.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14In fact, it was rumoured that he had personally suffocated
0:15:14 > 0:15:17the former Emperor - Haile Selassie - with a pillow.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Now this was the time of the Cold War,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23and for most of the 1980s, Mengistu was fighting a civil war with
0:15:23 > 0:15:26military aid from the Soviet Union.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30In return, he's agreed to expel not only all US diplomats,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33but those of their allies, including Israel.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36By 1990, the Soviet Union is no longer in a position to
0:15:36 > 0:15:39give him military aid so he turns to Israel as a way of building
0:15:39 > 0:15:42bridges with the United States.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45He offered Israel the chance to resume relations.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49The Israeli Prime Minister seizes the opportunity.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54He turns to a trusted emissary and the former ambassador to Ethiopia.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59I was on my way in a helicopter when the pilot told me that he
0:15:59 > 0:16:04had a message from Jerusalem saying that he should do a U-turn
0:16:04 > 0:16:08and go straight to Jerusalem as the Prime Minister wants to see you.
0:16:08 > 0:16:14I was, as it were, whisked into the Prime Minster's office.
0:16:14 > 0:16:20He said, "Look, I was reminded that you had been ambassador to Ethiopia
0:16:20 > 0:16:24"and I need your help."
0:16:26 > 0:16:27Mengistu sets his price.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31He wants weapons but Uri is ordered to obey a US arms
0:16:31 > 0:16:34embargo on the Ethiopian regime.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38So the negotiations come down to money - the Jews become hostages.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44My question was how much? He shot at me a figure.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47180 million.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53I was absolutely stunned, but I said, "You're joking."
0:16:55 > 0:16:59After months of hopeless negotiation, the government of Israel turn
0:16:59 > 0:17:03once more to David Alliance, by now an influential millionaire.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08I was asked by Uri Lubrani to go to Ethiopia.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10So I went there.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15We were asked if you want the Jews, you have to give us arms,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17and we could not give arms.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21David was desperate to find a way around Mengistu's demands.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27I offered to take the production of the textile for a whole year.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30I offered to put up a new factory there.
0:17:30 > 0:17:36I did everything. We tried, tried very hard without success.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Saw all the ministers.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Then we were invited to go to see the President.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47By now, Mengistu is losing the civil war.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50He has become desperate and paranoid.
0:17:50 > 0:17:58I suddenly saw, the guns is aiming at us through the curtain.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03The President, "Give me arms, you can have the Jews."
0:18:03 > 0:18:10I said to him, "Mr President, you must accept that there aren't
0:18:10 > 0:18:16"going to be any arms but we can make your life easier financially."
0:18:16 > 0:18:20He didn't say no to it, we started talking and negotiating
0:18:20 > 0:18:23and we got his agreement.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27A personal payment to Mengistu is agreed
0:18:27 > 0:18:30and he orders his government to set a lower price for the Jews.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Uri can now finalise this payment.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Talks progress until news arrives of a problem.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41I get up one morning
0:18:41 > 0:18:49and I'm told by this Ethiopian who was my contact, "I'm sorry,
0:18:49 > 0:18:57"Mr Mengistu, he fled to Zimbabwe, taking all his group to Zimbabwe
0:18:57 > 0:19:00"so we have nobody to negotiate."
0:19:00 > 0:19:04That was for me a very unpleasant news.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07When Mengistu fled, the country was in chaos.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Meanwhile, Uri Lubrani was still talking to what
0:19:09 > 0:19:12remained of the government in the hope of striking a deal.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15He finally made a take it or leave it offer.
0:19:15 > 0:19:22I asked one of my team's assistants to compute how much it would
0:19:22 > 0:19:27take to transport an Ethiopian Jew
0:19:27 > 0:19:32from Addis Ababa to Rome,
0:19:32 > 0:19:37and from Rome to Tel Aviv because that was the commercial route.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42Then they came up with a figure.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Uri's closing offer is to pay the Ministers what it would cost
0:19:45 > 0:19:49to transport each Ethiopian Jew to Israel.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51This is as high as he can go.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55And still the Ethiopian Ministers hesitated, but with
0:19:55 > 0:20:00the rebels closing in and in need of money, they agreed to a price.
0:20:00 > 0:20:06It was agreed for 35 millions. A date was set.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10The conditions under which permission would be
0:20:10 > 0:20:12given were set down.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18The mission is given the green light. Uri has to act quickly.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21The rebels are making their final approach on Addis Ababa.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Uri has five days before they take the capital.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29On May 24th 1991, the first plane lands.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Fanta is one of those to make the trip - she was just eight years old.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41- TRANSLATION:- I grew up hearing about Jerusalem.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43I was told if we got there
0:20:43 > 0:20:47all hardships would vanish because it was such a holy place...
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Not a day would go by without someone talking about Jerusalem.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57I remember my grandmother crying,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02she was praying all the time in the hope that we would go to Israel.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Suddenly I heard a megaphone announcing that everyone who
0:21:09 > 0:21:12has the right papers should go to the embassy.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16We rushed so quickly, I didn't even have time to put on my shoes.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20I actually came to Israel barefoot.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28I got to the embassy and there were thousands of people,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32it was total anarchy - I will never forget it.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37No words can describe the emotions we felt
0:21:37 > 0:21:40and the atmosphere of that day.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42It was amazing.
