Ethiopian Jews in Israel

Ethiopian Jews in Israel

Total population
168,800 (2022) About 2.3% of the Israeli Jewish population, about 1.75% of the total Israeli population
Languages
Hebrew · Amharic · Tigrinya ·
Religion
Haymanot and Rabbinic Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Falash Mura · Beta Abraham

Ethiopian Jews in Israel are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants from the Beta Israel communities in Ethiopia who now reside in Israel. To a lesser, but notable, extent, the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel is also composed of Falash Mura, a community of Beta Israel which had converted to Christianity over the course of the past two centuries, but were permitted to immigrate to Israel upon returning to Israelite religion—this time largely to Rabbinic Judaism.

Most of the community made aliyah from Ethiopia to Israel in two waves of mass immigration assisted by the Israeli government: Operation Moses (1984), and Operation Solomon (1991). Today, Israel is home to the largest Beta Israel community in the world, with about 168,800 citizens of Ethiopian descent in 2022, who mainly reside in southern and central Israel.

History

First wave (1934–1960)

The first Ethiopian Jews who settled in Israel in modern times came in 1934 along with the Yemenite Jews from Italian Eritrea.

Second wave: (1961–1975)

An Ethiopian Jew prays during a break while on patrol on the outskirts of Bethlehem, Jan 1996.

Between the years 1963 and 1975, a relatively small group of Beta Israel emigrated to Israel. The Beta Israel immigrants during that period were mainly men who had studied and come to Israel on a tourist visa, and then remained in the country illegally sheltered by Rabbis.

Several of their supporters in Israel and America and the Jewish Defense League, who recognized their Jewish identity, helped assist their immigration to Israel by signing petitions, protests and seeking influential people in both the Rabbinical and Government to help push their immigration to Israel.

The spark of supporters from the American Jews occurred when Rabbi Kaplan participated in a mission to Ethiopia. During the visit, the group came across an isolated village inhabited by Beta Israel.Through the help of a translator, Brett Goldberg, members of the group talked with residents of the village. Rabbi Kaplan asked if there was a Kahen. There was, and later in the day, after the Kahen returned, the two religious leaders had a lively conversation (p. 56-57).

"Rabbi Kaplan was astounded when the Kahen told him that the Parashah (portion of the Bible) that he was going to read in his synagogue that Sabbath, was exactly the same parsha that was being read that Sabbath in Rabbi Kaplan's Synagogue. Imagine, after being isolated for centuries, the Beta Yisrael priests in the plateaus deep in Ethiopia were in sync with the rest of world Jewry!

This remarkable and moving story had to be told. At our request, Rabbi Kaplan wrote an article so that the AAE) could distribute it through a mailing list of Jewish newspapers and magazines. This report of a conversation between a contemporary American rabbi and a Beta Yisrael Kahen in the high plateaus of Ethiopia was simple, clear and compelling. It probably did more to help American Jews identify with the Ethiopian Jews than all of the pronouncements by the chief rabbis." This story led to Hundreds of thousands of signatures in support of making haste of the Ethiopian Jews doing Aliyah.

In 1973, Sergeant Major Ovadia Hazzi officially raised the question of the Beta Israel with Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The rabbi, citing a rabbinic ruling the Radbaz, Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, and two former Ashkenazic chief rabbis of Israel, Abraham Isaac Kook and Isaac Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, On February 9, 1973, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef had ruled that "The Beta Yisrael are Jews according to Halachah and is "our duty to redeem them from assimilation, to hasten their immigration to Israel, to educate them in the spirit of our holy Torah and to make them partners in the building of our sacred land....I am certain that the government institutions and the Jewish Agency, as well as organizations in Israel and the Diaspora, will help us to the best of our ability in this holy task..., the Mitzvah of redeeming the souls of our people...for everyone who saves one soul in Israel, it is as though he had saved the whole world. In 1974 the question was raised to the Ashkenazic Rabbi Shlomo Goren and he expressed the Ethiopian Jews are a part of the Jewish people and stated they are a part of the Jewish people because Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook said so, implying that there was no need to rule them as jews as they had already been ruled as Jews according to Halakha, and said that he has for a long time had a messianic vision for their return to Israel.

