Background & History

Long before Christianity began to emerge; the Queen of Sheba (ruling over parts of modern-day Ethiopia and even parts of Yemen) visited King Solomon circa 961-922 B.C.E. for his advice. After sleeping together, they also conceived a son, Menelik I, who received King Solomon's blessing and went on to rule as the next king of Axum, an ancient kingdom in the northern part of modern-day Ethiopia. Most all of Axum's future rulers could claim direct lineage to king Menelik I, the line of kings known as the Solomonid Kings.  Over the next 1200 years, their kingdom of Axum largely practiced Coptic Christianity.  However, the group of Jews, the Beta Israel, meaning “House of Israel,” also traces their lineage back to this same line of kings.  Occasionally, the Beta Israel are referred to as the “Falasha Mura,” however this term can offend, as it translates from Ethiopian dialect to mean “strangers,” or “exile.” “For years, the Jews and Christians lived together harmoniously; however, when the Portuguese invaded Ethiopia in the early 17th century, they simultaneously destroyed the Beta Israel community, sending it into turmoil for the next 300 years to come. The Portuguese destroyed the Hebrew schools and temples, while the Beta Israel people died in masses slashing their own throats to avoid being taken as slaves—or even worse for them—forced to convert to Christianity.

Outside a Beta Israel Classroom in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia

Recent Near Extermination

Since the bloody invasion of the Portuguese, the Beta Israel retreated to the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia where the remaining Beta community primarily resides today.  Until recently, they remained so cut off from the modern world that they believed they were the only Jewish souls left on the planet.  The Beta Israel could not remain so isolated though.  In the late 20th century surrounding the coup in which Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam took power over Ethiopia, over 2,500 Beta Israeli Jews were killed, while an additional 7,000 became homeless. After the Colonel took power, the Jews were forced to share farms with Ethiopian peasants, though the Jews could not legitimately own the land.  So harsh was the Ethiopian treatment of the Jews becoming that the Ethiopian government eventually had to request famine relief for the Beta Israel community to avoid a mass starvation of the people, which would surely lead to an international uproar. In response, operations Moses, Joshua, and Solomon were carried out on behalf of the Beta Israel people.  Instead of just bringing famine relief, foreign countries evacuated over 18,000 of the Beta Israel Jews, bringing them to live in Israel.

Beta Israel protesters in Israel responding to

the Ashkenazi Jews’ racist views of the Beta Israel

In Israel Today

Over 36,000 Beta Israel live in Israel today, and plans to rescue the remaining 2,100 Jews in Ethiopia who wish to come to Israel are currently underway.  The first adjustment period in Israel after the 1991 evacuation was rough for many Beta Israel.  Flown in by the Israeli government, the Beta Israel people were quickly shipped off to the West Bank, one of the few Palestinian territories. There, they struggled to find work and settle into the community, already over populated with Palestinians.  Though media does not have much access to the Beta Israel, they say that the Israeli government decided not to let many of the refugee families reunite by crossing the check points on the West Bank.  Many mixed opinions exist in Israel towards the Beta.  Some Zionist scholars believe that the Beta are such a backwards people, not having lived in a modern society, would never adapt to the lifestyle in Israel or even be capable of achieving a higher education.  The Ashkenazi Jews express primarily racist views, and often picket the Beta communities with signs saying things such as “whites only.” In part, the recent turmoil in Israel between the Beta and other Jews is due to recent genetic research proving that most likely, the Beta Israel people are not the lost tribe of Dan, instead are most closely related to the other native peoples of Ethiopia.  However, whether they are related to the lost tribe of Israel or are simply converts from many centuries ago, the Beta Israel are among one of the most devout sects of Judaism existing in the world today.

Works Cited:

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, John Buckler, and Roger B. Beck. "African Kingdoms and Eimpires (ca 800-1450)." A History of World Societies. 1st ed. Vol. 1. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin College Division, 2006). p. 294+.

Grunes, Dennis. "Falasha: Exile of the Black Jews." Word Press. 9 Sept. 2008.

"Israel to Take All Ethiopian Jews." BBC News. 9 Jan. 2004. BBC. 9 Sept. 2008.

PRIMER. "History of the Ethiopian Jews." Jewish Virtual Library. 2008.

American-Israeli Coorporate Enterprise. Sept. 2008.