Operation Solomon

Did you know...

• The topic of Ethiopian Jewry took top priority in the Israeli government when Rebels took over the Mariam government in 1991
• A special permit was arranged so that the Israeli El-Al could fly on Shabbat for Operation Solomon
• Operation Solomon continued non stop for 36 hours
• Operation Solomon used 34 jumbo El-Al jets and Hercules C-130s
• The seats were removed from the airplanes used in Operation Solomon to fit more people
• Operation Solomon was named after King Solomon, the King from whom the Beta Israel draw their lineage
• A total of 14,324 Ethiopian Jews were rescued during Operation Solomon
• Operation Solomon rescued twice the number of Jews than did Operation Moses and Operation Joshua
• Yitzhak Shamir of the Likud Party was Prime Minister during Operation Solomon
• At one point during Operation Solomon, 28 airplanes were in the air at the same time
• Aryeh Oz, who piloted the El Al 747 cargo plane, said there were 1,087 people on his flight, twice the number it is supposed to hold 
• There were 5 babies born on the planes on the way to Israel
• 400 buses were used to pick people up after they arrived in Israel