In April 1975, the Israeli government of Yitzhak Rabin officially accepted the Beta Israel as Jews for the purpose of the Law of Return (an Israeli act which grants all the Jews in the world the same right to immigrate to Israel).

Later on, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin obtained clear rulings from Chief Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef that they were descendants of The Tribes of Israel. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel did, however, in the beginning required them to undergo pro forma Symbolic Circumcision symbolising requiring a drop of blood symbolising they were "Rejoining the Jewish people". However this was disagreed upon as they had already been ruled as "Authentic Jews" and due to fears of it being used to converting them to Sephardic Judaism and several other factors. Hence Rabbi Goren made concessions with the Prime Minister Menachem Begin to stop the ceremony for future immigrants.

From 1975 onwards, the majority of the Ethiopian Jews made Aliyah as they had qualified under the 1950 Law of Return under Yitzhak Rabin after being pressured by the Rabbinate to do so. Hence commenced the Third Wave, when Aliyah activists and Israel's Mossad agents carried out several operations and missions to take them out of Ethiopia.

Third wave: (1975–1990)

Operation Brothers

Migration map of Beta Israel

• November 1979 – 1983: Aliyah activists and Mossad agents operating in Sudan, including Ferede Aklum, called the Beta Israel to come to Sudan where they would eventually be taken to Israel via Europe. Jewish Ethiopian refugees from the Ethiopian Civil War in the mid-1970s began to arrive at the refugee camps in Sudan. Most Beta Israel came from Tigray, which was then controlled by the TPLF, which often escorted them to the Sudanese border. Many Ethiopian Jews also immigrated to Israel to flee from the civil war, famine during and after the war, as well as hostility toward Ethiopian Jews. In 1981, the Jewish Defense League protested against the "lack of action" to rescue Ethiopian Jews by taking over the main offices of HIAS in Manhattan.
• 1983 – March 28, 1985: this emigration wave was in part motivated by word of mouth reports on the success of the emigration of many Jewish refugees to Israel. In 1983, the governor of Gondar region, Major Melaku Teferra, was ousted as governor and his successor removed restrictions on travel. Beta Israel began to arrive in large numbers and the Mossad was unable to evacuate them in time. Due to poor conditions in the camps, many refugees died of disease and hunger. Of these victims, it is estimated that between 2,000 and 5,000 were Beta Israel. In late 1984, the Sudanese government, following the intervention of the United States, allowed the emigration of 7,200 Beta Israel refugees to Europe. They immediately flew from there to Israel. The first of two operations during this period was Operation Moses (original name: "The Lion of Judah's Cub"), which took place between November 20, 1984, and January 20, 1985, during which time 6,500 people emigrated to Israel. A few weeks later, the U.S. Air Force evacuated the 494 Beta Israel refugees remaining in Sudan to Israel in Operation Joshua. The second operation was mainly carried out due to the intervention and international pressure of the United States.

Fourth wave (1990–1999)

• 1991 (Operation Solomon): In 1991, the political and economic stability of Ethiopia deteriorated as rebels mounted attacks against, and eventually controlled, the capital city of Addis Ababa. Worried about the fate of the Beta Israel during the transition period, the Israeli government, together with several private groups, secretly prepared to continue with the migration. Over the course of the next 36 hours, a total of 34 El Al passenger planes, with their seats removed to maximize passenger capacity, flew 14,325 Beta Israel directly to Israel. Again, the operation was mainly carried out due to the intervention and international pressure of the U.S. Dr. Rick Hodes, an American doctor who emigrated to Ethiopia, was the medical director for Operation Solomon. It was a difficult two days as he covertly arranged for a number of very ill people to be air-lifted to Israel.
• 1992–1999: During these years, the Qwara Beta Israel emigrated to Israel.

Falash Mura (1993–present)

• 1993–present: From 1993 onwards, an irregular emigration began of Falash Mura, which was and still is mainly subjected to political developments in Israel. These immigrants are required to convert from Christianity to Judaism.

