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By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

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15Operation MosesTHEY WERE ALL there: foreign diplomats escaping the oppressiveheat <strong>of</strong> Khartoum; tourists from right across Europe anxious tolearn diving techniques in the Red Sea, or enjoy escorted tours <strong>of</strong>the Nubian Desert; and senior Sudanese <strong>of</strong>ficials, all relaxing inthe newly constructed tourist resort 75 miles north <strong>of</strong> Port Sudanacross the sea from Mecca.How were they to know it was a Mossad front? Indeed, on themorning in early January 1985, when the 50 or so customerswoke up to find the staff had vanished — except for a few localsleft behind to serve breakfast — they still didn't know what hadhappened. Few people know even today. As far as legitimatetourists were concerned, the resort's European owners had gonebankrupt, as the notes left behind claimed, though they wereassured <strong>of</strong> a full refund (and actually got it). The staff, eitherMossad or Israeli navy workers, had disappeared quietly duringthe night, some by boat, others by air. They had left plenty <strong>of</strong> foodbehind, along with four trucks to carry the tourists back to PortSudan.But what happened at this camp is one <strong>of</strong> the great mass- escapestories <strong>of</strong> history, a story only partially known to the world asOperation Moses: the rescue <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> black EthiopianJews, or Falashas, from drought-ravaged, war-torn Ethiopia, toIsrael.287

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