The Situation of Ethiopian Jews in Israel

Demographics
Income and Employment
Welfare
Education
Discrimination
New Immigrants
More Immigrants Identifying as Christians
Milestones

Ethiopian Jews have been in Israel for more than three decades, yet the vast majority continue to live in Israel’s social periphery. Ethiopian Israelis are perceived as a “unique” group and are often treated as such by the government and NGOs. Even with the special treatment, their social standing has changed little over the years. Moreover, socio-economic gaps between Ethiopian Israelis and the general population persist, despite the major resources invested.

Demographics

At the end of 2020, the population of Ethiopian origin in Israel numbered 159,500 residents. Approximately 88,500 were born in Ethiopia, and 71,000 were Israeli-born with fathers born in Ethiopia.

At present, 70% of Ethiopian Israelis do not fall under Israel’s standard definition of “olim” (new immigrants). Only about 30% have been in Israel for less than 10 years. Within the veteran Ethiopian Israeli population, there is great variance relating to background, language, and culture of the geographical area in Ethiopia from which they come, when they made aliya (in the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s), and how long they have been in Israel, where they live and what they do in Israel. The majority of Ethiopian Israelis live in central and southern Israel (38% and 24%, respectively).

The Ethiopian Community Spiritual Center in Netivot

Approximately 63% of the population of Ethiopian origin lives in two main districts: about 38% live in the Central District, and about 25% live in the Southern District. At the end of 2020, the urban locality with the highest number of residents of Ethiopian origin was Netanya (approximately 12,200 persons). However, the highest percentage of residents of Ethiopian origin out of the total population in a locality was found in Qiryat Mal’akhi (16%).

In 2020, 4,036 infants were born to women of Ethiopian origin in Israel. That year, the average number of children that a woman of Ethiopian origin was expected to bear during her lifetime was 2.89.

At the end of 2020, children of Ethiopian origin between the ages of 0 to 14 comprised 27% of that population (of whom approximately 90% were born in Israel). the percentage of persons aged 65 and over among the population of Ethiopian origin was 6.5% (most of whom were born abroad). By comparison, the proportion of persons aged 0 to 14 among the overall population of Jews and Others that year was similar to that of the population of Ethiopian origin: 27.1%. The proportion of persons aged 65 and over among the population of Jews and Others was 14.0%, more than twice their proportion of the population of persons of Ethiopian origin.

In 2019, 768 grooms and 832 brides of Ethiopian origin were married in Israel in licensed religious institutions, 89% for the first time, and 87% married a spouse of the same origin. Among men of Ethiopian origin, the average age at first marriage was 29.8 in 2019 (2.4 years older than the median age of Jewish grooms). Among women of Ethiopian origin, the average age at first marriage was 27.9 (2.3 years older than Jewish brides).

The divorce rate among the population of Ethiopian origin was higher than the divorce rate in the overall Jewish population. Approximately 17.5 of every 1,000 married couples divorced, compared with 9.3 of every 1,000 married couples in the overall Jewish population.

Welfare

Approximately one out of three Ethiopian-born persons (28,000) were registered at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs in 2020. This is more than double the rate of Jews and Others among persons born abroad. Approximately 81% were defined as needing intervention. The most often cited reasons for needing help were dysfunctional parents and/or children/adolescents (approximately 42%), poverty, income, and employment (approximately 27%). The least common reason for needing intervention was addiction and delinquency (approximately 2%).

Income and Employment

In 2015, the income of an Ethiopian household was 35% lower than that of an average household in Israel. More than 35% of Ethiopian-Israeli families live under the poverty line in comparison with 18.6% of Israeli families in general.

On the positive side, the percentage of employed Ethiopians increased from 50% to 72% between 2003 and 2015. The percentage of women in the workforce grew from 35% to 65% in a decade.