• 2018: In August 2018, the Netanyahu government vowed to bring in 1,000 Falasha Jews from Ethiopia.
• 2019: In April 2019, an estimated 8,000 Falasha were waiting to leave Ethiopia.
• 2020: On February 25, 2020, 43 Falasha arrived in Israel from Ethiopia.
• 29 November 2020 - 12 July 2023: Operation Tzur Israel (Rock of Israel). The operation was implemented in two phases with the goal of facilitating the immigration of 5,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, most of whom had close relatives already living there. The first phase, which ran from 28 November 2020 until March 15, 2021, brought 2,000 Ethiopian immigrants to Israel. The second phase, which began on June 2, 2022, brought another 3,000 immigrants, and concluded on 12 July 2023.
  • 2021:
    • March 11: Operation Tzur Israel brings 300 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
    • March 15: The first phase of the operation concludes, with 2,000 immigrants brought to Israel.
    • November 14: Falasha in Israel stage a protest so their relatives left behind in Ethiopia can go to Israel.
    • November 28: The Israeli government approves the resumption of immigration for the remainder of the community from Ethiopia.
  • 2022:
    • February 2: The Israeli Supreme Court issues an interim order halting the immigration of 3,000 Ethiopians with close relatives in Israel, while hearing an appeal alleging many of them had faked their claims of Jewish ancestry.
    • March 15: The Court lifts the interim order.
    • June 1: Second phase of operation begins with an airlift of 181 immigrants.
  • 2023:
    • July 12: Operation Tzur Israel concludes with a final flight of 130 immigrants.
• 2024: In July 2024, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) announced the completion of a $9 million, two-year campaign to help Ethiopian immigrants, or olim, move to Israel. The campaign, which is part of "Operation Tzur Israel" ("Operation Rock of Israel"), helped 3,170 Ethiopians make aliyah, including 1,535 men, 1,635 women, and 754 families. Many of the immigrants were young, with 35% aged 18 to 35 and 39% under 18. The campaign also provided food and medicine to thousands of people in Addis Ababa and Gondar. With the support of JFNA, more than 100,000 Ethiopians have now made aliyah.

Integration and socioeconomic status

Beta Israel soldier in Nablus, 2006

The entrance to Mevaseret Zion Absorption Center, 2010

The biggest challenge to the Israeli Ethiopian Beta Israel community probably lies in the low level of formal education of most of the immigrants who mostly had no useful training for a developed economy like that of Israel and due to the nature of rural living in Ethiopia, illiteracy was very common although young people were better educated, Therefore, the extremely abrupt transition from village life in Ethiopia to Israel, has been accompanied by adjustment crises which in turn greatly affected their integration into Israeli society.

Despite those challenges, large improvement has been made in terms of educational attainment and socio-economic status in recent years and progress is being made on several fronts.

In 2022 the net income per household among Israelis of Ethiopian descent amounted to 14,676 NIS, compared to 18,237 NIS for all Jewish households and 11,810 NIS for Arab households. This income gap between Israelis of Ethiopian origin the overall population has narrowed from 44% in 2014 to 20% in 2022.[1][2]

The unemployment rate among Ethiopian adults was high in the past, and in 2005 it was 65% among those aged 40 and over, but today it has decreased significantly and is lower than the unemployment rate in the general Israeli population [3]

In 2018, Israelis of Ethiopian descent made up 2.5% of all income support claimants in Israel - slightly more than their representation in the population, which is close to 2%.[4]

In 2022/3, the percentage of 12th-grade students of Ethiopian descent taking matriculation exams was 93.4%, compared with 95.2% of the students in the Hebrew education system overall.The rate of eligibility for a Bagrut certificate among 12th grade students of Ethiopian descent is 77.7%(compared to 85.6% in the Hebrew education sector and 74.5% in the Arab education sector) and has been on the rise in recent years (it was 62% in 2018 and 53% in 2013). The rate of eligibility for a matriculation certificate that meets the threshold requirements of the universities among 12th grade students of Ethiopian descent is 59.2% compared to 76% in the Hebrew education system overall (excluding ultra-Orthodox supervision) and 51.3% in the Arab education sector. the percentage of students of Ethiopian descent eligible for a matriculation certificate that meets university entrance requirements has also been increasing in recent years, and the gap between them and the general Hebrew-speaking students has narrowed from 27 percentage points in 2016 to 17 in 2022/3.[5][6] this gap is still high in comparison to the gap in matriculation certificate eligibility.

