>> From the library of Congress in Washington D.C.
[Silence]
>> Good afternoon everyone.
I'm Peggy Pearlstein, I'm head of the Hebraic section here
in the African Middle Eastern division of the Library of Congress.
Welcome to today's program.
Following a dream: the Beta Israel Then and Now.
The African Middle Eastern division
and you see the reading room behind you, you're sitting
in the reading room and the office area behind me was created in 1978
with a reorganization at the library.
And so we have the Hebraic section, the Neri section
and the African section where we do collection development
for 78 countries as well as reference service
for those same countries as well.
So if you want to look at materials in Arabic or Persian or Turkish
or Hebrew, Armanian or Amharic, this is where you come to do research
at the Library of Congress.
Among the things that we do here in addition to collection development
and reference service is to have programs like we're having today
and also to mount exhibits.
We had an exhibit that opened in October and just closed in April.
It was called Words Like Sapphires: 100 Years of Hebraica
at the Library of Congress 1912-2012.
And among the 60 items that we had on exhibit was one book in Hebrew
and Amharic which is a current Passover Haggadah that came
from Israel for use by the Ethiopian Jews in Israel.
But right now I would like to introduce you
to Mr. Fentahun Tiruneh, our area specialist
for Ethiopic materials here at the library of Congress.
Fentahun.
>> Mr. Fentahun Tiruneh: Thank you Peggy.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today's program.
Today we have a special guest who just arrived
from Israel Wednesday, Nili Auerbach.
And she accepted my invitation and she has made it thus far
and I'm very, very grateful that she was able to come
and deliver this lecture.
Today amongst us I think Nili's husband is here, also from Israel.
And I also want to recognize the president's Dr. Aklilu Habte
because we're talking about higher education of the Beta Israelis
and I know he is preparing the grand book about higher education
in Ethiopia because he himself was the President
of the Haile Selassie University when I was a student there
and I recognize some of my colleagues also:
Collie Gibbs [assumed spelling] from back there.
Prompted by the sanctuary's old prophecy and the subsequent yearning
in return, to return to the promised land, the Beta Israeli
of Ethiopia have prayed for centuries facing Eastwards
to join the Jewish faithful in Jerusalem.
What happened to the Beta Israeli, who once they landed
in their spiritual homeland,
has aroused the curiosity of many scholars.
Today, Nili Auerbach is here to enlighten us on the process
of their integration to the mainstream Israeli lifestyle
through whom the point of view of education
and more specifically their participation in higher education.
Nili Auerbach serves as the director of public relations
and resource development for Keren Hanan Aynor,
an Israeli non-profit whose mission is to help Ethiopia
and Israeli acquire higher education.
Her work primarily focuses on educating the Israeli
and Jewish public on the challenges facing today's Ethiopian
Israeli community.
Previously Nili has worked
at several nonprofit organizations including
in the foreign relations department of the Isreal Center for Excellence
Through Education as well
as in Hillels Schusterman International Center
as the Israel Engagement Fellow.
In addition to her work in the nonprofit sector Nili also worked
as a Jewish educator for several years in the Washington D.C. area.
Nili has served as a guest lecturer to a variety of audiences
on a wide range of topics including New Approaches in Jewish Education:
Modern Israeli Society in today's Ethiopian Jewish community.
Nili holds an MA in Jewish Education from the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem and advanced certificate of Jewish learning
from the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and a BA
in Photography from Bard College.
Nili currently lives in Jerusalem
with her husband and her three daughters.
Please welcome Nili.
[Applause]
>> Nili Auerbach: Thank you Fentahun.
It's really a pleasure to be here this morning with all of you.
I want to start with a story.
I want you to imagine for a moment that it's 1983
and picture a nine year old boy raised
in a tiny agricultural village, having begun working at the age of 7
to help his family, the boy is responsible and pays attention
to what is happening to his family and to his community.
The sky is pitch black as extended family members prepare
for a long and dangerous journey.
Together they number close to 300 people
and the upcoming journey is one based on tremendous faith.
The boy knows that they are heading to Jerusalem.
For as long as he can remember, his family and all
of their Jewish community has had a deep and spiritual longing to return
to Jerusalem, the site of the holy temple.