Only 5% of Ethiopians hold “quality” jobs compared to 33% of Jewish Israelis in general. That is changing, however, as more Ethiopians complete higher education: 55% of Ethiopian university graduates are employed in high-quality positions, similar to the figure for the general Jewish population. Salaries of Ethiopian graduates lag, primarily because a large proportion take lower-paying jobs in fields such as nursing and teaching. Some activists also complain that young people have to change their names to sound less Ethiopian to get jobs.

In 2015, the average spending for Ethiopian Israeli households was 33% less than that of Israeli households in general, in correspondence with the gross income of Ethiopian Israeli households which is approximately 35% lower than Israeli households in general.

Education

During the 2019/20 academic year, 31,841 students of Ethiopian origin – 2.3% of the total population of students in the Hebrew education system – were enrolled in primary and secondary schools. About 42.0% of the students of Ethiopian origin were enrolled in schools under State-religious supervision (primary and secondary education). This percentage has been declining over the past decade (it was 53.8% in the 2009/10 school year). Concomitantly, there has been an increase in the percentage of students enrolled in schools under State supervision (52.6%, compared to 43.4% in the 2009/10 school year). In Ultra-Orthodox supervision, this figure rose to 5.3% – more than twice the percentage in the 2009/10 school year (2.8%).

Approximately 90% of Ethiopian Jews have a high-school education, similar to the 93% of the overall Jewish population.

Standardized tests (“Meitzav” in grades 2, 5, and 8, "Pisa" in grade 10, and the percentage qualifying for “Bagrut” (matriculation)) show that there are serious gaps between Ethiopian Israelis and the general population. These gaps are evident from grades on standardized tests in Hebrew, English, and math – and increase as the grade level rises. Nevertheless, the percentage of 12th-grade students of Ethiopian origin taking matriculation exams was 92% in 2019/20, compared with 95.2% of the students in the Hebrew education system overall (excluding ultra-Orthodox supervision). 

The share of students of Ethiopian origin holding a matriculation certificate that met university entrance requirements (i.e., the percentage of potential candidates for continued study at institutions of higher education) was 48%, compared with 73.1% of the total number of students in the Hebrew education sector. It should be noted, however, that the percentage of students eligible for a matriculation certificate that meets university entrance requirements has been increasing in recent years.

The number of students of Ethiopian origin in institutions of higher education (excl. the Open University) has been increasing in recent years: from 2,372 in 2011/12 to 3,782 in 2020/21. Ariel University had the largest number of students of Ethiopian origin (238), followed by Hebrew University (202). In 2019, 1,489 students of Ethiopian origin attended vocational training courses, which is 2.7% of all students in training in that year.

High percentages of first-degree students of Ethiopian origin were enrolled in the following fields: business and management sciences (20.6% compared with 11.2% of all students), social sciences (22.0% compared with 17.4% of all students), and paramedical professions (9.5% compared with 6.6% of all students). Low percentages of first-degree students were enrolled in the following fields: engineering and architecture (11.1% compared with 18.9% of all students), mathematics, statistics, and computer sciences (5.5% compared with 9.5% of all students), biological sciences (0.9% compared with 3.4% of all students), and physical sciences (0.2% compared with 1.4% of all students).

Only 20% of Ethiopians have a university education compared to 40% of the general population, a reflection of the fact that only 53% pass their matriculation exams compared to 73% of the general population. The matriculation results and participation in higher education for the second generation, however, is roughly four times higher than their parents’ generation.

Only 0.28% of Ethiopian Israelis participated in special programs for gifted children compared to 1.5% of the general Jewish population. Yet, the percentage of Ethiopian Israelis in special education is 50% higher than their proportion in the population. 

The number of Ethiopian-Israeli teachers employed in the school system increased from 54 in 2009-2010 to 240 in 2014 out of a total of 137,567 teachers - a participation rate of a mere 0.16%.

In the 2013/14 academic year, there were a total of 312,528 university/college students in Israel; 2,785 were Israelis of Ethiopian origin, i.e. Ethiopian Israelis make up 0.9% of university/college students while they are 1.5% of the population. Higher rates of Ethiopian Israeli women attend university than in the general population – 67.7% and 56.8%, respectively (BA).

