How the Ark of the Covenant got to Ethiopia

God’s will: The tale behind this picture in the Ethnological Museum in Addis Ababa tells how it was that Menelik I, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, came to return from a visit to Jerusalem with the original Ten Commandments on tablets of stone in a chest. | LESLEY DOWNER PHOTO

According to the Bible, the Koran and several detailed Ethiopian texts, the Queen of Saba/Sheba, named Makeda, visited Solomon in Jerusalem in the 10th century B.C.

They had previously exchanged letters full of questions and riddles. When she arrived, bringing gifts of gold, spices, precious stones and beautiful wood, Solomon was bewitched by her beauty. He ordered his courtiers not to disturb them for three days and three nights, after which she went back to Saba (present-day Aksum in Ethiopia).

Another version of the story is that he invited her to stay on condition she take nothing of value from him. Offended, she replied that she would stay on condition that he did not touch her. He ordered a meal of salty and spicy food. That night she awoke feeling thirsty and drank some water. At that moment Solomon appeared, declaring that she had broken her word and had taken the most precious thing of all — water. Thus she was tricked into giving way to his desire.

Ancient icons in the Ethnological Museum and historic paintings in other museums show two heads, one with black hair and a beard, the other with black hair and no beard, with a sheet pulled up to their chins: Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in bed together.

Back in Saba the Queen bore a child, Menelik I, from whom the entire imperial dynasty of Ethiopia is said to be descended, right down to the last in line, Emperor Haile Selassie (1892-1975).

When Menelik was 20, in 950 B.C., he went to Jerusalem to meet his father. When he returned to Ethiopia, Solomon ordered the first-born of all the elders there to accompany him. One secretly stole the Ark of the Covenant — which held the Ten Commandments and on which the safety of the Jewish state depended — and took it with him.

When Menelik discovered this he was angry — but then he realized that if such a momentous event had occurred, it must be because God had willed it. And thus it was that the Ark of the Covenant is now said to reside in Ethiopia.

Source: The Japanese Times

Ethiopian Aliyah To Israel To End August 28th - Shalom Life Canada

By: Daniel Koren

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Ethiopians embrace at Ben-Gurion International AirportPic: Kobi Gideon

The Jewish Agency is putting an end to mass aliyah from Ethiopia on August 28th, when two final flights to Israel consisting of 400 immigrants will depart from the small African nation.

Asher Seyum, the Jewish Agency's emissary to Ethiopia, announced the decision yesterday in a letter. He also noted that the Jewish Agency will hand over its aids compounds in the city of Gondar to Ethiopian authorities at the end of August.

The compounds, established years ago by the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry and taken over by the Jewish Agency only recently, offered thousands of Ethiopians waiting to immigrate to the Jewish homeland with essential necessities including nutritional, educational, and employment services.

After the Aug. 28th flights, Ethiopians who wish to immigrate to Israel will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The same rules will apply to them as all other potential immigrants to Israel, a New York-based spokesman for the Jewish Agency told JTA.

Since 2010, an average of 200 Ethiopian immigrants a month have arrived in Israel, following the government's decision to grant aliyah eligibility to approximately 8,000 Ethiopians.

This is not the first time the Israeli government has decreed an end to mass aliyah from Ethiopia. Each time, however, pressure mounted as advocates of the issue disagreed with the policy, forcing the government to allow mass aliyah to continue.

Since 2010, over 6,500 Ethiopians have immigrated to Israel.

Ethiopian Mass Aliyah to End in August – Tablet Magazine

Two final flights with 400 passengers will leave for Israel later this summer

By Romy Zipken|June 26, 2013 12:53 PM|1comment

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sraelis from the Ethiopian community hold up photographs of their relatives in front of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office in Jerusalem, 18 December 2007, during a demonstration against the government's decision to close down next week operation to bring Jewish Ethiopian to Israel.(GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

JTA reports that on August 28, the Jewish Agency will end mass aliyah from Ethiopia, with two final flights taking 400 Ethiopian immigrants to Israel.

Once the final flights are complete, Ethiopians wishing to immigrate to Israel will be subject to the same rules as potential immigrants from elsewhere in the world and considered on a case-by-case basis, a New York-based spokesman for the Jewish Agency told JTA.

This isn’t the first time the immigration program for Ethiopians has been said to be ending. On October 29, 2012, Tablet reported what was believed to be the last plane of Ethiopian immigrants to land at Ben Gurion Airport.

A charter flight landed at Ben-Gurion Airport today carrying 240 Ethiopian Jews who are making aliyah to Israel. The Falash Mura–who were traditionally Jewish but converted to Christianity–have been immigrating in small waves since the daring Operation Solomon rescue in 1991. This effort is being described as the final stage of Ethiopian Jewish immigration to Israel, which aims to bring the final 2,200 Jewish Ethiopians by 2014.

According to the Jerusalem Post, though, the Jewish Agency is now more interested in “upgrading cooperation with Diaspora communities,” and working on outreach on college campuses:

According to [Natan] Sharansky, Israel’s government will be “broadening” its involvement in these matters, including “bringing more Jews to Israel” on various long and short-term programs. Such activities could serve as the basis of programs encouraging the aliya of “young professionals,” which will be the “center of activity in months to come,” he said.

Heritage Florida Jewish News reports that the Jewish Agency compound in Gondar is being turned over to the Ethiopian government to oversee, signaling what appears to be a final end for the Agency’s involvement in mass immigration efforts.

The compound in Gondar, which earlier was under the auspices of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry, “will not be needed beyond July,” said Misha Galperin, who heads the Jewish Agency’s department of international development. “That’s it. There’s no more.”

Israel's religious resistance - The Stream -

3.3 millions olde child- Globaltimes.cn

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These are the skeletal remains of "Selam," a three-year-old girl who died 3.3 million years ago. She is the earliest skeleton of a child ever found. (Photo source:cnn.com)

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Selam was discovered by Ethiopian scientist Zeray Alemseged in December 2000 in the East African country's Dikika region. (Photo source:cnn.com)

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The paleonanthropologist kept his discovery secret until he had a more complete picture of what he'd unearthed. He shared the news with the world in 2006 after spending six years meticulously preparing and analyzing the fossil.(Photo source:cnn.com)

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Alemseged's achievements have made him a hero in the world of science. Today, he is the director of anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences. (Photo source:cnn.com)

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Ethiopia is home to some of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Here, the famous fossil of "Lucy," believed to have lived about 3.2 million years ago, is displayed in the National Museum of Ethiopia's capital, Adis Ababa.(Photo source:cnn.com)