Transformations from Ethiopia to Israel

Renowned photojournalist Ricki Rosen documented Israel’s rescue of 15,000 Jews from Ethiopia during the historic Operation Solomon airlift. Thirteen years later, she searched for and photographed the same Ethiopian Jews now settled all over Israel.

This is an inspiring story of remarkable transformations. Rosen’s compelling photos portray dramatic scenes of the mass exodus of the Ethiopian Jews -- thousands wrapped in white robes heading towards the Promised Land, like the biblical Exodus from Egypt. Her contemporary photos are poignant portraits of these Ethiopians radically transformed by their Israeli experience. Children in rags have grown up to be proud Israeli soldiers, malnourished babies have developed into fashionable teenagers, and mothers who lost children to starvation and disease have given birth to new families.

Rosen’s insightful images take us on a journey from the mud huts of Africa to the skyscrapers of Israel, from the exotic and traditional to the ultra-modern. We see an ancient lost tribe become the newest Israelis, and we travel with them from exile to the Promised Land.

The photos are accompanied by an introductory essay by writer Micha Odenheimer, whose reporting from Ethiopia, as well as founding the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews, have made him one of the most important activists for Ethiopian Jewish immigration and integration.