The number of students of Ethiopian origin studying at institutions of higher education has been increasing in recent years: from 3,194 in 2016/17 to 4,144 in 2023/24, an increase of 29.7%. In general, the student population increased by 3.9% – from 227,700 in 2016/17 to 235,500 in 2023/24.

The percentage of women among Ethiopian students was higher than the corresponding percentage among the general Hebrew speaking student population .

Absorption in Israel

Ethiopian Beta Israel are gradually becoming part of the mainstream Israeli society in religious life, military service (with nearly all males doing national service), education, and politics. Similarly to other groups of immigrant Jews, who made aliyah to Israel, the Ethiopian Beta Israel have faced obstacles in their integration to Israeli society. The Ethiopian Beta Israel community's internal challenges have been complicated by: entering a relatively modern country (Israel) from non-modern, rural, remote regions of Ethiopia (compared with other immigrant groups entering from industrialized countries, and who typically possess significantly greater formal education); the disruption of long-standing hierarchies and customs within Beta Israel in which elders lead and guide their community; racial prejudice; and a degree of lingering doubt within a minority of groups regarding the "Jewishness" of certain Ethiopians (e. g., the Falash Mura). However, with successive generations, Ethiopian Israelis have climbed in Israeli society.

Individual Ethiopian Beta Israel had lived in Eretz Yisrael prior to the establishment of the state. A youth group arrived in Israel in the 1950s to undergo training in Hebrew education, and returned to Ethiopia to educate young Beta Israeli community members there. Also, Ethiopian Beta Israel had been trickling into Israel prior to the 1970s. The numbers of such Ethiopian immigrants grew after the Israeli government officially recognized them in 1973 as Jews, entitled to Israeli citizenship.[1]

To prepare for the absorption of tens of thousands of Ethiopian Beta Israel, the State of Israel prepared two "Master Plans" (Ministry of Absorption, 1985, 1991). The first was prepared in 1985, a year after the arrival of the first wave of immigrants. The second updated the first in response to the second wave of immigration in 1991 from Ethiopia. The first Master Plan contained an elaborate and detailed program. It covered issues of housing, education, employment, and practical organization, together with policy guidelines regarding specific groups, including women, youths, and single-parent families. Like earlier absorption policies, it adopted a procedural approach which assumed that the immigrants were broadly similar to the existing majority population of Israel. The Plans were created with a firm belief in assimilation. As noted in this section, results have been disappointing, and suggest that much greater attention needs to be paid to issues of ethnicity.[2]

According to a 1999 BBC article, a report commissioned by Israel's Ministry of Immigrant Absorption stated that 75% of the 70,000 Ethiopian Beta Israel community, living in Israel in 1999 could not read or write Hebrew. More than half the population could not hold a simple conversation in the Hebrew language. Unlike Russian immigrants, many of whom arrived with job skills, Ethiopians came from a subsistence economy and were ill-prepared to work in an industrialized society. Since then, much progress has been made. Through military service, most Ethiopian Beta Israel have been able to increase their chances for better opportunities.[3] Today, most Ethiopian Beta Israel have been for the most part integrated into Israeli society; however, a high drop-out rate is a problem, although a higher number are now edging towards the higher areas of society. [citation needed]

In September 2006, the Israeli government's proposed 2007 budget included reducing Ethiopian immigration from 600 persons per month to 150. On the eve of the Knesset vote, the Prime Minister's office announced that the plan had been dropped. Advocates for the Falash Mura noted that although the quota was set at 600 per month in March 2005, actual immigration has remained at 300 per month.[4]