0:21:44 > 0:21:4835 military and civilian aircraft are assembled.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52They have just 25 hours to airlift over 14,000 people.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55The operation works at a lightning speed,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58aircraft barely have time to refuel before flying on.
0:21:58 > 0:22:0328 planes are in the air at the same time.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07400 buses escort the newly arrived refugees to specially built
0:22:07 > 0:22:09centres in Israel.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Years of planning are coming together.
0:22:13 > 0:22:19Halfway through the day, the Ethiopians derail the mass airlift.
0:22:19 > 0:22:25I get news that the control tower of Addis Ababa is beginning to make
0:22:25 > 0:22:29difficulties for our planes to land.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33So I asked them to find out what was happening.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37The Ethiopian government are nervous
0:22:37 > 0:22:40and demand Uri pay before the operation can continue.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45With the rebels fast approaching, time is running out, but no-one
0:22:45 > 0:22:50knows the Ethiopian bank number - the Finance Minister had fled.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55Uri and the remaining Jews are stuck. He needs a miracle.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00I asked for the person who is going to replace this
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Minister of Finance person.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06It so happened that I knew him when I was ambassador.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10I said, "Look, you know me.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14"Do you believe me that I, ambassador of Israel,
0:23:14 > 0:23:20"would want to cheat you out of a miserable 35 million dollars?
0:23:20 > 0:23:26"Take this phone, phone your boss, the new Prime Minister,
0:23:26 > 0:23:31"saying that you were satisfied that the money was
0:23:31 > 0:23:34"ready in the account of Ethiopia."
0:23:34 > 0:23:40He phoned, the road opened up and the last planes began to move out.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50The plane was going round 24 hours, the seats were
0:23:50 > 0:23:56taken out in some of the planes in order to take more people in.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59The Israeli army conquered Addis Ababa International
0:23:59 > 0:24:01for the whole weekend.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05The aeroplane was so heavy, that actually it made lanes
0:24:05 > 0:24:08in the tarmac of Addis Ababa Airport.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11We quickly left Ethiopia,
0:24:11 > 0:24:17left the airport and went out of Ethiopian airspace
0:24:17 > 0:24:20because I was always afraid
0:24:20 > 0:24:23that at the last moment they would come and say,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26"Wait, you haven't paid up this or that or whatever."
0:24:26 > 0:24:29The planes are loaded with refugees.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34One is so full it has 1,088 people crammed on board.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37It remains a world record in aviation.
0:24:37 > 0:24:42The mission, dubbed Operation Solomon, is a success.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Uri achieves what was unthinkable just a few years earlier.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50He rescues almost all of the Ethiopian Jews.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58After the euphoria of the rescue,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01in Israel, life isn't easy for the Ethiopian Jews.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Racism, an unfamiliar society
0:25:04 > 0:25:08and an educational gap make it a struggle for them to adapt.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11When you see me, you know that I came from Ethiopia,
0:25:11 > 0:25:17and this is something to many people is not easy to accept.
0:25:17 > 0:25:24I think the fact we came from such a different culture,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28a different part of the world,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32makes it not easy to learn the new way of life,
0:25:32 > 0:25:37to be integrated in one of the modern societies in the world.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39MUSIC PLAYS
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Despite struggles integrating,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45the Ethiopian community maintain pride in their traditions.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Central to them is their annual festival of Sigd.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52It is a celebration that marks what they believe to be
0:25:52 > 0:25:54God's revelation to Moses.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58In Ethiopia, the community prayed to return to Jerusalem,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01today they worship in the holy city itself.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06- TRANSLATION:- Sigd is a great festival,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09we want to celebrate that we are now in Jerusalem.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14It's amazing that I'm the first generation to celebrate Sigd
0:26:14 > 0:26:17in Jerusalem.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23For Maharata and her fellow refugees,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27reaching their promised land was no easy task.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32To do this amazing journey, to risk so much,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36in order to make it possible so, it is a miracle.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39The rescue of the Ethiopian Jews was one of the great humanitarian
0:26:39 > 0:26:41acts of the 20th century and one
0:26:41 > 0:26:44that probably could only have been pulled off by the Israelis.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47After the Holocaust, most Israelis were determined never
0:26:47 > 0:26:49to leave Jews to their fate again -
0:26:49 > 0:26:52whatever the difficulties and however far they had to go.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54It was an extraordinary act.
0:26:54 > 0:27:00130,000 Ethiopian Jews now live in the Holy Land.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Only a handful remain behind.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06David, Gad and Uri were instrumental in creating an extraordinary
0:27:06 > 0:27:08modern exodus.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11It doesn't happen to any ambassador.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16It just happens and I am very proud that I was chosen to do that.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20In risking their own lives, they have changed the lives of many.
0:27:20 > 0:27:28I helped her family to come out and a year or so later,
0:27:28 > 0:27:33she wrote me a letter saying,
0:27:33 > 0:27:38"I learn English in order to be able to write to you
0:27:38 > 0:27:43"and thank you for helping my family."
0:27:43 > 0:27:48That gives you great satisfaction.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53They rescued the forgotten Jews of Ethiopia against all the odds,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57helping them to fulfil their ancient dream of returning to Jerusalem.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01I feel very proud being part of this operation.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05I think it is the peak of my career in the Mossad.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08I have done many things, but nothing compares to this - nothing.