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For Our Soul Ethiopian Jews in Israel Teshome G. Wagaw

Bewteen 1977 and 1992, practically all Ethiopian Jews migrated to Israel. This mass move followed the 1974 revolution in Ethiopia and its ensuing economic and political upheavals, compounded by the brutality of the military regime and the willingness—after years of refusal—of the Israeli government to receive them as bona fide Jews entitled to immigrate to that country. Based on fieldwork conducted over several years, For Our Soul describes the ongoing process of adjustment and absorption that the Ethiopian Jewish immigrants, also known as Falasha or Beta Israel, have experienced in Israel. As the sole black Jewish community from sub-Saharan Africa in Israel, the Ethiopian Jews have met with unique difficulties. The author addresses the history of the Falasha; their religious and occupational practices in Ethiopia; and the adversity they experienced as they navigated from their homeland to Israel.

"Wagaw writes about [Ethiopian Jews] not as some Jewish religious wonder to be marveled at . . . . but as a community of individuals with wishes and desires identifiable to all . . . . Cover[s] many important issues relating to Ethiopians in Israel . . . . writtenin a direct and clear way, making it easily accessible." —The Jerusalem Post

Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology $44.95s cloth / ISBN 0-8143-2458-4 296 pages 1993