But for thousands of years the dream has remained just that,
a distant far off dream, certainly not something
that would rouse a whole community at nightfall to prepare for a trek
into the dangers of abandoned ridden Sudan.
Yet the boy recalls what prompted this exodus.
Letters had trickled in.
It seemed that finally, young people had reached Jerusalem.
The dream was now more than just a dream.
It was a possibility of a new life reunited
with the Jewish ancestral homeland and it was this, this longing
and a deep-rooted faith that sent families like this one into the dark
of night in search for a route to Jerusalem.
This story is just one of thousands of incredible stories of journeys
which ultimately led to the reuniting of the Beta Israel
with the rest of the modern Jewish world in the state of Israel.
I start with a story because it is stories like this one
which are essential to understanding today's Ethiopian Israeli community.
And only by understanding the community and its background
and history can one properly understand
and appreciate the current efforts of this unique group
to acquire higher education
and advanced degrees in the state of Israel.
So, I'd like to take a step back and begin by sharing an overview
of the Beta Israel and how it came to be that in all of the places
of the world a Jewish community came to exist in the heart of Africa.
The first question often asked to me when I speak to various audiences
and discuss today's Ethiopian Israeli community,
is how on earth did Jewish people end up in Ethiopia?
The answer is that there are a few different theories, but perhaps one
of the most prominent today is
that the Ethiopian Jewish community are descendents from the tribe
of Dan, one of the ten lost tribes, which were scattered
around the world following the destruction
of the first temple in 586 BC.
In fact, while we have different evidence pointing to this theory,
we know that even within the Jewish community there were rabbis
who recognized the Jewish ancestry of the Beta Israel
as far back as the 1500s.
One example of this is the radbaz, Rabbi David Ben Zimra,
the head rabbi of Egypt in the 16th century, who in his book
of questions and answers twice deals
with the question of Jews in Ethiopia.
In his writings, he writes, but those Jews who come from the land
of Kush are without doubt from the tribe of Dan
and since they did not have in their midst sages who are masters
of the tradition, they clung to the simple meaning of the scriptures.
If they had been taught, however,
they would not be irreverent towards the words of our sages.
So our status is comparable
to a Jewish infant taken captive by non Jews.
And even if you say that the matter is in doubt,
it is a commandment to redeem them.
So, we can see from his writings that it was clear that even
for hundreds of years there were at least some
in the larger Jewish community who were aware of
and recognized the importance of reuniting with the Jews of Ethiopia.
I wanted to make sure to just take a moment to point out on the map
so we can see how it might be possible that descendents
from the tribe of Dan as people were scattered from,
and you can see Israel always quite tiny on the map,
but if you locate it in the orange you'll see
that as Jews' lost tribes were scattered all
over it's quite possible to imagine how a Jewish community might have
made its way to Ethiopia.
I brought some photographs just to illustrate.
When we examine the Jewish practices and rituals
within the Ethiopian community, we can clearly see it practices
in keeping with ancient Jewish tradition.
Here you see an Ethiopian synagogue.
The beta Israel kept strict Kush root,
at least as their understanding of Kush root was,
as accurate to the first temple period.
They observed the Sabbath, read from Tura scrolls,
and even the Jewish calendar and holidays were observed.
As you can see from this slide, we can see the clear celebration
of Jewish religious rituals being performed
by Ethiopian spiritual leaders known as Kisim.
As you can see from this next photograph,
we can see matzoh being prepared.
Many of the traditions of the beta Israel closely resemble
that of the greater Jewish community.
So, we have this community whose practices largely resemble the
Jewish practices all around the world, but perhaps even more
than the fact that other Jews in the world might have not been so aware
of their existence, the Ethiopian Jewish community,
aside from their longing to return to Jerusalem, was very much isolated
and cut off, certainly no communications ability to hear
about these other Jewish communities.
Barely, we're talking about a community,
barely had no running water, no electricity,
certainly wasn't getting memos and telegraphs about what was going
on in the greater Jewish world.
But these were the rituals that were being maintained,
maintained for thousands of years.
And certainly as we lead up to the period that's really the focus
of our talk today and into the late 70s, 80s, 90s and today,
these were the rituals being maintained.
