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Out of Ethiopia I first learned about this story in talking to Karen Levin, executive director of the Levin Family Foundation. She was describing her plans for a feature-length documentary about Ethiopians of Jewish descent and their immigration to Israel.
Yellow Springs-based filmmaker and radio journalist Aileen LeBlanc will direct the project, to be filmed in Ethiopia and Israel over two years. "This will be the first time the full story, the history, and what happens when the people get there will be documented," Levin said during a presentation at the foundation’s downtown Dayton office. In 2005, the New York Times described the story in the article "Israel to Speed Immigration for Jews in Ethiopia." Close to 100,000 Ethiopian Jews have immigrated to Israel since the mid-1980's, but for many years, Israel was unable to decide on how to deal with one specific group, the Falash Mura. The Falash Mura say they are descendants of Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity many years ago, often through coercion, but have resumed practicing Judaism. During the 1990's, some Israeli authorities questioned the authenticity of the community's Jewish roots. Israeli officials also expressed concerns that they would be confronted by large numbers of impoverished Ethiopians claiming Jewish ancestry and seeking to immigrate. Three years ago, the government sent a prominent rabbi to consider the case of the Falash Mura, and he reported solid evidence of their Jewish lineage. The government decided in February 2003 that all the Falash Mura who could document Jewish ancestry on their mother's side would be allowed into Israel. At least 15,000 Ethiopian Jews, many living in hovels near the Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa, will be brought to Israel by the end of 2007 under an accelerated immigration process. |
"We are very happy the government has finally agreed to a timetable for bringing the people here," said Avraham Neguise, executive director of South Wing to Zion, which assists Ethiopian Jews. However, Mr. Neguise said Israel had been slow to carry out previous decisions on the immigration of Ethiopian Jews. He also described their conditions in Ethiopia as quite difficult, saying he hoped they could come sooner. The history of Ethiopian Jews is explored in depth at a number of online resources. For more information, explore any of the following links: Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews for an interesting exploration of the dispersement of Jews throughout the world, see the PBS NOVA site "The Lost Tribes of Israel" "Out of Ethiopia" (2008)
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