Opinions such as these coincided neatly with the Israeli Government's view of the requirements of haute politique. In the interests ofharmonious Israeli-Ethiopian relations no attempt was made to open the doors to aliyah; the discussion of emigration, even of small numbers, with the emperor was practically taboo. In the minds of most Israeli officials the Falashas were not considered to be Jews. Israeli ambassadors were embarrassed by a discussion of the problem, and only a tiny fraction of the massive aid programme which passed through their hands, running into millions of American dollars, was spent on giving assistance or encouragement to the Falashas. At a time when strenuous efforts were being made to bring Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel one may sympathise with Yona Bogale's despairing cry: 'If our skin would be only a little lighter, I am sure World Jewry would take a greater interest.'(2)

How far the Israeli interpretation of the emperor's views was justified may be open to question. Bearing in mind the attitude expressed by the late President Shazar, the present writer, in an audience in May 1970, asked Haile Selassie whether he would favour the establishment of a Falasha village in Israel to act as a link between the two countries. He replied that 'this may be questionable but there will be no objection. We question the importance of this proposal for there are other ways to help the Falashas. For example, education and farms should be improved within their own community. Nevertheless, the choice lies with the Falashas and there are many ways to help them, for example with financial aid.' Bentwich, too, recorded that at each of the audiences he had with Haile Selassie he had mentioned the desire of some of the Falasha youth to go to Israel and the emperor replied that he had

(1) ibid.
(2) In a letter dated 10 May 1973.