Ethiopian Jews in Israel

In this blog post, I will be analyzing Ethiopian Jews, specifically, a brief historic background of this ethnic group, along with how they are handling life in Israel. I will cover how and when most were brought to Israel, and also dive into the difficulties they’ve endured since arriving. I hope to achieve this topic by using sources that have information on the Ethiopian Jews, specifically Donna Rosenthal’s “The Israelis,” as well as other sources such as Haaretz News, and a research report done by Israeli organizations.

The Ethiopians are believed to be amongst the oldest Jews in the world. According Rosenthal, there is mass belief that the Ethiopian Jews began in the times of Moses, one of the most important figures in Judaic lore. It is believed that Moses had a black wife around the year 740 B.C.E who hailed from Kush, the name which is given to Ethiopia in the bible. Many scholars and historians are under the impression that these Jews are related to a legendary tribe named “Dan,” which, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, is one of the twelve founding tribes of the Jewish people. It is difficult to tell how Rosenthal feels about the Ethiopians, as she simply presents information, however one can guess that she admires their determination and survival skills. There is a large amount of confusion and even more questions that surround these Ethiopian Jews, but it is unlikely any theories are reliable, as there is little to no evidence to support these claims, and most of these claims are purely speculative.

Although their origin is unclear, what is clear is the impressive nature of these Ethiopian Jews. From their ability to survive and maintain a strict religion and tradition for thousands of generations, to the resolve and determination they showed in getting out of Ethiopia and into Israel, the Ethiopian Jews are a courageous bunch. Solomon Ezra, an Ethiopian Israeli Air Force officer, tells Donna Rosenthal about his experience in one of the most famous and daring mass exoduses in modern history.

Ethiopian Jews stuffed into a Jet during Operation Solomon, 1991

On May 23, 1991, the Israeli Air Force sent 33 unmarked El Al and Israeli Air Force aircraft to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. For months prior to May 23, Solomon Ezra had been bribing Ethiopian officials into smuggling Jews out of their villages and into the capital for evacuation. However, time was winding down and rebel troops were closing in on the Ethiopian capital; it didn’t look like their promises of Jerusalem was coming true. Finally, at 1:45 A.M., the Israeli Government granted permission to begin evacuation. That night, 14,324 Ethiopian Jews crammed onto 33 jets, one of which carried over 1,000 Jews, a world record. The average jet was able to hold about 500 passengers. When Ezra asked a pilot how many he is able to fit in a plane, the pilot told him he could cram in over 1,000 passengers. “It’s okay. I don’t want to leave any of my people behind.” The pilot told Ezra. “I never felt more proud to be an Israeli,” (Rosenthal 158) Ezra tells Rosenthal of his mission to save the Ethiopian Jews, and the willingness the pilots and his fellow Israelis had to sacrifice their well-being for people they did not know. Until this day, this operation, named Operation Solomon, is one of the most famous and impactful missions. It has changed the landscape of Israel since, in terms of social life, religious life, and day-to-day life.

Ethiopian Jew being arrested by Israeli Police

Ethiopians are doing what they can to make sure that sacrificing their way of life to a more modern life was not a mistake. However, they are finding this to be very difficult within Israel. In a recent article by Haaretz, Lee Yaron investigated the high rate of arrests against Ethiopian Israeli Jews. She goes into the reaction of the Ethiopian community, what is being done to stop this police prejudice against Ethiopians, and gives scenarios in unfair treatment of Ethiopians from police. Although she does not explicitly express her opinion, she seems to present a biased towards the Ethiopians, as she did not report any stories of Ethiopian violence against police. What Yaron found was that although Ethiopians make up 2% of the Israeli population, in 2007 police reported that of all 5,785 reported assaults against police, 6% were committed by Ethiopians. In 2015, that same 2% of the population accounted for 12% of 5,800 reported assaults against police. Yaron writes about an Ethiopian man who was arrested twice because police were suspicious of him breaking into cars. “For years we’ve been crying out over the police’s racist treatment toward us because of our skin color, which turns us into the immediate suspects. Now we have figures to back it up,” said Ziva Mekonen-Dagu, who is the head of the association specific to Ethiopian Jews.  Mekonen-Dagu also mentioned that the man’s nephew was arrested simply because he was walking through a nice neighborhood and police felt that he should not be in that neighborhood. Many police have recommended change through Ethiopian assimilation. Their recommendations included more Ethiopians in the police force and Israeli Defense Forces, as well as adding Amharic speaking police emergency hotline dispatchers. While the Ethiopians still see difficulties in everyday life, their community may be more on the rise than most people expect.

No piece of evidence on the Israeli Ethiopians can be more reliable than one done by the State of Israel. In recent demographic research done with the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, Israeli Ethiopians and their trends within society were studied. The study showed information on many basic aspects such as basic population information, education level within Ethiopians communities, employment rates, and housing information. The study shows that the Israeli Ethiopian is fairly young, with 84% being under the age of 45, and 47% being under 19. This is a positive statistic, as it indicates increasing growth for their population and continued longevity. In the department of education levels, however, there seems to be a bit of a problem. While there is an increase in education level within the Ethiopian community, education level gaps remain between Israeli Ethiopian Jews aged 22-64 and non-Ethiopian Israeli Jews of the same age. The study showed that as each level of schooling increased (8 years, 12 years, and 13+ years) the gap increased with it. Ethiopians have 51.5% more students who graduate with 8 years, 5% less students who graduate with 12 years, and the most staggering and alarming number, 42% less students with 13+ years. College campuses, whether it is in Israel or abroad, are seriously lacking in the number of Israeli Ethiopian Jews. Another staggering statistic is Ethiopian unemployment rates. At the time of the study, Israel’s unemployment rate was 7% of the general population. Ethiopian Israelis, on the other hand, doubled that rate, with a 14% unemployment rate within the Ethiopian Israeli population.

Because of their ancestry and tie to their Jewish brothers and sisters, the Ethiopian community will be a part of the State of Israel for many years to come. The question, however, remains; how will they be treated in Israel? Will life for the Ethiopians further worsen, remain the same, or improve? Israeli citizens and communities will watch closely, and hopefully assist their fellow countrymen in living a happy and comfortable life in Israel.