Two weeks ago the inter-ministerial committee of the population registry, headed by Sasi Katzir, rejected the request of Ethiopian citizen Tesma Bugala Amara, 67, to reside in Israel with full civil rights. His three children and grandchildren are citizens of Israel. The refusal of Amara's request was accompanied by a warning to leave Israel's territory at once.

As a Christian, Amara is ineligible for citizenship based on the Law of Return, and his application for permanent resident status was based on humanitarian reasons. Had the committee examined his case in terms of absolute justice, chances are it would not have decided to deport him.

Amara says that from 1978-88 he opened his home in Addis Ababa to 12 families of Jewish Ethiopian emigrants, when Israeli organizations such as the Jewish Agency were not allowed to operate in Ethiopia because diplomatic ties between the countries were suspended. "In those days," Amara recalls, "the Ethiopian regime made it difficult for citizens to leave. It demanded large sums of money that guaranteed their return to Ethiopia."

Amara was then the headmaster of a school and a member of the ruling part. He earned a relatively high salary, which allowed him freely to sign pledges and deposit securities for families that wished to receive passports and emigrate. He concealed and provided for scores of families, putting himself and his own family at risk.

"It is unjust," Amara says, "that the State of Israel is now ignoring everything I have done." Since visiting Israel on pilgrimage in 1996, Amara has been living illegally in Modi'in with his 37-year-old daughter and her three children. In August he was arrested and detained in the Ma'asiyahu prison. Now Amara is living under threat of deportation. He turned for legal assistance to Attorney Nicole Maor of the Israel Religous Action Center, who filed a petition last week at the Tel Aviv magistrate's court to recognize Amara as a "righteous gentile," because of his humanitarian action on behalf of Ethiopian Jews. "It is ironic," Maor said, "that the Jewish Agency recognized Amara's contribution years ago, and helped his children come to Israel because they were in danger in Ethiopia. They converted here and became citizens. It is now time for the State to repay Amara for his assistance to Ethiopian immigrants."

The Population Registry's inter-ministerial committee was severely criticized recently for violations of civil rights, in a report published by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, for operating in secret and concealing its criteria and modes of action from public scrutiny. In the case of Tesma Amara, too, the committee was unforthcoming. Two weeks ago Amara's daughter was notified of the refusal of her father's request and told he must leave by December 31.

The Population Registry's spokesperson said: "For reasons of privacy, the content of the population registry's decision cannot be publicized, but the decision was accepted by all the representative of the various ministries and bodies."

Maor's petition criticizes the committee's mode of action, saying it had not invited testimony from Jewish Agency workers who were familiar with the situation in Addis Ababa during the years in question, or from immigrants who were helped by Amara. Maor petitioned the court to expand the definition of Righteous Gentile, hitherto applicable only to the saving of Jews from the Nazi regime, and allow Amara the possibility of applying for permanent resident status.