The first contact with Israel generally led to a culture shock amongst many of the new immigrants. Many of the Beta Israel immigrants, especially those who came from remote villages in Ethiopia, had never used electricity, elevators, flush toilets, or televisions. In addition, the adaptation to the Israeli cuisine was difficult. [citation needed]

The break-up of many of the close and extended families after being brought to the various integration centers in Israel, as well as the initial integration with the Israeli society was very difficult for many of the new immigrants. Name-changing also caused a symbolic break with the new immigrants' past. The Israeli authorities originally gave many of the new immigrants Hebrew given names, Hebrew names, and required them all to have family names, which did not exist in the Ethiopian society. These name-changes created a two-tier system, in which old and new names were used by the new immigrants. The immersion with the Hebrew language was not easy for the new immigrants, and the majority of the new immigrants never managed to master the language, even after living many years in Israel, resulting in a strong social marginalization. Finally, the questioning of their traditional religious practices by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel led to great confusion amongst the new immigrants.

Involvement in politics

The Atid Ehad party, now repurposed as an unrelated "shelf party", saw itself as the political representative of the community, though other parties include Ethiopian members. In 2006, Shas, a party representing Haredi Jews of Sephardic and Middle Eastern background, included an Ethiopian rabbi from Beersheba in its list for the Knesset, in a conscious attempt to represent diverse geographic and ethnic groups. Shas was not the only party attempting to appeal to the Ethiopian vote. Herut - The National Movement and Kadima both had Ethiopians on their lists. Shlomo Mula, head of the Jewish Agency's Ethiopian absorption department, was ranked 33rd on Kadima's list, and Avraham was number three on Herut's list.

In 2012, Israel appointed the country's first Ethiopian-born ambassador, Beylanesh Zevadia. According to the foreign minister of Israel, this represents an important milestone in fighting racism and prejudice. This was followed in 2020 by the appointment of Pnina Tamano-Shata to the post of Minister of Aliyah and Integration in the 35th Israeli government, as the first Ethiopian-born government minister.

Language

The main language used for communication among Israeli citizens and amongst the Ethiopian Beta Israel in Israel is Modern Hebrew. The majority of the Beta Israel immigrants continue to speak in Amharic (primarily) and Tigrinya at home with their family members and friends. The Amharic language and the Tigrinya language are written in the Ge'ez script, originally developed for the Ge'ez language used in Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Historically, Ethiopian Jews had spoken Agaw languages such as Qwara (nearly extinct) and Kayla (extinct).

Relations with Ethiopia

Although some non-Jewish Ethiopians expressed bitterness towards the Beta Israel emigration out of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Jews have close ties with Ethiopian people and tradition. Achievements by the Ethiopian Jews like Hagit Yaso winning the Kokhav Nolad creates a sense of pride in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government is also an important ally of Israel on the international stage. Israel often sends expert assistance for development projects in Ethiopia. Strategically, Israel "has always aspired to protect itself by means of a non-Arab belt that has included at various times Iran, Turkey, and Ethiopia".

Demography

The following is a list of the most significant Beta Israel population centers in Israel, as of 2006:

Netanya is home to the largest Beta Israel community in Israel.

Ethiopian Beta Israel Synagogue in Netivot.

The official memorial site to the memory of Ethiopian Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), who died in their way to Israel on Mount Herzl.

Gojo in Kfar HaNoar HaDati, Kfar Hasidim.

