jpr / report No. 1 1998 Ethiopian immigrants in Israel: experience and prospects
Forward Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto
Me, 0 children of Israel? saith the Lord.
(Amos IX,7)
The manner in which the old-new nation of Israel
practises the biblical Jewish value of tzedakkah—
social justice—in the contemporary world is the
subject of this important and timely report by
Steven Kaplan and Hagar Salamon. It introduces a
new human rights 'track' within JPR's Israel
Programme that signifies a commitment to widen
our policy research agenda to include issues
concerning the treatment of minority communities.
The dramatic rescue of thousands of Ethiopian
Jews from war, famine and oppression and their
transportation 'on eagles' wings' (Exodus XIX, 4)
by the Israel airforce to a sanctuary in the
'Promised Land' appears to fulfil in our days the
promises of the Hebrew prophets, repeated in
Jewish prayers over two millennia, about kibbutz galuyot—'the ingathering of the exiles' to Zion.
'Operation Moses' in 1984 and 'Operation
Solomon' in 1991 were unique events: for the first
time in history, black people were taken from
Africa not in order to enslave them but to
welcome them as full and equal citizens of a
democracy. The altruism of the Israeli public was
matched by an unusual consensus among Israel's
normally bitterly divided political factions: it was
agreed that there was a sacred duty to rescue,
without reservation or regard to the costs
involved, all the Ethiopian Jews, including the
sick, the elderly, 'the widow and the orphan'. This
principled stand made Jews worldwide feel
proud. Many saw in Israel's generosity of spirit a
moral indictment of other nations' inaction and
hypocrisy when confronted by refugee crises both
during and since the Nazi era. The dramatic
events in the Horn of Africa also provided Jews
with clear evidence to rebut the Soviet-inspired
antisemitic canard that Zionism equalled racism. It
was a tangible demonstration, in Isaiah's phrase,
of Israel's fulfilling the role of or la'goyim—'a light
unto the nations'—and of Judaism's impulse to
practise charity rather than preach it.
But these are not messianic days and the saga of
the Ethiopian Jews did not end with the drama of
successful rescue. It had to be followed up by the
less glamorous task of rehabilitation and
resettlement. The challenge of settling
newcomers from a rural Third World background
in an urban environment in an advanced Western
economy now faced the Israeli authorities. There
were the practical problems of the social
adaptation by penniless, tradition-minded, tribal
people to a free-market, consumer-oriented
economy in an individualistic society. Moreover,
there was an unpredictable psychological
element: the status of the Ethiopian Jewish
community was inverted—from that of a pariah
group and religious minority (albeit part of the
majority in terms of colour and language) in Africa,
to that of part of the dominant Jewish majority
(albeit, in terms of language and colour, a readily
identifiable group) in Israel.
In analyzing the problems of resettling the
Ethiopian Jews in Israel, we enter the familiar
territory of current political debate in free societies
on the contentious area of public policy—welfare,
jobs, housing, education—and the limits of
interventionist strategies and social engineering
by even well-meaning governments. Questions of
race, disadvantage and social exclusion bedevil
most contemporary Western societies. Integrating
large numbers of poor, black immigrants into an
affluent society is not a problem unique to Israel.
However, because of Israel's Law of Return, the
Israeli situation stands in marked contrast to that
in West European countries or North America. As
Jews, the Ethiopians entered not as refugees or
asylum-seekers but with the automatic right to
settle in the country and to participate fully in
national life as citizens from the day of their arrival.
As this report demonstrates, while legal
citizenship confers the rights of membership of
the body politic and the duties of participation on
those who would seek to become insiders in the
nation-state, it does not automatically translate
into integration and social equality. Therefore, this
case study is of wider interest to those concerned
with social policy and race relations. Israel has
unparalleled experience in coping with the sudden
influx of newcomers and a fine record in the
absorption of traumatized refugees and their
transformation into productive and patriotic
citizens. The state provides an impressive array of
special benefits for immigrants including
language classes, health coverage, counselling,
job training, housing and mortgage loan facilities
and a commitment to affirmative action in the
military and higher education. Yet, notwithstanding
these assets, and the positive start and
widespread goodwill displayed towards the
Ethiopian Jews, the findings are chastening.
