Organized Mass Immigrations from Ethiopia to Israel - Essay Example

Ethiopian organized mass immigrations to Israel Introduction The Hebrew word Aliyah means going up. This was also termed to be the return to Zion by the Jews. It is considered basic tenets of the Zionist ideology. After the war between Jews and Romans in 70 CE, the fall of Jerusalem saw most Jews expelled from the city. However, after the proclamation of the state in 1948 and the Law of Return of 1950, the state of Israel witnessed a large Jewish immigration from around the world especially Europe, Asia and Africa. The immigrants included survivors of the Holocaust and other Jewish communities from all over. Eligibility The Law of Return 1950 gave the Jews the right to return, settle and gain Israeli citizenship. According to the law of Halacha, a person is eligible for citizenship if their mother is Jewish or if the person converts to Judaism. The rights of eligibility were extended to the people of Jewish ancestry and their spouses in 1970 after an amendment that included the child, grandchild, spouse, spouse of a child and spouse of a grandchild of a Jew. The exception to the law of return includes if a person has converted from Judaism, a person considered a threat to the safety of the state of Israel, those who have been involved in serious crimes in their countries in the past, or fugitives from their states for any felony. The Immigration of the Jews from Ethiopia The Aliyah of the Ethiopian Jews started in the mid-1970s. The historical name given to the Israelite Ethiopian community is Falasha. The eligibility of the Beta Israel ethnic group of Ethiopia to make the Aliyah was in question in 1973 by a report written by the Israel Ministry of Absorption stating that the Falasha were foreign to all matters of the Jewish nation and hence there was no need to help them make the Aliyah. The report was disputed by the Sephardi Chief Rabi who decree that the Beta group was a descendant tribe of Israel and that a Mitzvah included giving them a proper Jewish education and a right to immigrate to Israel. TheFalasha community was originally Jews but in the 19th century they were forced to convert to Christianity due to fear for their lives. The government forbade the teaching of Hebrew and practice of Judaism and this saw many of the Beta Israel imprisoned. In the 1980’s the government softened on the treatment of Jews after pressure from the western countries in order to receive relief. Many Ethiopian Jews made the journey to Israel during this period. The immigration took place in two different waves with the help of the Israel government. The first Aliyah took place between 1882-1903,the first group included some 30,000 individuals, they lived in agricultural settlements known as moshavot that were bought by the Jewish associations from Arab landowners, and the Arab farmers moved to live somewhere else. They had the impact of the revival of the Hebrew language and the culture in print and theatre. The Second Aliyah was between 1904-1914Most of these immigrants came from Russia and Poland. They were younger, secular andhad no financial resources. They were well-organized and politically knowledgeable. These newcomers had socialist-nationalistic views and soon started organizing themselves into political parties.The Third Aliyah of 1919-1923 has been seen as a continuation of the second Aliyah. The Fourth Aliyah in 1924-1929and The Fifth Aliyah in 1929-1939impacted significantly on the number of the Jewish settlement in Palestine. This wave of immigration comprised of families and had a big influence on the Jewish economy as a sizable portion ofthe capital they brought with them was invested in the Jewish industry. TheMass Immigration from 1948 to Present Dayfollowed the Israel declaration ofindependence, it opened its gates to Jews from allover to return to their homeland and this saw an influx of Jews immigrating to the Israel. Operation Moses (Mivtza Moshe) Operation Moses took place in mid-1984, it is approximated that around 8,000 Jews made the Aliyah from Ethiopia. The operation took place in Sudan where the airlift would take them to Europe then to Israel. The Jews made the long trek to Sudan under harsh conditions and many people died of malnutrition and disease before reaching their destination, in Sudan the Jews were put in refugee camps where the conditions were worse. During the reign of the Ethiopian dictator Mengistu, the Jews were prohibited from departing Ethiopia and thus the operation was kept a secret. To begin the operation, the Jews were moved from the refugee camps to rented houses and later taken to the Khartoum airport where they were airlifted to Israel. The news of this rescue leaked to the foreign media and as a result President Numeiri of Sudan stopped the operation for fear of hostile reaction from the Arab nations. Most Jews that were left in Ethiopia comprised mostly of women and young children. In 1985 after mediation, there was a follow up operation by the United States of America that saw the last number of Betamemberswho were still in Sudan being airlifted to Israel. Operation Solomon It was named after King Solomon. This operation was a joint force of theIsrael Defense Forces(IDF), The Jewish Agency, the Joint Distribution Committee, and the Mossad. In 1990, with help from the American Arbitration, the Israeli government reached an agreement with Mengistu and the rebels, allowing the rescue mission to take place within 34 hoursfor