Rank	City	Total population	Beta Israel population	% of City Pop
1	Netanya	173,000	10,200	5.9
2	Beersheba	185,443	6,216	3.4
3	Ashdod	204,153	6,191	3.0
4	Rehovot	104,545	6,179	5.9
5	Haifa	266,280	5,484	2.1
6	Ashkelon	107,759	5,132	4.8
7	Rishon LeZion	222,041	5,004	2.3
8	Hadera	76,332	4,828	6.3
9	Jerusalem	733,329	4,526	0.6
10	Petah Tikva	184,196	4,041	2.2
11	Kiryat Malakhi	19,519	3,372	17.3
12	Ramla	64,172	3,297	5.1
13	Lod	66,776	3,176	4.8
14	Afula	39,274	3,123	8.0
15	Kiryat Gat	47,794	3,062	6.4
16	Beit Shemesh	69,482	2,470	3.6
17	Yavne	31,884	2,102	6.6
18	Kiryat Yam	37,201	1,672	4.5
19	Bat Yam	129,437	1,502	1.2
20	Safed	28,094	1,439	5.1
21	Gedera	15,462	1,380	8.9
22	Pardes Hanna-Karkur	29,835	1,333	4.5
23	Netivot	24,919	1,217	4.9
24	Be'er Ya'akov	9,356	1,039	11.1
25	Ness Ziona	30,951	986	3.2
26	Tel Aviv	384,399	970	0.3
27	Or Yehuda	31,255	903	2.9
28	Migdal HaEmek	24,705	882	3.6
29	Holon	167,080	825	0.5
30	Yokneam Illit	18,453	772	4.2
31	Kiryat Motzkin	39,707	769	1.9
32	Kiryat Ekron	9,900	735	7.4
34	Karmiel	44,108	667	1.5
35	Kfar Saba	81,265	665	0.8
36	Tirat Carmel	18,734	635	3.4
37	Arad	23,323	602	2.6
38	Ofakim	24,447	598	2.4
39	Nazareth Illit	43,577	596	1.4
40	Kiryat Bialik	36,497	524	1.4
41	Sderot	19,841	522	2.6
42	Ma'ale Adumim	31,754	506	1.6
43	Gan Yavne	15,826	501	3.2
44	Tiberias	39,996	483	1.2
45	Bnei Brak	147,940	461	0.3
46	Rosh HaAyin	37,453	424	1.1
47	Kfar Yona	14,118	413	2.9
48	Ra'anana	72,832	385	0.5
49	Kiryat Ata	49,466	350	0.7
50	Eilat	46,349	331	0.7
51	Nahariya	50,439	309	0.6
52	Herzliya	84,129	271	0.3
53	Beit She'an	16,432	230	1.4
54	Hod HaSharon	44,567	210	0.5
55	Yehud-Monosson	25,464	172	0.7
56	Nesher	21,246	166	0.8
57	Even Yehuda	9,711	163	1.7
58	Ofra	2,531	131	5.2
59	Kedumim	3,208	104	3.2
60	Ramat Gan	129,658	101	0.1

The city of Kiryat Malakhi has a large concentration of Ethiopian Beta Israel, with 17.3% of the town's population being members of the Beta Israel as of 2006. This proportion would slightly decline to 16% by 2019. Southern towns, including Qiryat Gat, Kiryat Malakhi, Be'er Sheva, Yavne, Ashkelon, Rehovot, Kiryat Ekron, and Gedera have significant Ethiopian Jewish populations.

Table - The Population of Ethiopian Origin at the End of 2022, in Main Localities

The following is a list of the most significant Beta Israel population centers in Israel in localities above 2,000 people, as of 2022, which account for 77.5% of the group's population.

Locality	Total population (thousands)	Total Population of Ethiopian origin (thousands)	Population of Ethiopian origin out of total population (%)
National Total	9,662.0	168.8	1.7
Netanya	233.1	12.2	5.2
Be’er Sheva	214.2	10.3	4.8
Rishon LeZiyyon	260.5	9.6	3.7
Ashqelon	153.1	9.0	5.9
Petah Tikva	255.4	8.9	3.5
Rehovot	150.7	7.7	5.1
Ashdod	226.8	7.5	3.3
Qiryat Gat	64.4	7.5	11.6
Jerusalem	981.7	6.6	0.7
Hadera	103.0	6.2	6.0
Haifa	290.3	5.8	2.0
Bet Shemesh	154.7	4.6	3.0
Ramla	79.1	4.5	5.7
Lod	85.4	4.4	5.1
Afula	61.5	3.9	6.4
Qiryat Mal’akhi	25.7	3.9	15.1
Yavne	56.2	3.8	6.7
Tel Aviv-Yafo	474.5	2.7	0.6
Holon	198.0	2.7	1.3
Bat Yam	128.5	2.6	2.0
Netivot	46.4	2.3	5.0
Qiryat Yam	41.1	2.1	5.2
Safed	38.0	2.1	5.4

(1) Localities with 2,000 or more residents of Ethiopian origin

Population of Ethiopian Origin by District, 2022

District	Ethiopian Israeli residents	% of total Ethiopian Israeli population
Central	62,361	36.9%
South	44,576	26.4%
Haifa	23,543	13.9%
North	12,235	7.3%
Jerusalem	11,800	7.0%
Tel Aviv	10,689	6.4%
West Bank*	3,461	2.1%
Total	166,845	100.0%

*Referred to as Judea & Samaria in the report.