Despite the Israeli determination to deny the
significance of race and to emphasize the
commonality of religion and Zionist ideology,
many of the facts reported here are problems
common to the global African diaspora—e.g.
above-average rates of single parents, male
unemployment and low-wage jobs, and
dependence on welfare. Particularly noteworthy is
the transmission of this disadvantage to the
youth, who are prone to under-achievement in
education and over-representation in special
education classes.
These social problems, as well as official indecision
on issues such as dispersal and concentration in
housing, the unforeseen results of exposure to
HIV/AIDS and the unhelpful attitude of the
Orthodox rabbinate, have served to increase
stereotyping by the general public as well as
disaffection and charges of racism on the part of
the Ethiopians. In defence of the authorities, it
must be said that more pressing political
problems, such as the peace process, have
claimed Israel's attention. It can also be argued
that the 1990s and the swiftly changing, complex
society of Israel were not a propitious time and
place for this immigration. The egalitarian and
austere atmosphere of 1950s Israel, which was
dominated by agricultural pioneering, would no
doubt have provided a more compatible
environment for the Ethiopians, in particular adults
with experience of dry-land farming.
The story of the Ethiopian Jews in Israel is
unfinished but the current realities have to be
faced. This report shows that the health of Israeli
society and the pursuit of social justice require the
authorities to pay far more attention to social
policy and minority questions in the future. They
will have to develop quantitative and qualitative
indicators for comparative analysis of social
development among the various edot— ethnic
communities. As the report suggests, in order to
accomplish this result, the Israeli authorities will
have to provide for the collection and availability of
relevant demographic and socio-economic data on
minorities and for ethnic monitoring and make
them available for public scrutiny.
Perplexing dilemmas and fundamental policy
questions which remain unanswered by Israel's
elites are relevant to, but beyond the scope of,
this report and the Ethiopian experience. Does the
concept of citizenship confer social as well as
political rights and are these rights conferred on
individuals or the group? Does common
citizenship imply an acculturation process? Are
there limits to differences that cannot be contained
within the boundaries of a liberal democracy?
How far should, and could, a new nation like Israel
go in meeting the demands for cultural recognition
and accommodation by the various edot? These
questions go to the heart of the contemporary
debate on social justice and the treatment of
minorities in today's world. Clearly, Israel is not
the only country which confronts these challenges.
Glossary of Hebrew and Amharic words
In 1977 all but approximately 100 Beta Israel (Falasha) lived in Ethiopia. Today, as a result of immigration and natural growth, close to 65,000 Ethiopians live in Israel and only a handful remain in Africa. Demographically, the Ethiopian community is comparatively young: over 50 per cent are aged eighteen or under. The community also contains a high percentage of both one-parent families (27 per cent) and large households with six or more members. Attempts have been made to avoid settling too many Ethiopians in deprived areas. Yet a comparatively large number of Ethiopians live in communities with social and economic problems and this affects their educational opportunities. Providing educational frameworks for the immigrants has proven to be one of the most complex challenges facing successive Israeli governments. The decision to send most Ethiopians to religious state schools has further complicated this situation by reducing the options available to municipal authorities. Ethiopians are less likely to attend non-compulsory pre-school and more likely to be directed to special education than other Israelis. Many Ethiopians in elementary school achieve results worse than those of their native-born peers. Although the percentage of Ethiopian teenagers sent to Youth Aliyah boarding schools has decreased, secondary education also remains a problem. Ethiopians have the lowest percentage (12) of students who matriculate of any Israeli ethnic group. Nevertheless, special programmes and financial incentives in higher education have resulted in a steady rise in Ethiopian university enrolment. An increasing problem is the large number of youths who have either dropped out of school or whose attendance or other aspects of their behaviour have caused them to be defined as 'at risk'. The proportion of Ethiopians serving in the Israeli army is rising: 95 per cent of Ethiopian boys (compared to 80 per cent of native Israelis) eligible for service were inducted in both 1995 and 1996. The Ethiopians themselves usually cite their poor economic situation as their greatest problem in Israel. Age, illness and childcare responsibilities mean that Ethiopians are less likely to be in the labour force than other Israelis. Their demographic profile produces serious economic distress when combined with high unemployment and low wages. A lack of skills means those seeking work are often unsuccessful. Local surveys reveal that more than 50 per cent of Ethiopian households have no breadwinner. The arrival of Ethiopian immigrants has confronted the Israeli medical authorities with a variety of challenges. Many of the Ethiopians had been