Unit 7: JEWISH STATUS OF THE BETA ISRAEL I: 1954-1972

MY FAMILY
THE BETA ISRAEL CURRICULUM

JEWISH STATUS OF THE BETA ISRAEL I: 1954-1972

 Teachers should open this segment by discussing an obstacle that emerged after Israel’s independence :

 After the State of Israel was established, the Beta Israel faced another very serious problem: the question of their Jewish status came to the fore. Although this question had been raised in the past, it never carried the weight that it suddenly did now, with the establishment of a Jewish state. The Law of Return, guaranteeing citizenship to all Jews in the world, only applied to those who could prove their status as Jews or give evidence to the Jewish status of their parents or grandparents. And when the question of aliyah for the Beta Israel arose, disagreements dominated the conversation. Although the Beta Israel community never doubted its own Jewish status, others in Israel and the Diaspora did.

 As we discussed in Unit 5: Laws & Customs, Rabbi David Ibn Zimra (1479-1573) had issued a responsa in the sixteenth century ascertaining the Beta Israel’s legitimacy as Jews, descended from the Tribe of Dan. But in the twentieth century, many questioned whether this responsa was still valid, given the long period of forced conversions and proselytizing that took place in Ethiopia in the 400 years since it was issued.

 Due to the disagreements, some religious Jewish figures suggested that the Beta Israel undergo a symbolic conversion to Judaism. For many members of the Beta Israel community, this was an unacceptable and insulting request. The Beta Israel community had remained loyal to their Jewish tradition for 2,500 years,¹⁰² under persecution. Why must they now “convert” to their own religion?

Students should be asked to share their thoughts on the quandary facing the Beta Israel, reflecting on Jewish “identity,” “family,” “community,” and “forced conversions.” Specifically, teachers should ask:

 1.       How do you think the Beta Israel felt when they heard their Jewish status was in doubt?

 2.       Why do you think the Beta Israel were offended by the idea of a symbolic Jewish conversion?

 3.       Imagine you were alive then: what would your opinion on the Beta Israel’s Jewish status be?

 Following discussion, teachers should explain:

 During this time, “in the absence of any resolution concerning recognition of [the] Beta Israel’s Jewishness and its right to settle in Israel… the government of Israel and the Jewish Agency greatly downscaled their activities with regard to the community.”¹⁰³

 Though “a number of individuals, mostly Israelis… advocated for the aliyah (immigration to Israel) of the Beta Israel community… [these] noble sporadic and individual efforts were insufficient to provide the sustained pressure needed to convince key bureaucrats in the government of Israel to act.”¹⁰⁴

 Students should then be asked to read this excerpt of a letter written by Beta Israel leaders at the time:

 “For thousands of years, we have waited for the coming of the Messiah to take us away from here and bring us back to Jerusalem, the goal for which our fathers and forefathers fought. Now that the redemption has arrived, and we are left as a remnant of a numerous people, the waiting is very difficult for us.”¹⁰⁵

 Students should be invited to write a creative poem or short story expressing the emotions that members of the Beta Israel might have felt at the time, including feelings of sadness, longing, and disappointment.

102 It should be noted that this was particularly hurtful given the centrality of “trust” in the mindset of the Beta Israel (see Unit 4: Philosophy & Values).

103 Ibid.

104 Howard M. Lenhoff, Black Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes: How Grassroots Activism Led to the Rescue of the Ethiopian Jews, (Gefen Publishing House, 2006), p. 6.

105  Azrieli and S. Meizlisch, Ha-mesimah Etiopiah [Mission Ethiopia], (Jerusalem, 5749/1989), pp. 18–59. Quoted by Sharon Shalom, From Sinai to Ethiopia, p. 37.