The Beta Israel of Ethiopia
-- from "The Song of Songs" The word, "Falasha," means "stranger" or "immigrant" in Ge’ez, the classical ecclesiastical tongue of Ethiopia. Though the Ethiopian Jews prefer to call themselves Beta Israel (the House of Israel), "Falasha" is an apt way to characterize their community’s role as an interminable outsider since its inception nearly two millennia ago. Only since the Israeli government accepted the Falashas as "official" Jews in 1975 has this unlikely community begun to find some of the acceptance that it has sought. history | today | more info | map of africa |
