Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Ethiopian Jews in Israel

(27 September 2011,VANCOUVER)--Professor Steven Kaplan discussed Ethiopian Jews: A Part of the People or Apart from the People to an enthusiastic audience recently during The Best of Hebrew U’s Stretch Your Mind weekend sponsored by the Canadian Friends of Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

An expert on Ethiopia and its various communities, Kaplan considered housing, education and religious issues facing Ethiopians in Israel.

Jewish influence on Ethiopian culture is irrefutable, claims Kaplan, who mentioned that the days of the week in Amharic (Ethiopia’s official language) uses numbers for its days, just like in Hebrew, except for Friday, which is "Arb" in Amharic, like "Erev,” which is “evening” in Hebrew, in this case before Shabbat.

He also pointed out similar cultural characteristics among the Ethiopian Christians, including circumcision of boys on about the eighth day, resting on Saturday, and avoiding eating pork.

 Most Ethiopian Jews came to Israel as part of the government’s rescue efforts in 1984-85’s Operation Moses and 1991’s Operation Solomon. About 40,000 Ethiopian Jews arrived during these major airlifts. Since 1991 another 45,000 Ethiopians settled in Israel.

During this period another 45,000 Ethiopian Israelis were born in Israel. At 130,000 out of a general population of 7 million citizens, Ethiopians remain numerically small.

Nonetheless, Kaplan maintains, what happens to this small minority community will prove “disproportionately important,” because they are a visible minority so any failures in their aliyah and settlement process will “reverberate in Israeli society.”

Hence, how the Ethiopians are absorbed, he says, “is a major test” for Israel “beyond what the numbers would indicate.” FULL ARTICLE AT Jewish Tribune »

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