The main tie connecting them
to the greater Jewish world was really this clear dedication
and devotion towards returning to Jerusalem.
Unlike other Jewish communities that are in Europe, who also spoke
in their texts and ratings about returning to Jerusalem,
but were much more isolated and cut off, the dedication
of the Beta Israel to returning to Jerusalem is quite unique.
For a community that was completely devoid of modernization to the point
of having no contact whatsoever with the outside world,
to still have maintained such a fervent religious devotion
to the concept of returning to Jerusalem is indeed unique.
Yet because of their isolation and inability to reach
out to the Jewish world, it is only really in the late 70s and 80s
that the story of this special community enters the stage
of the greater Jewish consciousness.
The historical backdrop in the late 70s
in Ethiopia is one of a Communist regime.
The Jewish community was frequently discriminated against,
as was common in many countries, but no one was in fact not just Jews,
no one was allowed to leave the country.
The concept of immigration was nonexistent.
The leader, Mengistu, engaged in a campaign known as Red Terror
and began killing the intellectuals: academics, teachers,
students, all were targeted.
This did not greatly impact the Jewish community
as most were farmers and their professions were agricultural,
but those who were not and were academics began fleeing to Sudan.
In addition to those threats,
Ethiopia also had a very low conscription age,
with boys often being drafted as young as 12.
Many were known to never return home, so the Jewish community lived
in constant fear of these many threats.
During this period, the American government remained anti-Mengistu's
government and for that reason during these years they maintained
only a charges d'affaires and not a real embassy.
The Americans also continued to be involved in assisting Israel
to help the Jewish Ethiopian community.
One way that the Americans did this was by providing scholarships
to talented youth in Addis Ababa
as if they were going to study in America.
Student visas under this regime were still permitted
and actually those scholarships and visas
that were provided enabled approximately 1500
of the Beta Israel to reach Israel.
It was under the guise of being a student
but it helped them to get to Israel.
But still, in context, these numbers,
1500 were comparatively small with the size
of the overall Beta Israel community and those who were looking to leave
for Jerusalem began trekking to Sudan.
A major turning point in the journey occurred in 1980.
It was at this point that the Israeli government
under Menachem Begin's leadership decided
to officially recognize the Ethiopian Jewish community
and gave orders to the Mossad Israeli intelligence
to take responsibility for immigration via Sudan.
While on paper, already in 1976, the law of return,
which enables all Jews to qualify automatically
for Israeli citizenship, had been expanded to include the Beta Israel,
it was only when Jews really started arriving on mass in Sudan
that Begin gave the official order to get involved with their rescue.
1984 was a major year in the story of the Beta Israel.
The conditions in Sudan deteriorated immensely.
And this is when Michael Jackson became famous
for his song, 'We Are the World.'
It was to raise money for hunger in Africa,
as many of you might remember.
Every day, dozens of Jews were dying.
In fact, if we return to the story of the boy that I began
with you can picture the scene.
The 300 plus entourage has now walked for 2 weeks straight
on foot in the dark of night.
On route there have been many robbers
and they themselves have been robbed 4 times in just 2 weeks.
They had hoped that their arrival in Sudan would mark a better period,
but instead they were gravely mistaken.
The conditions are so terrible
that the family buries two immediate family members,
one of whom held hands with this boy the entire two week duration
of the trip to Sudan.
It is now clear to the Israeli government
that drastic action must be taken or the many thousands of Jews
who have already reached Sudan will clearly not survive the conditions.
With the American government's support,
Israel decides that it must act.
On November 21, 1984, the moment has come.
6,364 of the Beta Israel are air lifted from Sudan to Israel
as part of operation Moses.
George Gittleman, an orthodox Jew and owner
of Trans European Airlines is enlisted to help.
While his job was taking Muslim pilgrims from Africa to Mecca,
the Mossad was aware that he had good relations in Khartoum,
the airport capital in Sudan.
So it was agreed to use his planes.
At that point, all that was needed was the agreement
of Sudan's president, President Nimeiry.
Near 56 million dollars later, an agreement was reached
to enable all Jews who were already in Sudan to immigrate to Israel.
A small glitch occurred in this miraculous tale.
