Falashas

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Falashas [Amharic,=exiles], Jews of Ethiopia who refer to themselves as Beta Israel (House of Israel). Long isolated from mainstream Judaism, they practice a form of the religion based on the Jewish Scriptures and certain apocryphal books; they also adhere to certain traditions that correspond to some of those found in the Midrash and Talmud . They claim descent from those who migrated from Jerusalem with Menelik I (see Early History under Ethiopia ), but scholars believe they adopted Judaism from Jews who migrated from S Arabia or from those living in Egypt. Pagan and Christian influences have affected their Judaism. In modern times there were pogroms against the Falashas, and some, known as the Falash Mura, converted to Christianity, often without actually becoming practicing Christians. In 1975 the Israeli rabbinate recognized the Falashas legally as Jews.

During the Ethiopian civil war, about 10,000 Falashas from the Gondar region of Ethiopia were airlifted (Sept., 1984-Mar., 1985) to Israel. A second airlift of more than 14,000 occurred in May, 1991. Ethiopia subsequently agreed to permit Israel to evacuate those still remaining, and by 1999 the last remaining practicing Jews, from the Quara area of Ethiopia, were flown to Israel, bringing the total there to over 70,000. About 26,000 members of the Falash Mura seeking to immigrate to Israel remained. Questions concerning the faith and sincerity of these families by Israeli officials resulted in the slow processing of their immigration requests. Roughly a third of the group ultimately immigrated before the Israel immigration program ended in Aug., 2008.

Bibliography: See W. Leslau, ed., Falasha Anthology (1951, repr. 1969); D. Kessler, The Falashas (1985).

Falashas. Jews of Ethiopian origin. The Falashas themselves claim to be descended from Menelik, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10. 1–13). Most experts believe they belong to the Agau family of tribes to whom Judaism spread from S. Arabia. They call themselves ‘Beta Esrael’ (House of Israel) and live in their own separate villages, the best known of which are near the town of Gondar. They keep the ritual food law of the Pentateuch; they circumcise their sons on the eighth day; they observe the Sabbath and Day of Atonement, and they offer sacrifice and eat unleavened bread (mazzah) during the Passover season. Their precise personal status as Jews is still in some dispute among the Israeli religious establishment. In 1985, many Ethiopians demonstrated in Jerusalem against the Chief Rabbi, who had demanded symbolic conversion for those among them who wished to marry—because of doubts about their divorce procedures and personal status. The insistence on symbolic recircumcision was withdrawn, but not ritual immersion.

Falashas Ethnic group of black Jews in Ethiopia, probably descended from early converts to Judaism. Their form of religion relies solely on observance of the Old Testament. Israel acknowledged them as Jews in 1975, and, suffering discrimination at home, many migrated to Israel. During the early 1980s, there were c.30,000 Falashas living in Ethiopia, but amid the war and famine that ensued, thousands were airlifted to Israel.