By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin
PIKESVILLE, Maryland — It is hard to believe, but unfortunately, it is true. Although many Israeli Jews accept Black Ethiopian Jews as they accept white Jews, there are Israelis who discriminate against them, including government officials and religious leaders.
The Babylonian Talmud Yoma 9a states that the destruction of the Second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 because of sinat chinam, baseless hatred. The Talmud explains that despite Jews observing Torah laws and charity, the Second Temple was destroyed, and people were killed due to “hatred without cause.” Had the Jews in the year 70 worked together, the united Jews could have worked out matters with the Romans. When will we learn?
In We are Black Jews: Ethiopian Jewry and the Journey to Equality in Israel, Roni Fantanesh Malkai provides eye-opening, need-to-know information about the history and difficulties of Ethiopian Jews. We should read it and do our best to get people to treat others as they want others to treat them.
Malkai is a lawyer, activist, entrepreneur, and journalist who promotes equality and works to reduce inequality. As a little girl, she immigrated to Israel, walking hundreds of miles from Ethiopia to her historical homeland despite many hardships. She has a master’s degree with honors from Hebrew University. She managed the Spokesperson’s Department in Israel’s Ministry of Welfare for about a decade.
She tells the legends about Ethiopian Jewry’s origin about 3,000 years ago, what they are, their leaders, and their observances. We read the letter sent in 1845 from Ethiopia to the Jewish Diaspora in Europe. It is the first written contact the Ethiopians had with other Jews. The letter is filled with yearning to return to their ancestral home, Israel.
We learn that the first documented arrival of Ethiopian Jews was only a father and son in 1855. Later, the larger attempt of Ethiopian Jews to reach the Holy Land occurred in 1862. As many as a fifth of those who journeyed, the walk of hundreds of miles, died of hunger and disease. But this did not stop others from trying to return home. From the 1950s to the 1970s, there were sporadic secret immigrations contrary to the position of the Israeli government.
It was not until 1979 that the first authorized Israeli government operations began. Tens of thousands of immigrants came hoBut upon arrival, many suffered discrimination and foul treatment that continues today. Even though Ethiopian Jews were regarded by Jewish scholars as early as the nineteenth century as full-fledged Jews, many in Israel felt they were not Jews and did not belong.
The discrimination resulted in a high dropout rate of students of Ethiopian descent from schools.
In the mid-2010s, the enlistment rate among Ethiopian Israelis in the military, both men and women, was 86 percent, 90 percent of the men. This was far higher than the enlistment rate among the average enlistment rate of all Israelis, which was around 70 percent. However, there are only several dozen Ethiopian officers in the Israeli military, most of whom are not in the highest ranks.
There have been instances of blood donated by Ethiopians being tossed into the toilet after the donors left the hospital.
Once, as a test, two applications were sent to large firms. Each contained identical information, except for the applicant’s name. One had an Israeli name, the other an Ethiopian. The former was accepted, the latter rejected.
Some rabbis refused to conduct a marital ceremony for even rabbinically converted Ethiopians. The office of the Chief Rabbinate refused to recognize the kesim as spiritual leaders despite the kesim having this function for centuries.
Some stores prohibit Ethiopian Jews from touching wine bottles because they were convinced that the touching makes the wine non-kosher.
As in the USA, the Black Ethiopians are “over-policed,” that is, they are investigated by police officers when the same officers would not have done so with white individuals.
Of course, discrimination is not limited to Israel and America. It is worldwide.
I think discrimination is a subdivision of an inferiority complex. Individuals subconsciously, without realizing it, feel inadequate about a thing or things in themselves. They feel somewhat relieved when they can identify and vigorously attack what they see as inferior in another person or group. I have not thought of a way to cure people of this problem.
The current thinking is to stop it by punishing the offenders. This is similar to punishing people for other crimes. It involves incarcerating the offender, removing their privileges, or confiscating their money. Hopefully, it will stop many who do not want these punishments.
But it will not stop everyone. We know of many convicts released from prison who resume their prior evil deeds.
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Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin is a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps and the author of more than 50 books.