Due to an Israeli publication, which publicized too soon word
of this incredible mission, the story was supposed
to be blacked out, Nimeiry became upset, had second thoughts,
and about 600 of the Beta Israel were left in Sudan.
This is actually a story that gives much credit to the United States.
The CIA then organized an operation known as Lonely Wolf,
which successfully rescued the remaining 600 who were in Sudan.
So, at this point we're still 1984, we see progresses being made,
but many thousands of Jews still remain trapped within Ethiopia.
As you understood from the story, the dangers involved in the trek.
When I say that thousands reached Sudan, 6,000 were then air lifted
to Israel, I can't explain enough how many stories one hears
about the arduous journey that was involved from Sudan.
It just gives further testament
to the tremendous faith of the Beta Israel.
And even the story of the boy that I'm sharing, he repeats over
and over again that what kept them going during
that time was daily prayer.
It was an intense belief that they would reach Jerusalem,
that all of those difficulties on route from being robbed,
from disease, from losing thousands of family members, lost on route,
that period in Sudan resulted in most estimates give close to 4,000
that died somewhere in that period.
So, all of those difficulties certainly can't be underestimated
and we still have thousands of Jews as we are in the mid 80s now,
who are left in Ethiopia, couldn't,
were not able to make the trek, couldn't leave.
We're talking also about a lot of women, children, the elderly,
who just couldn't make that journey through Sudan.
So, while progress is being made, we still have the thousands trapped
in Ethiopia and it's now 1989.
Mengistu is suffering.
The geo-political situation is challenging and with no Soviet Union
to continue providing him with weapons, he is now facing himself
in the midst of a Civil War with a shortage of weapons.
He now needs American's help
and America's help is generally more forthcoming to those countries
who are friendly to Israel.
Mengistu expresses interest
in restarting diplomatic relations with Israel.
In 1990, the Israeli embassy establishes an embassy
in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.
The representatives of the embassy begin disseminating word
to the Jewish communities in all of the surrounding villages:
stop going through Sudan, come to Addis.
Keep in mind, this is in the midst of a civil war.
So, even arriving in Addis was no small feat.
You had fighting all around.
Yet the Jews kept pouring in,
they came by foot, by trucks, even by boat.
All the while encountering battles en route.
Within the next 16 months, the Israeli government, through the use
of financial bribes, succeeds in bringing over another 8,500
of the Beta Israel with passports.
But the numbers are still low in comparison with the population.
Simultaneously, the embassy is running Jewish schools
for the children who are waiting by the embassy,
as well as providing outreach and services
to the many residents waiting to immigrate.
Finally, in May of 1991, Addis is under siege
and the country is at the end of civil war.
Mengistu flees the country
and Israel knows that this is its chance.
An agreement is reached with the deputy president
for 35 million dollars, to be directly deposited
in the Ethiopian government bank account in Manhattan.
In exchange, the Israelis are given one weekend within which to take
out all of the Jews in Ethiopia.
The frantic preparations begin and the Jews begin pouring into Addis
and into the Israeli embassy.
Ultimately, in one 36 hour period,
Israel successfully rescues 14,310 Beta Israel including 8 babies born
en route.
It is the first time in history that such a large group
of black Africans have been taken
out of their native land not as slaves.
The world record is broken for number of people
in an airplane, 1,086 in, 1,087 out.
You can imagine for one moment the image of a woman with one child
on her back, two on her lap and if you can believe it, she's Jewish
but still not complaining.
I felt that such a miraculous tale would be aided by video.
So I'd like to pause for a couple of minutes and share
with you a few special visual minutes
of this incredible story in history.
The first clip which I'll share is a shorter one, shows you an overview
of what's going on in the airport on the day
that this 36 hour period begins, the second clip is a few minutes longer,
it goes into a little bit more depth
about all the preparations that were going on.
I want to point out when we get to the second clip,
one of the people that's featured in that clip,
his name is Micah Feldman, is a board member for the organization
for which I work and he was the former head of the Jewish agency
in Ethiopia during operation Solomon and you see him
in that film clip as well.
[Noise]
[Music]
So that just gives you kind of an overview.
The second clip goes into a bit more detail.