Controversy

Discrimination claims

Men attending a demonstration against racism and discrimination, 2012

In May 2015, The Jewish Daily Forward described the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel as one that has "long complained of discrimination, racism, and poverty". The absorption of Ethiopians in Israeli society represents an ambitious attempt to deny the significance of race. Israeli authorities, aware of the situation of most African diaspora communities in other Western countries, hosted programs to avoid setting in patterns of discrimination. The Ethiopian Beta Israel community's internal challenges have been complicated by perceived racist attitudes in some sectors of Israeli society and the establishment.

In 2004, racism was alleged regarding delays in admitting Ethiopian Beta Israel to Israel under the Law of return. However, the delay may be attributed to religious motivations rather than racism, since there was debate whether or not Beta Israel people were indeed Jewish.

In 2005, racism was alleged when the mayor of Or Yehuda refused to accept a large increase in Ethiopian immigrants due to fear of having the property of the town decrease in value or having an increase in crime.

In 2009, schoolchildren of Ethiopian ancestry were denied admission into three semi-private Haredi schools in Petah Tikva. An Israeli government official criticized the Petah Tikva Municipality and the schools. Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef threatened to fire any school principal from Shas's school system who refused to receive Ethiopian students. The Israeli Education Ministry decided to pull funding from the Lamerhav, Da'at Mevinim, and Darkhei Noam schools, which refused to accept the students. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against the rejection of Ethiopian children, calling it "a moral terror attack".

Demonstrations in Israel have occurred protesting the alleged racism against Ethiopian immigrants.

Protests against police brutality

July 2019 Ethiopian Jews protest in Israel

In April 2015, an Ethiopian IDF soldier was the victim of an unprovoked and allegedly racist attack by an Israeli policeman and the attack was caught on video. The soldier, Damas Pakedeh, was arrested and then released, after being accused of attacking the policeman. Pakadeh is an orphan who emigrated from Ethiopia with his siblings in 2008. He believes the incident was racially motivated, and that, if the video had not been taken, he would have been punished. Instead, the police officer and volunteer were suspended pending an investigation. Likud MK Avraham Neguise called on National Police Chief Yohanan Danino to prosecute the police officer and volunteer, saying they engaged in "a gross violation of the basic law of respecting others and their liberty by those who are supposed to protect us". The Jerusalem Post notes that in 2015, "there have been a series of reports in the Israeli press about alleged acts of police brutality against Ethiopian Israelis, with many in the community saying they are unfairly targeted and treated more harshly than other citizens".

The incident of police brutality with Pakedeh and alleged brutality of officials from Israel's Administration of Border Crossings, Population, and Immigration with Walla Bayach, an Israeli of Ethiopian descent, brought the Ethiopian community to protest. Hundreds of Ethiopians participated in protests the streets of Jerusalem on April 20, 2015, to decry what they view as "rampant racism" and violence in Israel directed at their community. Israel Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino met with representatives of the Israeli Ethiopian community that day following the recent violent incidents involving police officers and members of the community. When over a thousand people protested police brutality against Ethiopians and dark-skinned Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced: "I strongly condemn the beating of the Ethiopian IDF soldier, and those responsible will be held accountable." Following protests and demonstrations in Tel Aviv that resulted in violence, Netanyahu planned to meet with representatives of the Ethiopian community, including Pakado. Netanyahu said the meeting would include Danino and representatives of several ministries, including Immigrant Absorption. Danino already announced that the officer who beat Pakado had been fired.

