Ethiopian Jews in Israel

Ethiopian Jews in Israel or Beta Israel are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants from the Beta Israel communities in Ethiopia. To a lesser extent, the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel also includes Falash Mura, a community of Beta Israel who had converted to Christianity over the course of the prior 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 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.
The first Ethiopian Jews who settled in Israel in modern times came in 1934 along with the Yemenite Jews from Italian Eritrea.
Between 1963 and 1975, a relatively small group of Beta Israel moved to Israel. They were mainly men who had come to Israel on a tourist visa, and then remained in the country.
In 1973, Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, cited a rabbinic ruling of the Radbaz, Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, and two former Ashkenazic chief rabbis of Israel, Abraham Isaac Kook and Isaac Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, declaring the Beta Yisrael Jews according to Halachah. He said: "It 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, Ashkenazi Rabbi Shlomo Goren also ruled that the Ethiopian Jews are a part of the Jewish people and this had already been established by Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook.
In April 1975, the Israeli government of Yitzhak Rabin officially accepted the Beta Israel as Jews for the purpose of the Law of Return (which grants all Jews in the right to immigrate to Israel).
From 1975 onwards, the majority of the Ethiopian Jews made aliyah under the 1950 Law of Return. Several undercover rescue missions were organized by activists and Mossad agents to get them out of Ethiopia.
The largest obstacle facing the Israeli Ethiopian Beta Israel community is likely the low level of formal education of the majority of immigrants, who lacked the necessary skills for a developed economy like Israel. Because of the rural nature of Ethiopia, illiteracy was widespread, although young people were better educated,. As a result, the incredibly abrupt transition from Ethiopian village life to Israel had a significant impact on their integration into Israeli society. On a number of important socioeconomic indicators, Israelis of Ethiopian descent rank below the general hebrew speaking.
Due to those challenges, the Israeli government created several programs better the Ethiopian Jews in Israel's socio-economic status and to narrow and close educational gaps. One such program is the ministry of education's "New Way" program for integrating students of Ethiopian descent in the education system.
Among the key achievements of the program was the increase in bagrut eligibility rates among students of Ethiopian descent. In the 2023/4 school year, 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. In 2023/4, the rate of eligibility for Bagrut certificate among students of Ethiopian descent equaled the rate of eligibility among all Hebrew speakers for the first time, After a cumulative increase of 12.5% since 2017/18.
In the 2022/3 school year, The rate of eligibility for bagrut 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.[1][2] this gap is still high in comparison to the gap in bagrut eligibility.
Between 2016/17 and 2022 The gap between students of Ethiopian descent and students in the general Hebrew education system in the Meitzav exam in Hebrew and reading decreases from 0.89 to 0.56 standard deviations in 8th grade and from 0.63 to 0.36 standard deviations in 5th grade.
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 .
In 2019 The net income per household among Israelis of Ethiopian descent amounted to 14,027 NIS compared to 17,779 NIS for all Jewish households and 11,810 NIS for Arab households.
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]
Unlike Russian immigrants, many of whom arrived with job skills, Most 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].
The first Ethiopian-born Knesset member to serve in the 14th Knesset was Addisu Masala, representing the Labor Party. He was previously a member of the Marxist Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party organization in Ethiopia, and in Israel he became a Knesset member in the 1996 elections.
In 2012, Israel appointed the country's first Ethiopian-born ambassador, Beylanesh Zevadia. 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.
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.
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. 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".
The following is a list of the most significant Beta Israel population centers in Israel, as of 2006:
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.
(1) Localities with 2,000 or more residents of Ethiopian origin
*Referred to as Judea & Samaria in the report.
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 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.
Demonstrations in Israel have occurred protesting the alleged racism against Ethiopian immigrants.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On 8 December 2012, the TV program Vaccum with Gal Gabai claimed that in 2004, female Ethiopian Jewish immigrants were forced to take the birth control Depo-Provera without full explanation of its effects as a prerequisite for immigration to Israel. 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.
The practice was first reported in 2010 by Isha le'Isha (Hebrew: Woman to Woman), an Israeli women's rights organization. Hedva Eyal, the author of the report, 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, stating that although some Ethiopian Jewish women's procreational rights had been violated through medical malpractice, these effects would only last for three months, and that any claims of a state-sponsored sterilization were falsehoods warped by circular reporting. The newspaper would also issue a correction to their earlier reporting on the story.
A 2016 investigation into the claims of the 35 women found no evidence that forced birth control injections of Ethiopian Jews took place. In a subsequent independent study, the 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."