>> Addis Ababa, daybreak, May 24, 1991.
The white notes were tacked up all through the night and the news cast
from person to person, from house to house,
today is the day we'll all be leaving.
And at dawn on Friday, thousands were already gathering
at the embassy gates.
Not only the official candidates for Alia but also thousands more,
seeking salvation from the starving war-torn land.
And that same morning, there are still some well-founded suspicions
that the operation will never get off the ground.
[Speaking]
>> The numbers were pasted on foreheads to facilitate assignment
and prevent separation of families.
Some children asked to keep their lucky dots
after they arrived in Israel.
It's 9:00 am.
No final approval yet, but the buses are already filled to overflowing.
They were hired on the pretext of taking children
on a school trip to the zoo.
9:30 am. Official authorization has been granted
and the planes have received landing permits.
At the airport, 10 kilometers away, within firing range of rebel rifles,
the first Israel air force rescue plane lands.
Israeli soldiers in civilian clothes, rush to the embassy
to guard the thousands of Jews, surrounded by even larger crowds.
Every man has a job to do.
[Speaking]
>> At night, in an atmosphere of anxious emotional anticipation,
another woman gave birth.
[Speaking]
>> The Israeli physician, Dr.Riveh,
landed here from Jerusalem just a few minutes ago,
but he's already well acquainted with his new working conditions.
The mother, he says, is in pretty fair condition
and the baby is healthy and happy.
Itz Bently [assumed spelling], the name of the baby, is Israel too.
[Speaking]
[Music]
>> The signal to proceed has been given but thousands upon thousands
of people are blocking the way.
Not only the Olima but also their neighbors
and numerous curiosity seekers.
It's very difficult for the buses to plow through the crowds
and make their way to the airport.
How did the Jews of Ethiopia react to their rescue?
What will they tell their own children about the wonders
and trepidations of the exodus from Ethiopia?
At the airport, the atmosphere is calm but tense.
There's a pioneer spirit in the air.
The first passengers arrive.
It's their first flight of course.
And the children are somewhat hesitant to enter what looks
like the belly of a big bird.
[Music]
>>It's difficult for Israelis to keep a stiff upper lip.
Their tough all business front just melts here.
You can't choke back the tears at the sight of convoys
who just eight years ago were children starving
in the Sudami desert and are now full-fledged Israelis.
Most will have a double mission here: to carry out the task
and to find their relatives.
[Music]
The stream of people heading for the airport is still slow
as pressure mounts at the embassy.
Micah Feldman is worried, almost despairing.
[Speaking]
>> All Abbis Ababa is standing outside, he says.
The planes and the buses are stuck here.
[Speaking]
>> Suddenly we hear another familiar voice speaking Amharic.
[Speaking]
>> Yes, they've sent Benny here as well and he's not ashamed to admit,
I really love this work and these people.
Friday afternoon.
We'll soon be welcoming the Sabbath as more
and more buses head for the airport.
[Music]
>> The flow has now become a flood and planes continue
to descend from the skies.
The Jumbo El Al Bluebirds are coming as well.
More than a thousand people will be crowded into each giant bird.
Throughout that night, the Jews continue to stand
and wait their turn patiently.
The synagogue was turned into a night registry office.
Despite the total curfew, the overcrowded buses continue
to ply the streets of Addis Ababa en route to the airport.
Deputy Chief of Staff, general Amnan Shahack [assumed spelling],
dressed in jeans, personally oversees every detail,
every immigrant.
[Music]
>> Saturday morning.
People push forward incessively in an attempt to keep to schedule.
The commanders of the operation are trying to wind it up quickly.
The sooner the better.
They've already heard shots in the area.
And those who arrived first will be the last to leave of course.
Nearly all the Israelis connected with the operation arrived home
on the last plane, a few anonymous souls remained behind in Ethiopia
to cope with emergencies.
Operation Schlomo is over.
It took 36 hours to bring 14,200 Jews to Israel.
The task has not been completed yet.
The long process of integration has just begun.
[Speaking]
>> So, as you can see,
it was certainly quite the moment in history.
The arrival, suddenly, of over 14,000 of the Beta Israel in Israel,
essentially over night, and as you can see even from this photograph,
they were packed onto planes.