Large protests broke out in July 2019 after Solomon Teka, a young Ethiopian man, was shot and killed by an off-duty policy officer, in Kiryat Haim, Haifa, in northern Israel.

Blood donations

On January 24, 1996, Ma'ariv newspaper revealed a Magen David Adom policy that drew heavy criticism in Israel and worldwide. According to the policy, which was not brought to the attention of the Israeli Ministry of Health or donors, blood donations received from Ethiopian immigrants and their offspring were secretly disposed of. A later public inquiry traced this back to a misinterpretation of a 1984 instruction to mark blood donations from Ethiopian immigrants due to a relatively high prevalence of HBsAg, indicative of Hepatitis B infections, in blood samples taken from this population.

A few days after the expose, ten thousand Beta Israel demonstrated in front of the Office of the Prime Minister. The police force was surprised and unprepared for the violence that erupted, leading to policemen being injured by stones, sticks, and steel rods. The police repelled the demonstrators with rubber bullets, water cannons, and tear gas. 41 policemen and 20 demonstrators were injured, and 200 cars belonging to the employees of the Prime Minister's Office were damaged.

Tests conducted on 650 Ethiopian immigrants who immigrated to Israel in 1984–1990 and 5,200 Ethiopian immigrants who immigrated in 1990–1992 revealed no HIV carriers before July 1990. Nevertheless, among the 5,200 Ethiopian immigrants who immigrated during "Operation Solomon", there were 118 HIV carriers, who made up 2.3 percent of the test population.

The public outcry led to the establishment of a commission of inquiry headed by former Israeli president Yitzhak Navon. After several months, the committee published its conclusions, calling for a change in policy. The Committee did not find evidence of racism, although some researchers have contested this.

On November 6, 2006, hundreds of Ethiopian protesters clashed with police while attempting to block the entrance to Jerusalem in the wake of the Israeli Health Ministry's decision to continue the MDA policy of disposing of donations from high-risk groups.

To date, the MDA prohibits the use of blood donations from natives of sub-Saharan Africa, except South Africa, natives of Southeast Asia, natives of the Caribbean and natives of countries which have been widely affected by the AIDS epidemic, including donations from the natives of Ethiopia. Since 1991, all immigrants from Ethiopia undergo mandatory HIV screenings, regardless of their intention to donate blood.

Birth control

According to a TV program in 2012, female Ethiopian immigrants may have been given the Depo-Provera birth control drug under intimidation, and without full explanation of its effects, although, in response to a letter from the Association of Civil Rights in Israel, the Israeli health ministry instructed all health maintenance organizations not to use the treatment unless patients understand the ramifications. Ethiopian Jewish women awaiting aliyah were given birth control while in transit camps. The drug has existed for around thirty years and about forty percent of women use this method of birth control in Ethiopia.

The practice was first reported in 2010 by Isha le'Isha (Hebrew: Woman to Woman), an Israeli women's rights organization. Hedva Eyal, the report's author, stated: "We believe it is a method of reducing the number of births in a community that is black and mostly poor." Haaretz criticized international coverage of the issue, alleging that many Ethiopian women's procreational rights had been violated through poor medical practice on immigrant communities, but dismissed ideas of state-sponsored sterilization as false as the effects of Depo-Provera last only for three months.

According to Haaretz, the government investigation in 2016 into 35 Ethiopian women's claims found no evidence that forced birth control injections for Ethiopian-Israelis took place. In a subsequently published independent study, the rapid decline in fertility rate was shown to be "the product of urbanization, improved educational opportunities, a later age of marriage and commencement of childbirth and an earlier age of cessation of childbearing."

See also

• Ethiopia–Israel relations
• Ethiopian cuisine
• Aliyah from Ethiopia
• History of the Jews in Africa
• History of the Jews in Ethiopia
• Jewish Agency for Israel
• Jewish ethnic divisions
• List of Israeli Ethiopian Jews
• The Red Sea Diving Resort

External links

• Beta Israel: Society and Culture – Ethiopian Jews
• Ethio-struggle
• Yopi – The Ethiopian Portal
• Association of Ethiopian Jews website