Six years later an even bigger operation was launched called Operation Solomon

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Israel has airlifted thousands of Jewish Ethiopian refugees out of Sudan, it has emerged.

But Operation Moses, which has been taking place in secret since 21 November 1984, has now stopped since news of the covert airlift became public.

Press leaks have forced the Israeli Government to admit that about 8,000 Ethiopians fleeing famine-struck Ethiopia have now arrived in Israel.

The Arab world has been angered by Khartoum's decision to co-operate with Israel and allow charter planes to fly from Sudan - which does not recognise the country.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, has insisted that Operation Moses will continue.

Jewish people from Ethiopia are said to be able to trace their lineage back almost 3,000 years and may be the descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

They are a minority in Ethiopia where the major religions are Christianity and Islam.

The Jewish community has suffered discrimination, particularly in recent years under Marxist President Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam who prohibited the practice of Judaism and the teaching of Hebrew.

The operation began following reports last September that more Jewish refugees from Ethiopia were arriving in Sudan, and many were dying frommalnutrition.

Some of them, who now live in Israel, claim that details of Operation Moses was leaked by Israelis who have been alarmed at the number of Jewish refugees from Ethiopia arriving in the country.

Until recently they were not given Jewish status and public opinion in Israel on the government's motives for launching Operation Moses are mixed.

Some believe its reasons are humanitarian, but others think the refugees from Ethiopia are simply the latest immigrants to settle in Israel and raise the numbers now living there.

There are now between 10,000 and 15,000 Jewish people from Ethiopia living in Israel.

Estimates suggest there is still a similar figure living in famine-hit villages in the Ethiopian province of Gondar and 1,000 in refugee camps in Sudan.

Jewish people from Ethiopia who live in Israel claim the publicity surrounding the operation has endangered the safety of refugees in Sudan.

The stricken tanker aground in Shetland

The captain and crew of the vessel were airlifted to safety by helicopter when it became clear the disaster was imminent.

The Liberian-registered MV Braer tanker was on its way from Norway to Canada when it lost power in Force 11 gales early this morning.

It ran aground on rocks in Quendale Bay, just west of Sunburgh Head, on the south tip of Shetland, just before midday, despite desperate efforts by salvage teams to prevent a collision.

Early reports suggest oil is already pouring from the ruptured tanks on the vessel.

The Shetland Islands Council has activated its major disaster plan in an attempt to avert a major environmental catastrophe in the area, which is internationally renowned for seabirds and marine life.

But Greenpeace spokesperson Paul Horsman said it would be "virtually impossible to avert a major ecological catastrophe."

The 800-foot vessel was built in Japan in 1975 and does not have the more modern double hull which would lessen the chance of an oil-spillage.

Local people in Shetland have long-expected an accident on their remote shores and contingency plans to deal with the environmental impact of such a disaster are in place.

But a catastrophe on this scale was never predicted. The Braer was carrying twice as much crude oil as the Exxon Valdez, which ran aground off Alaska four years ago.

The Shipping Minister Lord Caithness has ordered a wide-ranging inquiry into the disaster.

malnutrition: a state of poor nutrition; can result from insufficient or excessive or unbalanced diet or from inability to absorb foods（营养不良）