You can't even fully imagine.
Again, I go back, children who had never seen running water to get
on this big- They thought it was like a gigantic bird.
The concept of an airplane, where were they going?
How were they going?
It was an extraordinary event.
And it's one that is really essential to understand
where the Ethiopian Israeli community has come from in order
to understand where they are today and even when we look
at the question of higher education
for today's Ethiopian Israeli community, it's so important
to understand the context of how they came to be in Israel.
Often when I've spoken I get asked the question of, well,
how could it be that over 20 something years later
that Ethiopian Israelis might still be struggling
to advance themselves in higher education?
There are other immigrant communities in Israel.
Israel has served as a homeland
for Jewish communities all over the world.
Why therefore might the Ethiopian Israeli population be
struggling more?
And when we really look at their story and understand just how far
and just how large the gap was from where they were coming,
it's important contextually to understand.
Since 1991, the immigration to Israel
of the Beta Israel has continued and from 1979
until today the total number
of immigrants is just past 90,000 people.
That being said, today's community of Ethiopian Israelis
which includes second generation,
now numbers approximately 130,000 people.
So, if we return to the story with which we began,
we can now formally meet this boy.
Meir Malacchu [assumed spelling] arrived in Israel just
after operation Moses, at the age of 11 and a half.
His story, like so many others of the Beta Israel, who came to Israel,
was one filled with challenges.
Upon arrival, it took almost 4 months for the various members
of Meir's family to be reunited and living together in the same place.
For many families, it was not uncommon to be separated
from family members for a period of years.
If we keep in mind operation Moses, which took place in 1984 till 1991
with operation Solomon, you're talking
about even 7 years, families were separated.
One has to understand that also to understand the impact that that had
on the family structure, even when acclimating to Israel.
We talked about thousands that died en route, so we have families
that are now trying to acclimate and integrate into Israeli society,
who lost family members who've been separated from family members.
We're talking husbands, wives, children who arrived
without parents for several years.
Some maybe have been living Israel for several years.
Starting to acclimate, start that process and maybe now
in 1991, have now been reunited.
What that process does to the family structure, what kind of strain
that also puts on the family, the years of separation.
Also, when we look at the statistics in today's Ethiopian community,
the rates of divorce are much higher in the Ethiopian community
than in the greater Israeli population and one also has to look
at the different factors that contribute to that.
You know, when families get separated for long periods of time,
that places tremendous strain, so we also see a larger number
of single mothers within the Ethiopian community
who are particularly now looking
to advance themselves in higher education.
And just overall, the types of circumstances
that faced the Ethiopians as they were adjusting to life
in Israel was a unique set of circumstances.
When we think about their education, also for instance, Meir, this story,
when he arrived in Israel,
we said that his family was an agricultural family.
Many, many of the Ethiopian communities
of the Beta Israel arrived in Israel unable to read
or write even in Amharic.
So, when we think, oh, well many of us I imagine
in this room have learned a second language.
So we think, oh, learning a second language, yes,
it's always challenging, but to imagine that for the Beta Israels
who arrived in Israel, it wasn't just learning how to read and write
in Hebrew, it was learning how the concept even of reading and writing
to then apply to a language that they didn't speak.
And the time period that it takes to make that leap
and to make that adjustment.
One of the other great challenges to adaptation and to Israeli society;
differences in gender norms that existed.
We're talking about late 80s, early 90s in Israeli society,
the roles of men and women as compared
to traditional Ethiopian society, very different.
Many of the men that arrived in Israel, it was very emasculating
to see roles for women that they had not encountered before,
especially to arrive in a country and often not yet have the skills
to be able to provide for their families was a great challenge
for the community that led
to employment challenges also during the acclimation and adaptation.
In addition, you also have because of the very tight bonds
within the Ethiopian Beta Israel family structure,
the older generation struggled tremendously with,
for obvious reasons with the adaptation
but because family structure is so tightly knit,
the younger generation was very much part of that struggle
of the older generation of trying to help them, so the energies
and the efforts that were then being put
by the younger generation towards advancing themselves, keep in mind,
large portions of that energy was also being funneled towards
assisting the family structure to settle itself.
