At the end of May 1967 Bentwich called a conference, with Lady Henriques in the chair, of those organisations and individuals who had displayed some interest in the fate of the Falashas. He reported on the situation and called for an increase in financial support. He said that OSE had enlisted the services of an Israeli doctor who had set up three health centres in villages in the Gondar region which were available to all, irrespective of creed. The ICA contribution had enabled the number of schools supported by the Jewish Agency in Israel to be increased to seven, all of them under the supervision ofYona Bogale, who maintained a regular correspondence with the donor organisations. The total annual budget for the whole of this operation was well below £10,000. All the funds were raised in Great Britain, apart from occasional contributions from individual well-wishers, a promise of US $2,500 for each of the three following years from the American Joint Distribution Committee, and the small Jewish Agency contribution. In relation to the size of the problem only the surface had been scratched, but a lifeline had been thrown to the beleaguered community and, in addition, a Standing Conference of the various organisations was established, with Bentwich as chairman.

No one connected with this minimal programme had any illusions that it would solve the problem but it represented a fresh start and it would help to raise the Falashas' morale. Besides, it was generally recognised that the real solution lay in creating a living and continuing bond with Israel by means of a well organised plan for emigration. But these expectations could not be realised for, on the one hand, the emperor would not allow a mass exodus and, on the other, the Government of lsrael was not prepared to admit an Ethiopian aliyah under the Law of Return.

For the Israelis the question of Falasha immigration had become a matter of Government policy. Until the Yom Kippur war of 1973, when Ethiopia, under strong Arab pressure, broke off diplomatic relations with Israel, the Jewish state had established very close ties with the kingdom of the Lion of Judah. A strong diplomatic mission had been created in Addis Ababa, as in a number of other countries of black Africa, trade relations developed and, above all, technical assistance, with the financial help of the Americans, was provided on a considerable scale. Israeli experts were active in helping to train the army and police, in providing doctors, geologists and university administrators and teachers, in supervising agricultural development and highway