exposed to HIV in the Ethiopian capital. When it was discovered that blood donations of almost all Ethiopian Jews were being secretly destroyed, protests and riots resulted. This policy is currently being revised and an extensive health education programme has been developed. The trauma of their migration experiences and the shock of adapting to life in Israel have produced problems such as post-traumatic shock syndrome, depression and psychosomatic diseases. In Ethiopia the Beta Israel were not familiar with Halakha (rabbinic law) and were unable to perform conversions or divorces in accordance with it. This has led to doubts as to the personal status of community members. Ethiopian religious leaders are not recognized in Israel as equivalent to rabbis. Some, however, have received training and serve on local religious councils. Recently, some Ethiopian rabbis have been trained. The marginalization of the elders and clergy is significant. In their place a generation of young male leaders has emerged. Regional differences, political conflicts and varying lengths of residence in Israel have led to a multiplicity of organizations. The Ethiopians' social system and cultural heritage is threatened. Their patterns of family life have been transformed and there have been changes in the social status of both women and children. Simultaneously, their distinctive religious practice, use of Ethiopian languages and oral communal heritage have been seriously weakened in the encounter with Israeli Jewish life. Although instances of institutionalized racism are comparatively few, prejudice and ignorance have had a serious impact on the Ethiopians' full integration. 1/ Introduction The Beta Israel (Falasha) of Ethiopia—or, as they
are more commonly called today—Ethiopian
Jews, may be per capita the most talked about
and written about group in the world. Each time
they have been 'discovered' and 'rediscovered' a
flood of articles and books has ensued. The past
decade alone has seen more than a dozen books,
hundreds of articles and several international
scientific conferences.(1) Yet, despite all this
attention many features of Ethiopian Jewish life
remain little understood. Nowhere is this truer
than with regard to their immigration and
adaptation to Israeli society.
Two decades ago, at the beginning of 1977, fewer
than 100 Beta Israel lived in Israel. By the middle
of 1997 more than 50,000 Ethiopian immigrants
had settled in the country (Table 1). When the
more than 16,000 children born in Israel are
included (and those who have died subtracted),
the Ethiopian community of Israel can be said to
number close to 65,000. Seldom has any
community undergone so dramatic, complete and
irreversible a change in so short a period.
Owing to the speed and ongoing dynamics of
these changes any attempt to document and
analyze them is a daunting task. While
immigration to Israel brought with it one set of
immediate and highly visible changes, the ongoing
transformation of Ethiopian Jewry continues to
take place on a daily basis in a less visible but no
less significant way.
One factor that makes an evaluation of the
Ethiopian immigrants particularly difficult is the
lack of reliable authoritative quantitative data. The
longer Ethiopian immigrants and their children are
in the country the less likely they are to be treated
as a separate category or to be the concern of a
single government ministry or authority. The
Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, for example,
has responsibility for all immigrants during their
first years in the country, but thereafter their
follow-up is sporadic and depends largely on
voluntary reporting of births, deaths, marriages,
divorces and moves from one city or another. Not
only do government ministries and private groups
differ among themselves regarding many figures,
they often publish data which contain internal
contradictions or refute claims they have made
previously.(2) Even the most basic facts, such as
the number of Ethiopian immigrants who arrived
in Israel each year, have been the subject of
disagreement. In most cases, such discrepancies
are minor and do not result in serious differences
of opinion regarding overall trends. In such
instances, we have made every effort to publish
the most reliable figures from the most reputable
sources. Minor variants have not been noted.
However, in cases in which the differing numbers
result in markedly different interpretations of the
Ethiopians' situation, we have noted such
differences and their implications.
In 1994 the American Jewish Committee
published a comprehensive article on Ethiopian
Jews in Israel.(3) This article remains the single
most complete source of data and information in
English on Ethiopian immigrants in Israel. Yet,
even though it continued to be updated until the
last minute, this document is, inevitably, in need
of major revision. In the intervening years the
Ethiopian population in Israel has grown through aliyah (immigration) and internal growth from
about 50,000 individuals to over 64,000. At the
time of its completion, moreover, most Ethiopian
immigrants had been in Israel for less than three
years. Many of the major challenges they faced
were directly connected to their initial settlement
in the country and this report was, accordingly,
rich in background data on their arrival and initial
transition to life in Israel. To cite the most striking
example, when the American Jewish Yearbook
article was written, almost half the Ethiopians in
the country were still in temporary housing—
mobile homes, absorption centres and hotels.