If we return for one moment to Meir's story,
initially the government of Israel,
which was investing tremendous resources
in helping the Ethiopian Israeli community to adapt,
followed a philosophy that it would be most pressing
to help this new community find professions.
Therefore, according to Meir, less time and energy was invested
in his education and he was instead tracked
to pursue auto-mechanic studies.
There were many different philosophies present
in Israel during that period and when you imagine for a country
to absorb so many thousands of people at that same time,
it was a decision to help people acquire professions.
But for someone like Meir, when you speak with him, he'll tell you,
he knew that wasn't for him.
But low expectations had been set for him.
He didn't complete his matriculation exams
which would enable university studies and it was only in the army
that he began to encounter other people that started talking
about their dreams of what they wanted to do with their lives,
how they wanted to make a better life for themselves,
what they wanted to study, how that could advance them and Meir talks
about how that completely opened his eyes.
And when he finished the army between the ages of 24 and 26,
he completed all of his matriculation exams.
It took him two years and after working a year and a half to make
up that financial gap of that time, he completed a first degree
in education and began working with at risk youth.
His work with at-risk youth led him to have such an intense desire
to better understand what leads those youth to the behaviors
that he was working with them, that Meir has since then decided
to pursue an additional degree, this time in social work
and Meir today is in his second year of studies at Bar-llan University.
So, stories like Meir's tell us much about the current state
of higher education for the Ethiopian Israeli community.
While great strides have been made,
today we have Ethiopians in almost every field.
We have Ethiopian Israeli doctors, lawyers, even members of parliament,
of the Knesset, in Israel, theater artists.
We certainly see Ethiopian Israelis making great strides,
but much more remains before they will be adequately represented
in higher education in Israel.
Financial strains are great, there is no more older generation on which
to rely, both for financial assistance and also
for the social networking and the connections that many people have
when they think they turn to their parents for help, for guidance,
to be role models of how to pursue higher education.
For the Ethiopian Israeli community,
most who are pursuing higher education today,
it's first generation.
They don't have that same network of contacts of people, of role models.
And that's why allthemoreso,
those who are pursuing higher education are really serving
that role for their community.
Today, if we look,
Israeli matriculation exams amongst 12th grade pupils in Israel,
you see that they're actually even slightly higher rates of Ethiopians
who are now completing matriculation exams.
But when you look at the comparison of the numbers
that are receiving their certificate
for successfully passing those exams,
there's still quite a large gap between the Ethiopian population
and the general population in Israel.
If you also look at the difference between the general population
and the Ethiopian population for studying for first degrees
and second degrees, here we have Ethiopian population still,
much much lower.
So, even as we talk about the strides being made by the community,
it can't be emphasized enough that there are still many challenges
that the community is still struggling to meet those challenges
in order to acquire the degrees to help them really advance themselves.
If we look also, amongst those who are pursuing degrees,
you see the break down is close to 90 percent are still
at the level trying to pursue a first degree.
So, when we compare that also to the general population in Israel,
we see still underrepresented in terms of second and third degrees,
but to give context, if we look back, you know even 15 years,
you could count on one hand the number of Ethiopians
in Israel who were pursuing a PhD.
So, certainly making great strides, certainly continuing
to advance, but still struggling.
And one thing I also just wanted to point out in terms of area of focus
and area of study for those who are pursuing degrees
in the Ethiopian Israeli community, much greater number
in the social sciences and humanities
that the Ethiopian Israelis tend to be very interested also
in helping their own community.
A lot pursue education, a lot pursue social work.
Those are really fields that are a big draw
for today's Ethiopian Israeli community.
So, I just want to kind of close today's session and I want to say,
there are really many organizations in Israel today that are working
to try and help bridge this gap that we just looked at
and to provide help and to, both monetary and emotional,
for those within the Ethiopian Israeli community
who are trying to pursue education.
The organization for which I work,
the Hanani Noir Foundation [assumed spelling], is one such organization
who provides scholarships to Ethiopian Israelis
with a particular emphasis on those pursuing second and third degrees,
but also towards many who are raising families,
who are also working while raising families, many single mothers
who are really trying to complete that circle
that we started with, which was a dream.
