Published: September 8, 2026 · Tedros Editorial
Revealed at the Aliyah Committee: a delegation found Law of Return eligibles in Ethiopia — 21 of 146 applications approved
What emerged at the session
The Knesset Committee on Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs held a session on 7 September 2026, chaired by MK Gilad Kariv (The Democrats). It emerged that a delegation of the Population and Immigration Authority and the Jewish Agency travelled to Ethiopia in July 2026 to examine 146 applications from families to immigrate under the Law of Return.
The report is by Yahel Farag, welfare correspondent for Davar, published on 7 September 2026.
The numbers
Per the report from the session:
- 146 applications were examined by the delegation.
- 21 applications were approved.
- One was rejected.
- The rest are under various reviews, including DNA testing.
- 23 of the 146 families could not be contacted, so no interviews took place.
The interviews were held in Addis Ababa only, because of the security situation in the Gondar and Tigray regions.
Why this matters
The central point is that the findings contradict a long-standing official position. The State of Israel declared in 2013 that no Law of Return eligibles remained in Ethiopia. The assessment on the ground produced a different picture.
The committee chair, MK Gilad Kariv, said at the session:
> "I got the impression that the State of Israel says there are no Law of Return eligibles in Ethiopia, but the data proves otherwise."
It was further stated at the session that one conclusion from the delegation is that Jews and Law of Return eligibles exist in Tigray. MK Moshe Solomon (Habayit Hayehudi) said that eligible people should not have to wait for government decisions in order to immigrate.
The distinction matters: the Law of Return is an eligibility route that does not depend on a separate government decision — unlike the Falash Mura track, whose immigration is governed by dedicated government decisions and separate budgeting.
The desk that is still not standing
The session also heard criticism of the delay in establishing an Ethiopia desk at the Population Authority. Per the report, ten civil service positions were approved for authority staff whose entire role would be handling applications — but only eight of the ten were filled, and no physical workspace had yet been found for them.
What comes next
The applications "under various reviews" are now the figure to watch, along with whether a further delegation will travel to the regions that were not assessed. We wrote separately on the budgetary and audit background: the 2026 budget, the Kanfo committee and the State Comptroller.
Tedros reports this as fact and takes no position.
Sources
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