Their move to permanent housing and hence their
encounter with host communities, schools and
jobs were all to take place in the future. Today,
only a comparatively small number of those who
have been in Israel since 1994 remain in
temporary housing.
As we document below, ongoing long-term issues
including education, employment, health and
social integration have taken centre stage in
recent years. This report will offer only such
background information as is necessary for an
understanding of the immediate concerns which
dominate the lives of Ethiopians in Israel today.
Acknowledgements
The following people assisted us in the
preparation of this report by sharing their
thoughts, experiences and sources of information.
We wish to express our sincere gratitude to all of
them. They bear no responsibility for the contents
of the report itself.
Professor Menachem Amir, Department of
Criminology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
1 The most comprehensive bibliography on Ethiopian Jews published
to date is Steven Kaplan and Shoshana Ben-Dor, Ethiopian Jewry:
An Annotated Bibliography (Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute 1988). It is
currently being updated by the authors of the present report.
2 In January 1996 the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption prepared a
report in English, The Absorption of Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel:
The Present Situation and Future Objectives, which stated (p.1)
'[S]ome60% of the population are under the age of 18.' In the
same month it published a report in Hebrew—Uzi Gdor, 'The
Absorption of Ethiopian Immigrants 1992-1995' (Jerusalem: Ministry
of Immigrant Absorption 1996), which stated (p. 28) that 53 per cent
of all Ethiopians were under the age of eighteen. An unpublished
working paper entitled 'Educational Integration of Ethiopian
Immigrants in Israel' prepared in February 1997 states (p. 2) that a
total of 9,000 Ethiopians were born in Israel, but that there are
8,000 children aged 0-4. As we indicate in this report, the total
number of Ethiopian children bom in Israel is probably over 16,000.
3 Steven Kaplan and Chaim Rosen, 'Ethiopian Jews in Israel', in David
Singer and Ruth R. Seldin (eds.), American Jewish Yearbook 1994
(New York: American Jewish Committee 1994), 59-109. 2/ Immigrations of Ethiopian Jews Despite the speed with which it took place, the
Ethiopian immigration was not a single event but
a series of waves each with its own special
characteristics. Prior to 1980, for example, only
about 250 Ethiopian immigrants had come to
Israel. Starting in 1980, Jews from the relatively
isolated regions of Tigre and Walqayit began to
migrate to refugee camps in the Sudan. Although
some were to wait there for as long as two or
three years, by the end of 1983 the entire
population of these regions (over 4,000 people)
had been taken to Israel.
As word spread of this Sudanese route, Jews
from the Gondar region driven by a desire to reach
Israel began to migrate as well. As conditions in
the Sudan deteriorated, the Israeli government
abandoned its policy of gradual immigraion.
Between mid-November 1984 and early January
1985, 6,700 Ethiopians were taken to Israel in
what came to be known as 'Operation Moses'.(4)
Following an Israeli press conference confirming
the airlift, the Sudanese suspended the operation,
stranding hundreds of people. A few months later,
the ClA-sponsored 'Operation Joshua/Sheba'
brought a further 648 Jews to Israel.
From August 1985 until the end of 1989 only
about 2,500 immigrants reached Israel. The
restoration of diplomatic relations between Ethiopia
and Israel in the autumn of 1989, however,
cleared the way for a renewal of emigration in a
manner agreeable to both countries. It also raised
expectations among Beta Israel and, by the
summer of 1990, over 20,000 Ethiopian Jews had
migrated to Addis Ababa, where they faced
disease, malnutrition and inadequate housing.
When Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam
fled the country in mid-May as rebel forces
advanced on the capital, a dramatic rescue effort
was executed. During a period of thirty-six hours,
between 24 and 25 May, over 14,000 Beta Israel
were taken to Israel in 'Operation Solomon'.(5)
Even after the completion of 'Operation Solomon',
small groups of Jews remained in remote
provinces in Ethiopia. Over the course of time
most of these were contacted and efforts made
to bring them to Israel. More problematic,
however, is the issue of Christian Ethiopians of
Jewish (Falasha) descent. Although it had
generally been believed that the Beta Israel
community had clearly defined borders which
separated it from its Christian neighbours, in
recent years this picture has been greatly revised.