a consideration of forty million dollars. This operation had started in the 1990 after the reopening of the Israeli embassy in Addis Ababa. Contact was made between the people who had left Israel and those still in Ethiopia. The families were instructed to apply to the embassy to bring them to Israel. In 1990, the agreement between Ethiopia and Israel and TheAAEJ(American Association for Ethiopian Jews)facilitated the process that saw the Jews being transported in trucks from the villages to Addis Ababa. The operation took place during the great East Africa famine and hence the Jews were severely malnourished and sick. They were offered primary health care and nutrition in the camps(Lenhoff& Weaver2007). In 1991, the United States government asked mengistu for the release of the Jews and then later there was the peace meeting with the rebels to ensure safety for the Jews. This operation lasted less than 48 hours and saw approximately 14,000 Jews make the Aliyah. A number of El Al passenger planes and Hercules, with their seats removed to maximize passenger capacity, flew members of Beta Israel non-stop to Israel. The operation dove-wing which commenced in 2012 saw the last of the eligible Jews immigrate to Israel from Ethiopia and Somalia. The operation that began in the 1950 was completed thanks to the services of The Jewish Agency in collaboration with other organizations and governments. Absorption and Integration In the year 1953, Rabbi Shmuel Be’eri was appointed as the Jewish Agency first emissary to Ethiopia and he established the first Hebrew School for Ethiopian Jews in Asmara. The World Zionist Organization then appointed YonaBogale to be responsible for all the educational activity in the Diaspora. Jewish Ethiopian teenagers were brought to Israel trained as emissaries and returned to their communities as qualified and skilled teachers for the others. There was also the establishment of medical clinics for the Jewish population awaiting the approval of Aliyah. The two main bodies tasked with the responsibility of Aliyah and immigrant absorption were The Jewish Agency for Israel,and the Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption. They were tasked with budgetary allocations and providing assistance to the immigrants. There were absorption centers that provide shelter, education and other needed amenities for the immigrants. First priority was given to the holocaust victims, the main objective of the immigrants was to get a place to live, and the Israel government provides them with hostels. The absorption centers provided them with basic needs such as food and education. In 1950, the immigrants were provided with transit camps as temporary homes and employment until they could be absorbed into the community. There was shortage of teachers and educational resources due to the large population and this hindered the effort to provide the camp children with the appropriate education.  There was an approximately 35,000Ethiopian immigrants to the Israel and they received assistance from the social services as stated by the Welfare and Social Services Ministry. In preparation for the coming of the Ethiopian Betas the Israel government came up with a procedural approach for their absorption that included the issues of housing, education, and employment, there were also policy guidelines with regardsto specific groups, including women and youths. This approach was based on the existing lives of the Jews in Israel .The government, however, did not consider the different culture and values of the Betas. The integration of Ethiopian Jewry, proved to be a big challenge to the Zionistdue to their distinctive appearance and customs. The Ethiopians did not come from a capitalist state but a subsistence economy and hence were unprepared for the industrializing economy in Israel. Major steps have been taken and the Ethiopians betas have become part of Israel’s religious life, politics, and military among other areas. In the absorption centers there were classes set aside for the Ethiopian Jews with their own teachers and the main subjects taught included Mathematics, Hebrew and Bible (Hertzog 1999). The institutes of higher education operated preparatory courses for the Ethiopian students and a range of special educational programming were provided for them. In the integration into the community, a number of priests (Kessim) have been employed to conduct religious ceremonies; however they are not yet recognized as rabbis and have to undergo training in order to perform marriage ceremonies. Various NGOs have been providing to the immigrants with basic training so as to elevate their social and economic status in the society. The immigrants were used to the language of Amharic and had to be taught Hebrew the main language in Israel in order to easecommunication. In politics, Beylanesh Zevadia was appointed as the first Ethiopian-born ambassador in 2012. The only problematic areas that emerged therefore were in reference to the rural to urban lifestyle change, adapting the complicated technological and industrial society. In the villages the elders were the presumed to be the leaders of the society, here the hierarchy of leadershipchanged and their roles disregarded. Integration and absorption to a new society is not an easy task and the Israel government and various organizations have taken major steps to ensure smooth transition and progress of all the Israel Betas. Challenges The immigrants from Ethiopia who wanted to reach