The State of Ethiopian Jews in Israel: Seamless Integration or Subtle Exclusion?

Studies on the Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, have increasingly focused on the underlying correlation between their unique identity of Jewishness, rooted in an African state, and their being accepted as Jews in Israel. Also, a significant portion of the research brings to light the social and economic forces that compelled them to emigrate from the Horn of Africa country to the Middle Eastern state. However, what seems to be lacking in the scholarship is a serious inquiry into how a black Jewish community can be fully integrated in the long-term into an Israeli society that is predominantly non-black, as well as the extent to which their assimilation can be either impeded or facilitated due to the racial dynamics peculiar to a black minority. A fundamental question, therefore, is whether integration would be seamless, irrespective of race, for the Beta Israel, as has been for other Diaspora Jewish immigrants.  The paper tries to answer this question using existing assimilation theories. At the same time, this author argues that, while being subjected to racial discrimination in the short term, the future of the Ethiopian Jews would be one of having a positively-impacting presence in the Jewish state; this is to say that their potential of becoming a political force could be far-reaching, owing to their growing population count in Israel, a country that has a very small population (6.5 million) compared to many other states around the globe. This potential is further buttressed by mounting Ethiopian cultural manifestations already in the daily lifestyle of the Israeli society. Even more importantly, their potential influence in the foreign policy arena, particularly as this pertains to the strategic interest of Israel in Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa generally, could be enormous and lasting. The latter influence could come from the Beta Israel community‟s strong attachment to Ethiopia, not only because it is the country of their origin but also it is where they are viewed with much envy as future investors and tourists in a state that has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. So, the Ethiopian Israelis in effect could serve as a bond between Israel and Africa.