In June 2019, the Council for Higher Education approved a multi-year $40.4-million plan to encourage academic excellence and leadership among Ethiopian-Israeli students as part of the 2015 Government Policy for Advancing the Integration of Israel Citizens of Ethiopian Descent into Israeli Society. The objective is to increase the number of Ethiopian students pursuing bachelor’s degrees by 40%, from 2,500 to approximately 3,500, within five years.

In 2020, Tel Aviv University announced the launch of a program to study the Orit, the Ethiopian version of the Hebrew Bible, which is written in Ge’ez, the language used by Ethiopian clergy. The project also seeks to preserve songs, rabbinical interpretations, and stories in Amharic and Tigrinya that are being lost as Ethiopian Jews assimilate into Israeli Society.

Discrimination

Israelis were very excited and proud to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel and felt a particular affinity for their commitment to Judaism in exile and desire to return to Zion. Nevertheless, Ethiopians have sometimes been victims of discrimination. Only 25% of Israelis say they want to live next to Ethiopians, and the government settled many of them in towns on Israel’s periphery. In 2012, residents of an apartment complex in Kiryat Malachi refused to sell or rent to Ethiopians, which provoked a protest against housing discrimination.

In 2015, protests erupted when a video surfaced showing two policemen beating an Ethiopian-Israeli soldier while he was in uniform, highlighting what members of the community say is a pattern of police brutality. A subsequent demonstration in Tel Aviv turned violent, and 60 people were injured. After the incident, the government formed a commission to stamp out racism, which reported Ethiopians were discriminated against in education, medical treatment, employment, and army enlistment. Ethiopians also were victims of “over-policing” – aggressive tactics in response to minor violations – and were indicted and jailed at far higher rates than other Israelis. Following the publication of the report, the situation has improved, with “a drop in over-policing” and “a significant improvement in police interactions with young Ethiopian Israelis.”

Activists also complain that students of Ethiopian descent, even if born in Israel, fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Absorption rather than the Ministry of Education. They say that their history is not being taught with the same diligence as that of other immigrant groups.

Raphael Hadane, the Liqa Kahenat (High priest) of Beta Israel in Israel

In February 2018, the Israeli government ended a 30-year controversy over the status of traditional Ethiopian leaders known as kesim by recognizing their authority to perform official religious functions and the legitimacy of their halachic rulings.

In June 2019, an Ethiopian soldier reported that his commander had called him a “stinking kushi” — a Hebrew racial slur. The commander was relieved of duty.

The same month, police killed an unarmed Ethiopian teenager, which provoked protests across Israel. This was at least the fourth Ethiopian to be killed by police since 1997.

Gilad Erdan, the minister for internal security, and Motti Cohen, the acting police commissioner, promised to set up a new unit “to fight expressions of racism wherever they exist” and to ensure that force is used “moderately and responsibly only against those who break the law.”

Meanwhile, the percentage of persons of Ethiopian origin who were judged in criminal trials constituted 7.2% of the total number of residents of Israel in the Jewish and other populations. The percentage of juveniles of Ethiopian origin was much higher than that of adults.

New Immigrants

Between 2010 and 2013, 1,704 families of Ethiopian origin left absorption centers, and 1,133 received increased government assistance (66%). In 2013, 85% of those who left absorption centers received increased assistance. Over three years, in the wake of advocacy efforts, the Ministry of Absorption has become more flexible in providing assistance to new immigrants of Ethiopian origin. Yet at present, more than 5,000 new immigrants from Ethiopia remain in absorption centers (out of a total of 7,000 new immigrants in the centers).