Israel faced various challenges during and after the Aliyah. The first immigrants had to trek to Sudan under harsh circumstances and live in dismal conditions while in the refugee camps. There was the challenge of getting caught by the government officials in the service of dictator Mariam as well as the rebel groups. MostJews that were left behind were made to wait for a long period and in poor conditions before the government of Israel could make arrangements for them to leave Gondar. The low formal education of the immigrants’children’s and the illiteracy of the adults posed a high challenge in the integration process to the Israelicommunity. The children have no former formal education and hence find it hard to keep up with the other children in the learning process. Lack of formal education locks the Ethiopians out o the vocational training offered by the Economics ministry of Israeli. Ahigh rate of unemploymentrecorded is due to the lack of work qualification that includeslack of skill and basic education. The barriers faced by the academically able are based on ignorance and discrimination from the mainstream Israeli society whereby even the absorption centers connect them with the low paying jobs like cleaners. Owing to the high rate of unemployment, adequate housing posed a major concern. After moving from the absorption centers most families cannot afford modest shelters. Some government run projects for the Ethiopians have faileddue to lack of organization, unaccountability and lack of a workable budget by the government officials. Social and cultural differences have been seen as problem whereby the traditional social and occupational nature of the immigrants has posed a challenge tothe adoptionof theIsraeliculture, valuesand food. Lack of resources and high unemployment led to the development rise of slum neighborhoods and thereof social problems. Effects There were long-lasting effects of the Aliyah to both Israel and the Beta Jews. To Israel, the mass migration led to a sudden rise in the Israeli Jewish population within a short period of time, and the high fertility rate of the newcomers led to continuous population increase. This growth was significant with regard to the ratio between Jews and non-Jews population in Israel and the demographic role of Israel in the Jewish world. The mass migration from the Asian and African continents led to a change in the ethnic composition of Israeli society. There was a significant risein the population of these ethnic groups. Israel being a new state now had to deal with a huge population that to a large extent lacked modern education and modern professional skills of the same degree as that of the veteran population hence it was difficult to quickly integrate the new populationwho could not adapt easily to the new social and economic conditions, After the last Aliyah in 2012, there is still said to be a large number of beta Israel living in Ethiopian in the region of Lake Tana, Gondar and Addis Ababa. Many of these people struggled to be accepted for immigration by the Israeli government but after the last airlift they were separated from their families and community. The Ethiopian Jews had been living for a long time in villages and had been forced to convert into Christianity as a result of this; the community had been practicing the ancient kind of Judaism in which they had no idea of the Talmud’s existence or some post-biblical holidays. The community had to be taught of these teachings and holidays in the modern society. The Israeli government has not borne the responsibility of the Ethiopian Jewry on its own. There has been continued support from the other partners who helped fight for the freedom on the Aliyah of Ethiopian Jews likethe federations and theNACOEJ(North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry), several nonprofit organizations, help provide a range of services and benefits to Ethiopian Israelis through designated gifts and support. The Ethiopiansare offered free college tuition, tutoring, loans and lower mortgage rates by the Absorption Ministry. This has had a significant effect in the integration of the Ethiopian community into the local society. Conclusion The war of independence had left Israel economically unstable and hencethe Jews encountered various adjustment difficulties.The Ethiopians having made the aliyah under dire conditions finally made it back home, there were significant challenges facing them yet they have managed to overcome them and gradually integrate into the Israeli society. The government and nonprofit organizations have gone out of their way to help with the process. There has been massive racism and the Ethiopians answer to their woes lie with the government passing laws that combat racism rather than just providing them with subsidies. The government has been applauded for the achievement of providing the necessary medical treatment to the Ethiopians with regards to treatment and vaccination of tropical diseases as well as other form of diseases. The Ethiopian Jewry has provided the world with a different insight into their culture and values and has found a home in Israel full of optimism. Reference List Hertzog, E. (1999). Immigrants and bureaucrats: Ethiopians in an Israeli absorption center. New York, Berghahn Books. Lenhoff , H., &  Weaver, J. (2007) Black Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes: How Grassroots Activism Led to the Rescue of the Ethiopian Jews. Gefen Publishing House Ltd. Read More