It is now recognized that a large community of
Falasha converts also existed. Several thousand of
these had migrated to Addis Ababa in 1991.
Others had remained in their villages.
At the time of 'Operation Solomon' it was decided
to leave these converts—known as Falas/Faras
Mura—in Ethiopia. In recent years the right of
these converts to come to Israel has been the
subject of fierce controversy. Many have close
relatives in Israel and those who have resided in
Addis since 1991 have little possibility of returning
to their previous villages or lives. Those residing in
the Ethiopian capital (about 2,900 in January 1997)
have, moreover, been exposed to Israelis and
rabbinic Judaism for several years and some have
even formally converted (or in the view of some
'returned') to Judaism. In November 1996 the
Israeli chief rabbinate, which had hitherto been
supportive of efforts to cultivate ties with the
Falas Mura, withdrew this support, citing doubts
about the genuineness of the converts and their
connections to Judaism. Several members of the
Ethiopian community also questioned the wisdom
of bringing former Christians to Israel. Others,
noting the high rate of HIV- positive cases
(between 5 and 10 per cent) among those in
Addis Ababa, have questioned the public health
risk of this immigration. The Ethiopian government
for its part has objected to what it views as a
provocative intervention in its internal affairs and
has claimed that the number of potential
immigrants willing to identify themselves as
converts from Judaism could be in the tens or
even hundreds of thousands.(6)
Source: Jerusalem, Central Bureau of Statistics
4 For greater detail see Tudor Parfitt, Operation Moses
(London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson 1985) and Louis Rapoport, Redemption
Song: The Story of Operation Moses (New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich 1986). For a more critical perspective see Ahmed
Karadawi. 'The smuggling of the Ethiopian Falasha to Israel through
Sudan', Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 29, no. 4, 1991, 557-81.
5 No English account of Operation Solomon has been published to date,
although one is being prepared by Steven Spector of SUNY, Stony
Brook. See also Ya'acov Friedmann, 'Operation Solomon: One Year and
Thirty-One Hours' (Jerusalem: Amitai Publishers 1992) (in Hebrew)
6 Steven Kaplan, 'Falasha Christians: a brief history', Midstream,
January 1993, 20-21; Don Seeman, 'One People, One Blood:
Religious Conversion, Public Health and Immigration as Social Experience for Ethiopian-Israelis', PhD dissertation, Harvard
University 1997; Hagar Salamon, 'Between ethnicity and
religiosity—internal group aspects of conversion among the Beta
Israel in Ethiopia', Pe'amim, no. 58, 1994. 104-99.
3/ Demographic data Nowhere is the difficulty of acquiring reliable data
concerning Ethiopian immigrants clearer than in
the collection of demographic information. Since
immigrants had no written documentation
regarding their age or marital status, Israeli
officials have had to rely on the immigrants' own
personal testimony. However, few Ethiopians
knew their exact date of birth. The Ethiopian
calendar differs from that used in the West both
with regard to the months and years. Thus, for
example, the year 1997 is divided between the
years 1989/90 of the Ethiopian calendar. The
migration process disrupted many family units,
making accurate descriptions of kinship ties
difficult to obtain. In addition, immigrants quickly
learned to 'work the system' by providing
information most to their advantage. Thus, those
in their fifties might add years in order to qualify
for pensions rather than being sent to
occupational training; those in their twenties
might subtract years to qualify for boarding school
rather than being inducted into the army or
prepared for employment. Requests to 'correct'
information are common.
No nationwide data exist concerning the size or
composition of Ethiopian families in Israel. The
Ministry of Absorption, however, has partial
information on 15,558 households, which include
about 80 per cent of the Ethiopians in the
country.(7) A comparison of data on age distribution
provided by the Ministry with figures on births
available through the Central Bureau of Statistics
makes it clear that many of the 'missing' 20 per
cent are children born in Israel. (Only one in nine
children born in the past five years have been
reported.) In addition, patterns found in the
Ministry's data can be checked against surveys
conducted by the JDC-Brookdale Institute in six
communities. Although not comprehensive, the
combination of these sources offers a reliable
overview of the demographics of the Ethiopian
community in Israel.(8)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||