Ethiopian Jews in Israel
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (125,500 (2011) 1.75% of the Israeli population) |
|
| Languages | |
| Hebrew · Amharic · Tigrinya | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism (Haymanot · Rabbinism) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Falash Mura · Beta Abraham |
Ethiopian Jews in Israel are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Beta Israel communities of Ethiopia, who now reside in Israel.
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 125,500 citizens of Ethiopian descent in 2011, who are mainly assembled in the smaller urban areas of central Israel.
The first Ethiopian Jews who settled in Israel in the modern times came in 1934 along with the Yemenite Jews from Italian Eritrea.
Between the years 1963 and 1975 a relatively small group of Beta Israel emigrated to Israel. The Beta Israel immigrants in that period were mainly very few men who have studied and came to Israel on a tourist visa and then remained in the country illegally.
Several of their supporters in Israel, who recognized their "Jewishness" decided to assist them. These supporters began organizing in associations, among others under the direction of Ovadia Hazzi, an Eritrean born Yemeni Jew and former sergeant in the Israeli army. Several of those illegal immigrants managed to get a regularization with the Israeli authorities through the assistance of these support associations. Some agreed to "convert" to Judaism, which helped them regulated their personal status and remain in Israel. People who get their regularization often brought their families to Israel as well.
In 1973, Ovadia Hazzi officially raised the question of the "Jewishness" of the Beta Israel to the Israeli Sephardi Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The rabbi, who cited a rabbinic ruling from the 16th century David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra and asserted that the Beta Israel are descended from the lost tribe of Dan, and eventually acknowledged their "Jewishness" in February 1973. This ruling was initially rejected by the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, who eventually changed his opinion on the matter in 1974.
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Wikipedia