A dream to come and make a better life, to be reunited
with the Jewish people, and ultimately not just to arrive
in Israel, but to prosper, to flourish
and that's what today's Ethiopian Israeli community is still striving
to do.
So I thank you and I would be happy to take some questions.
The question was, understanding the reasons
that the Israeli government might have
to bring the Ethiopian Jewish community to Israel,
still in that backdrop, what is the Israeli government doing
to still try to assist them to acclimate.
So, the Israeli government really has invested a tremendous amount
of resources, everything from creating absorption centers,
setting up special opanine [assumed spelling], which train in language.
Vocational training schools,
also particularly upon their first arrival, Ethiopians were given food,
clothing, basic necessities that came
with what they had on their backs.
So, that was provided.
Even today, the Israeli government continues
to give special scholarships to help Ethiopians,
especially with their education.
But there do remain gaps between what the government is able
to provide and for instance, one such gap is
that the government provides assistance to students studying
for a first degree up to the age of 28.
And one of the things that you might have caught even from Meir's story:
he began his first degree at age 28.
In Israel, keep in mind there's mandatory draft.
Many people don't even complete army service until 23, sometimes 24,
so even with that, people starting degrees at sometimes past
that age limit and people fall between the cracks
and don't get the financial help
that they need to then pursue degrees.
I hope that answers your question.
The question was, when the Beta Israel arrived in Israel,
were they afforded the full and complete rights
of an Israeli citizen, or was there a special refugee status.
And the answer is that they were counted as part of the law of return
to Israel, which grants full Israeli citizenship to any Jew
who is seeking to reside in Israel
and they were afforded those full rights.
He asked to give a little bit of background
as to why there was controversy within Israel,
as far as recognizing the Jewish ancestry of the Beta Israel
and what might have contributed to their ultimate recognition?
OK. So, I think like many Jewish issues,
anybody who's studied Jewish texts or looked at Talmudic studies knows
that Jewish history is filled with back and forth, give and take,
nothing is ever quite so simple to reach decisions
within the Jewish community.
I think that like other Jewish communities, the Ethiopian,
the Beta Israel was not the only one that there was controversy as far
as recognition of their status.
Like I pointed out, though, in my discussion, there were
and there were rabbis in the state of Israel that were arguing
that at a minimum, hundreds of years it had been known
that this Jewish community existed.
As far as the turning point in their recognition,
it came first from the sephardic chief rabbi,
before ultimately being recognized by the ashkenazi chief rabbi
and it was not without some challenges.
There were periods of time that there were many questions raised
and even within Israeli society, so it was a challenging issue for many.
So the question is, have any poets or novelists emerged
from the Ethiopian Israeli community
and what language are they writing in?
So, the answer is yes, there are writers.
Also, not sure about poets, at least that I know of off the top
of my head, but certainly there, as far as Ethiopian writers,
writing both in Amharic and Hebrew, you have both within the community.
And also, in addition to literature, very much also present
in the press, in the media as well.
So, the question is even in the villages, weren't the men
at least taught to read Hebrew for the bible and prayers?
So, I don't want to misspeak here but to the best of my knowledge,
a lot was by rote, by memorization.
So it wasn't as many of us might imagine from reading
from a prayer book, that was not necessarily the case.
And much was just done by chanting and rote and memory of hundreds
and even thousands of years passing generation to generation.
So it was not a given that they would have learned
to read and write Hebrew.
The question is where is today's Ethiopian community in Israel based,
in which parts of the country?
And also, since the background was agricultural,
are any today working as farmers?
So I'll answer both those questions.
The majority of today's Ethiopian Israeli community is divided
between both the center and the south of the country.
Specific cities with concentrated areas,
although certainly there are Ethiopian Israelis spread
out throughout the country, particularly in institutions
of higher learning they're represented in all different places,
but as far as living, concentrated in the center and south.
As far as employment and agriculture, very few.
Most have either found different professions or are still struggling
to adequately make that leap.
It's a challenging one.
>> Thank you so much, Nili.
>> I'm more than happy to stay and answer questions
after if anyone would like to come, I'm here.
>> Yes. Thank you all for coming.
>> Thank you.
[Silence]
>> This has been a presentation of the library of congress.
Visit us at llc.gov