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Article Selection:

Falash Mura: I think that there needs to be a lot more information on these people. There should be more about the reasons why these Jews converted, what the Israeli government is doing to help these people, where they are currently living/located, etc. Last December I went on a trip to Ethiopia and visited the Gondar Jewish Community Center and learned a lot about these people so I feel like I would have a lot to add.

Kahen: There needs to be more information about the Kess or the Kahen's specific role in his community or village. I also think that it is important to note what happened to many Kess when they arrived in Israel. For example, many were not considered real Rabbis and their respect was completely diminished.

Operation Moses: There should definitely be a lot more information on the absorbtion centers in Israel and the visa process in Ethiopia. There should also be information about the Simeon Mountains and the path to Aliyah. Micha Feldman should be noted as well as his book, On Wings of Eagle.

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Falash Mura

The Falash Mura were virtually unknown until Operation Solomon, when a number attempted to board the Israeli planes and were turned away. The Falash Mura said they were entitled to immigrate because they were Jews by ancestry, but the Israelis saw them as non-Jews, since most had never practiced Judaism and were not considered by the Beta Israel as part of the community. (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-falash-mura)

The Jewish Federations gave $900,000 to the Falash Mura and voted in June 2005 to raise $160 million over three years for Falash Mura aliyah and the continued integration of Ethiopians already in Israel. In July 2005, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) decided to increase its aid to Addis Ababa. The JDC gave $40,000 to help curb persistent hunger in the area. ((https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-falash-mura)

In November 2015, the government unanimously adopted a plan to bring the remaining Ethiopians to Israel by 2020. But the plan faltered within months when the Prime Minister’s Office refused to implement it because the NIS 1 billion it said was needed to fund the absorption process was not in the state budget http://www.timesofisrael.com/cabinet-approves-immigration-of-1000-ethiopian-falashmura-to-israel/.

In 2017, the Finance Ministry launched the first step of the plan, allocating funds for 1,300 to emigrate to Israel. All 1,300 arrived in the country just before the end of that year, on flights sponsored by the International Christian Embassy as part of its program to support Jewish immigration to Israel.There are approximately 8,000 tribe members in Ethiopia with close relatives in Israel who are waiting to immigrate. It remains unclear what will happen to the remaining 7,000 people. http://www.timesofisrael.com/cabinet-approves-immigration-of-1000-ethiopian-falashmura-to-israel/

Start Drafting Contributions:


 * Pankhurst, R. (1995). "Falasha Manuscripts and Their Illustration: an Historical Discussion Prompted by a Visit to Gondar, Ethiopia, in 1990." Between Africa and Zion: Proceedings of the First International Congress of the Society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry. S. Kaplan, T. Parfitt and E. T. Semi. Jerusalem: 80-93.
 * Quirin, J. (1998). "Caste and Class in Historical North-West Ethiopia: The Beta Israel (Falasha) and Kemant, 1300-1900." Journal of African History 39: 195-220.
 * Kaplan, S. (1986). "A Brief History of the Beta Israel." The Jews of Ethiopia: A People in Transition. N. Berger and K. K. Shelemay. Tel Aviv & New York, Beth Hatefutsoth, The Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora and The Jewish Museum: 11-29.
 * Asres Yayeh, Q. (1995). Traditions of the Ethiopian Jews. Thornhill, Ontario, Kibur Asres.
 * Berger, N. and K. K. Shelemay, Eds. (1986). The Jews of Ethiopia: A People in Transition. Tel Aviv & New York, Beth Hatefutsoth, The Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora and The Jewish Museum.
 * Bodner, Alisa. “A Letter to the 9,000 Remaining Jews in Ethiopia.” The Jewish Link of New Jersey - JewishLink of New Jersey, www.jewishlinknj.com/features/22683-a-letter-to-the-9-000-remaining-jews-in-ethiopia.
 * Sharon, Jeremy. “Government Approves Decision to Bring 1,000 of 8,000 Falash Mura.” The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com, 7 Oct. 2018, www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Government-approves-decision-to-bring-1000-of-8000-Falash-Mura-to-Israel-568833.
 * Ginsberg, Johanna R, et al. “Revisiting the Ethiopian Exodus.” New Jersey Jewish News, njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/revisiting-the-ethiopian-exodus/.
 * Toi, et al. “Cabinet Approves Immigration of 1,000 Ethiopian Falashmura to Israel.” The Times of Israel, www.timesofisrael.com/cabinet-approves-immigration-of-1000-ethiopian-falashmura-to-israel/.

