Ethiopian Jews

Ethiopian Jews – the Lost Tribe

So, what’s the story with Black African Jews? Aren’t all Jews white Europeans? No, absolutely not. Apart from the Mizrahi Jews (Jews from the Middle East, Asia and North Africa), there are West-African Jews, too. The story of the “Beta Israel” (Ethiopian Jews) is incredible. Listen to this!

The Beta Israel are the descendants of Jews who migrated to West Africa during the Babylonian Exile. They were isolated from other Jewish communities for more than a thousand years. The Western world did not know the Beta Israel existed, and they themselves didn’t realize there were other Jews in the world – they thought they were the only ones who had survived the exile. For centuries, they lived in more than 500 small villages in Northern Ethiopia, where they held on to their faith and their identity against all odds and under religious persecution. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many of them were forced to convert to Christianity. Those people are now known as the Falash Mura.

In the 1970’s, the Beta Israel finally made contact with the Jewish community in Israel. When the Ethiopian Civil war broke out in the 1980’s, Ethiopian Jews, driven to despair by war, famine and persecution, fled to Sudan, where they stayed in refugee camps. Their dream was to immigrate to Israel and finally be safe. And they made it happen.

Working together with the Beta Israel, the Israeli government managed to arrange a series of incredible rescue missions with names like Operation Moses and Operation Solomon. 45,000 Ethiopian Jews were flown to Israel in airplanes with the seats removed to fit more people. There aren’t many moments in Israeli history that make me feel proud and tearful, but this is one of them.

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But not all Ethiopian Jews made it to the flights. As many as 4000 people perished during the journey to Sudan and in the refugee camps. They walked through the desert on foot, a journey that could take up to a month. And the Sudanese were not exactly friendly and welcoming. The Jews faced hostility and violence as well as hunger and exhaustion. The rescue operations were incredibly complicated, involving undercover agents in Sudan and depending on absolute secrecy. Arab countries did not agree with helping Jews and Sudan did not want it known that they were allowing this. Many people had to wait in the camps for years and died from illness and violence. The road from Ethiopia to Sudan was a trail of tears. What the Beta Israel went through to finally get to Israel is unimaginable.

So, is the life of Ethiopian Jews better in Israel? According to the Ethiopian people I know, yes, definitely. They now live in an economically wealthy country, where they do not have to suffer hunger and persecution. They can exercise their faith freely, they have access to education, healthcare and benefits. But there are dark sides to this story, as to every story.

The cultural gap between the Beta Israel and other Israelis was huge. Ethiopian Jews spoke Amharic, a language no other Israeli understood. Their African customs were very different from those of the rest of Israel. They ended up marginalized, in poor neighbourhoods, with a high unemployment rate and little interaction with other Israelis.

At this time, around 160,000 Jews of Ethiopian origin live in Israel. The second generation, the children of the immigrants, are changing things around. Education and employment rates are much higher. They serve in the army, they speak Hebrew as their native language (in addition to Amharic), and they are proud of being Israeli, as well as Ethiopian.

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But of course, things are not perfect. Far from it, in fact. The Ethiopian community in Israel faces discrimination and mistrust. Police brutality against Black people has been happening here, too. Missing and murdered Ethiopian Israelis get far less public attention than non-Black Israelis. We still have a long way to go to address these injustices.

But Ethiopian Jews are an incredible strong and resilient people. They held on to their identity through thousands of years of isolation and persecution. They face their challenges in Israel and they fight for change. They assimilate, but without losing their unique culture. They carve their own path. Personally, I am in awe of them.

The gorgeous and talented Eden Alene, who represented Israel in the Eurovision song festival in 2021.

Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed

Avera Mengistu

Hamas is a terror organization. They have been kidnapping people and taking hostages long before October 7, 2023. Often, the people they choose are the more vulnerable members of society. Especially when these people literally walk straight into their hands. Like Avera Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli Jew who has been held by Hamas since 2014. Yes, there are Black African Jews and yes, he has been a hostage for almost 10 years.

Avera Mengistu was 27 years old when he walked from his home in Ashkelon to the Gazan border, climbed the fence and disappeared into Gaza. He was immediately taken hostage by Hamas. According to his family, Avera was in a confused and emotional state that day. He had been suffering from mental illness for years and had been hospitalized twice. No one knows what exactly he was trying to accomplish by crossing the border.

But Hamas immediately took advantage of the situation. They took Mengistu captive and said he was a prisoner of war. They claimed he was a soldier and was wearing a uniform. This is categorically untrue, as Avera never served in the army due to his mental health issues. Very little was heard from or about him for years.

Until, in January of 2023, Hamas released a video of Avera Mengistu. In the video, he asks: “How much longer will I be in captivity? After so many years, where are the state and the people of Israel?”

The Mengistu family can not be entirely sure that this really is Avera, but it does seem to be him.

Avera’s parents and his brothers are forever missing a part of their family. They fight to get publicity for their story. They feel neglected and pushed aside by both the government and the media of Israel. They feel that because of Avera’s race and mental health, he is not given the same importance as the hostages of October 7. Where is the outrage, the outcry over Avera Mengistu?

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Hisham al-Sayed

The story of Hisham al-Sayed is very similar to that of Avera Mengistu. Hisham is a Bedouin Israeli Arab who has been held by Hamas since 2015. (And yes, there are Arab, Muslim and Bedouin Israelis.)

Al-Sayed was born in 1988 in the Bedouin town of Al-Hura in the Negev desert. He studied in Cyprus and London, but struggled with both physical and mental health disorders. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, vertigo and hearing loss. Hisham tried to join the Israeli army but, like Avera Mengistu, was not enlisted due to his health problems.

Hisham’s family say he heard voices in his head, telling him to cross over the border with Gaza. He tried to do so many times, and finally succeeded in 2015. Hamas took him and has held him captive ever since. As with Mengistu, they claimed he was a soldier and therefore a prisoner of war, which is not true.

In 2022, Hamas released a video showing Hisham al-Sayed looking very sick, lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask and an IV drip. His Israeli ID card was shown lying open on the bed.

Al-Sayed’s family are desperately worried about him. He needs medical treatment and medication. Like Mengistu’s family, they have tried to generate international publicity for their son’s case, but failed to do so. They, too, have accused the Israeli government and press of not caring enough, because their son is a Bedouin.

The cases of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed are very sad. They highlight not only the cruelty and sadism of an organization like Hamas, holding vulnerable, unwell civilians prisoner for years, but also the undeniable difference in treatment of minority groups in Israel, like the Bedouins and the Ethiopians. While their families fight for recognition, their sons languish in the dungeons of Hamas, unknown by the general public and the international community.

There is a lot wrong in Israel. But that does NOT mean it is an apartheid state. It is not. All Israeli citizens have the same basic rights and opportunities, no matter their religion or ethnicity. But of course, in reality, some groups have a much harder time than others. This is something we need to work on. Just like the USA, Europe, Canada, Australia and everwhere else.

#bringthemhome