‘Forgotten’ Ethiopian Jews yearn to go to Israel

THE hillside Jewish cemetery in northern Ethiopia was never supposed to get so big.

The thousands of Ethiopian Jews buried there had hoped to die in Israel, but steep, often insurmountable hurdles foiled their plans to emigrate.

“I hope Israel takes some responsibility before all of us die here,” Sitotaw Alene, 49, said during a recent visit to the cemetery in the city of Gondar where his sister is buried.

Between December and March, 2 000 Ethiopian Jews were flown to Israel. But it was a mere fraction of those who want to emigrate, or make aliyah, and there are no immediate plans to accommodate the rest.

Sitotaw insists Israeli authorities must move quickly, before it is too late for him and his community. “This cemetery is almost full,” he said. Before long “we won’t have a burial place”.

The bulk of Ethiopia’s Jewish community moved to Israel in the 1980s and early 1990s. Some were whisked over on secret flights from refugee camps in neighbouring Sudan, while nearly 15 000 were in the 1991 airlift known as “Operation Solomon”.

Those left behind are sometimes referred to as “Falash Mura”, a derogatory term meaning “wanderers” that highlights their status as descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity – many under duress – in the 18th and 19th centuries. They identify as Jewish today but are not recognised by rabbinical authorities and do not immigrate under the Law of Return guaranteeing Israeli citizenship to all Jews.

Instead their flights are organised under family reunification rules, and all claimants need to have a parent in Israel already.

Israeli authorities have been working off a waiting list of 8 000 prospective immigrants.

But Ethiopian Jewish leaders say the real number is much higher: more than 10 000 in Gondar and roughly 3 800 in the capital, Addis Ababa.

In Gondar, Ethiopian Jews live in cramped structures, surviving as cleaners and day labourers. Life revolves around the Hatikvah Synagogue, which offers food packages for young children, free medical care and a library where students study Hebrew.

But community members remain set on leaving as soon as they can.

Nigist Abege, 46, says she “won’t miss anything” about Ethiopia if she is one day permitted to reunite with her parents, who are already in Israel. “My only wish is to see my family.”

Most of the community in Ethiopia’s Amhara region have been relatively unscathed by the war in the neighbouring Tigray region. However, Girmaw Gete, who joined the Amhara special forces to prepare for service in the Israeli military, was sent to Tigray last November to back up the federal army, and died in battle.

Now his mother, Azanu Girma, can only think about what might have been had the family’s bid to reach Israel been processed sooner.

“What can we do? What will bring my child back?” Azanu asked through tears.

For those who end up making the move, life in Israel presents its own challenges. Members of the 140 000-strong Ethiopian-Israeli community frequently decry racial discrimination and abuse by Israel’s police.

Reports of racism aside, Ethiopian Jews in Gondar focus on the positives.

“When I went there I felt like I was born again,” said Ayele Andebet, 23, who spent six months at a yeshiva in Israel and hopes to return permanently. “It was very difficult to leave.”