Outline:

1)   Why many Jews were forced to convert

a.    Falash Mura had been forced to convert or had done so for pragmatic reasons without ever really abandoning their Jewish faith.

2)   What is the Israeli Gov’t doing?

a.    1,000 just received permission to make Aliyah but there are still 8,000 left

3)   Where are they currently living?

a.    Jewish community center in Gondar

b.    Left all their belongings behind

Final Article:

Falash Mura: The Convert Jews of Ethiopia
The Falash Mura of Ethiopia derive from the Beta Israel Jews of Ethiopia, however, the Falash Mura converted to Christianity and are not considered under the Israeli Law of Return. The actual term “Falash Mura” has no clear origin. It is believed that the term may come from the Agau and means “someone who changes their faith.” Some have made it to Israel but many still reside in camps in Gondar and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, waiting their status for Aliyah. The Falash Mura have reverted back to Judaism and pray every day for their return to Jerusalem. There are approximately 8,000 Falash Mura still remaining in Ethiopia.

Conversion
For years, Ethiopian Jews were unable to own land and were often persecuted by the Christian majority of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Jews were afraid to touch non-Jews because they believed non-Jews were not pure, which also ostracized them from their Christian neighbors. For this reason, many Ethiopian Jews converted to Christianity to seek a better life in Ethiopia. The Jewish Agency's Ethiopia emissary, Asher Seyum, says the Falash Mura “converted in the 19th and 20th century, when Jewish relations with Christian rulers soured. Regardless, many kept ties with their Jewish brethren and were never fully accepted into the Christian communities. When word spread about the aliyah, many thousands of Falash Mura left their villages for Gondar and Addis Ababa, assuming they counted.”

Return to Judaism
The Falash Mura did not refer to themselves as members of the Beta Israel, the name for the Ethiopian Jewish community, until after the first wave of immigration to Israel. Jews by ancestry, the Falash Mura believe they have just as much of a right to return to Israel as the Beta Israels. Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, a major player in the first wave of Beta Israel immigration to Israel, declared in 2002 that the Falash Mura had converted out of fear and persecution and therefore should be considered Jews.

Controversy
Today, both Israeli and Ethiopian groups dispute the Falash Mura's religious and political status. The Israeli government fears that these people are just using Judaism as an excuse to leave Ethiopia in efforts to improve their lives in a new country. Right-wing member of the Israeli Knessett, Bezalel Smotrich was quoted saying, “This practice will develop into a demand to bring more and more family members not included in the Law of Return. It will open the door to an endless extension of a family chain from all over the world,” he wrote, according to Kan. “How can the state explain in the High Court the distinction it makes between the Falashmura and the rest of the world?” Although the government has threatened to stop all efforts to bring these people to Israel, they have still continued to address the issue. In 2018, The Israeli government allowed 1,000 Falash Mura to immigrate to Israel. However, members of the Ethiopian community say the process for immigration approval is poorly executed and inaccurate, dividing families. At least 80 percent of the tribe members in Ethiopia say they have first-degree relatives living in Israel, and some have been waiting for 20 years to immigrate.

Aliyah
Today, Falash Mura who move to Israel must undergo conversion on arrival, making it increasingly more difficult for them to get situated into Israeli society. The Beta Israel Jews who immigrated and made Aliyah through Operation Moses and Operation Solomon were not required to undergo conversion because they were accepted as Jews under the Law of Return.

The Situation in Gondar, Ethiopia Today
The Falash Mura Jews of Ethiopia simply have nowhere to go. They sold all of their belongings in order to reside in the Jewish Community Center of Gondar in hopes that this will be their last stop before making it to Israel. Their lives depend on the Israeli’s policy of emigration. The Falash Mura children study Hebrew at Gondar’s Jewish Day school in preparation for their relocation.