Her husband, a policeman who worked 100 miles from the capital, met her at the embassy, where they boarded buses. Though they boarded the crowded jet without any of their possessions, Mulat said she felt content. She was finally going to the Jewish homeland. Today, despite 10 years of sizable government subsidies, about 80,000 black Israelis live in increasingly segregated neighborhoods, attend schools that are below average and trail in the job market, according to the study, by the Joint Distribution Committee, a Jewish welfare organization. The immigrants receive large government subsidies for housing and education, but critics say little thought goes into how the funds are used.
Activists also blame a paternalistic attitude on the part of the authorities.
The picture is not completely bleak. Between 1994 and 1999, Ethiopian students who passed college entrance examinations increased from 7 percent to 30 percent. Many Ethiopian immigrants have joined combat and elite units of the Israeli army. But after finishing their military service, many become disillusioned by their limited prospects. The immigrants say they encounter racism in the housing and job markets.