Alongside hundreds of others, Perah Darso and her family huddle together in the middle of the night. They board the large plane and pack themselves elbow to elbow. Then the doors slam shut. The C-130 cargo craft is filled with both young and old Ethiopians fleeing Addis Abbaba and the persecution they face for being Jewish. These people seek safety in their ancestral homeland of Israel. And eight of them give birth along the way.
Darso’s origin story starts like a James Bond novel, but it’s real life. She was born in May 24, 1991 during Operation Solomon, a secret Israeli operation that airlifted 14,325 oppressed Jews out of Ethiopia. Perah was one of eight babies born on the planes that traveled into Israel.
“My life here–we haven’t looked back since,” Darso says. “I am Israeli. I live here, this is home now.” Perah currently works producing computer chips for the Israeli military. She’s in a supervisor role. “I don’t really keep in touch with the other seven who were born on the plane,” she says, “but I do keep in touch with the doctor who delivered me. He actually was the one who gave me my name.” Perah means ‘flower’ in Hebrew. A lot of the Ethiopians entering Israel didn’t speak Hebrew, and the doctors on the flight who delivered the children decided what their names would be.
When asked if she is treated any differently because of her skin color or her Ethiopian heritage, Perah says she hasn’t felt or experienced any racism personally. However, she does acknowledge that it exists. “There certainly are instances of racism,” she says, “but luckily I haven’t experienced anything like that myself.” Earlier this year, Yehuda Biadga, an Ethiopian-Israeli, was killed by an Israeli police officer after he charged him with a knife. This sparked protests by Ethiopian-Israelis across the state against police brutality and alleged racism.
As of 2019, it is estimated that 8,200 Ethiopians are waiting to immigrate into Israel. Their community is called the ‘Falash Mura.’ There are plans to bring in at least another 1,000 Ethiopians into Israel in 2019, and Perah speculates that all of the remaining Ethiopian Jewish population will eventually be welcomed into Israel.