Displaced and Disoriented—Ethiopian Jews in Israel

Ethiopian Jews, also called Beta Israel or Falashas, are a small ethnic and religious minority. About 130,000 of them live in Israel, and the remaining 4,000 live in rural Northern Ethiopia. The Beta Israel have been a... [ view full abstract ]

Ethiopian Jews, also called Beta Israel or Falashas, are a small ethnic and religious minority. About 130,000 of them live in Israel, and the remaining 4,000 live in rural Northern Ethiopia. The Beta Israel have been a religious minority in Ethiopia for dozens of years, and have therefore faced both state-level and social discrimination. As a result, many of them emigrated from Ethiopia into Israel beginning in the 1970's, thereby significantly altering their daily lives. To some degree, many of the customs, traditions, and overall way of life that existed prior to the 1970’s no longer hold true in Israel. I will argue that Ethiopian Jews lost a significant amount of both economic and political power in the post-relocation period, mainly due to the denial of their Jewishness by the Israeli community. The move has resulted in the uproot of major aspects of their uniquely Ethiopian Judaism. Currently, their integration into Israeli society has been slow due to lack of economic opportunities, education, and racism. Has relocation to the 'promised land' been all that it promised to be, and would Ethiopian Jews have been better off remaining in Ethiopia?