The Israeli government approved the entry of the “last group” of Ethiopian Jews in November 2015, aiming to finish what was started by Operation Moses 30 years prior. This announcement came two years after Israeli government officials claimed that no Jews remained in Ethiopia. There have been several supposedly “last” groups of Ethiopian Jews that have made aliyah to Israel, with the most recent group of 450 arriving in Israel in 2013. It is estimated that this proposal approved the entry into Israel of approximately 9,100 Ethiopian Jews, most of whom were at the time living in refugee camps in Adis Ababa and Gondar. The first group of this new wave of Ethiopian immigration to Israel arrived eleven months after the initial announcement, on October 9, 2016. Knesset members and other government officials met the group of 63 Falash Mura at Ben Gurion Airport, to welcome them to their new lives.

A deal reached in April 2016 between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset members will allow 10,000 Ethiopian Jews to be absorbed into Israel between 2016 and 2020, according to an administration spokesperson. The agreement allowed room in the government budget for transportation costs and for conversion program costs to better integrate the new citizens.

On November 16, 2017, 69 Jews arrived in Israel from Ethiopia. 

Just one Ethiopian Jewish family was allowed to immigrate to Israel in 2018.

On September 17, 2018, Israel announced plans to accept 1,000 more Ethiopian Jews out of an estimated population of 8,000. The first of these, a group of 82, landed in Israel on February 4, 2019. Only Jews with first-degree family already in Israel were included in the government’s decision. They are able to bring their partners and any unmarried children who do not have children of their own.

Although a cabinet decision in 2015 promised to bring the entire Falash Mura community to Israel over a five-year period, the government never budgeted the roughly $55 million per year needed to absorb them.

On February 9, 2020, the government approved the immigration of 398 Ethiopian immigrants, including 43 who arrived in late February and 73 (14 families) who arrived on March 24, just before Ethiopia officially closed its land borders as a response to the COVID-19 virus.

Following the loosening of coronavirus-related restrictions, Israel welcomed 119 immigrants from Ethiopia on May 21, 2020. This group of Falash Mura arrived on a special flight from Addis Ababa organized by the Jewish Agency. Their arrival was a few days after Pnina Tamano-Shata, the first Ethiopian-born woman to serve in the Knesset, became the first Ethiopian-born woman to serve in the cabinet. She was appointed Minister for Immigration and Integration.

On July 23, 2020, another 34 Ethiopian Jews arrived. Like other immigrants landing in the country during the pandemic, they were quarantined for 14 days.

On October 12, 2020, the cabinet approved the aliyah of 2,000 Falash Mura. “This is a very painful and long-standing issue, and it is time to put an end to this injustice that cries to heaven,” Tamano-Shata said. “It is time to connect the torn families, embrace them and integrate them in the best way here in Israel alongside their families.”

Approximately 8,000 Falash Mura are still waiting to make aliyah, and about 4,500 of them have immediate family in Israel. “I intend to put an end to the issue and close the camps,” Tamano-Shata said.

Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz said the decision was “an important and welcomed move promoted by Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata with dedication and professionalism out of a true national mission.”

“We will not stop there,” Gantz said. “There are thousands more waiting to immigrate, and this is an ongoing task of the Israeli government that means real life-saving. We as a government need to integrate the immigrants who come and remember that it is not just to bring a plane with immigrants; it is a mission that will last for years.”

On December 3, 2020, 316 Falash Mura arrived in Israel on the first flight of Operation Rock of Israel. This group, the children or grandchildren of members of the community who immigrated in the past, will be followed by another contingent on December 5. In 2020, despite the COVID pandemic, 1,080 immigrants arrived.

The government planned to airlift approximately 2,000 by the end of January 2021. The first 300 arrived on January 1.

Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomes Ethiopian Jews (December 3, 2020)

In 2021, the government passed the first state budget in three years and approved funds to bring 3,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel as the plight of Jews was becoming more precarious due to the escalation of the civil war in Ethiopia. 

Approximately 60 residents of the Tigray region were brought to Israel in a secret operation in July after they pretended to be Jewish and said that their lives were in danger because of the fighting. It was later discovered that most had no ties to Judaism and didn’t live in the area of the fighting. It was reported that security forces had made huge efforts to rescue these Ethiopians, endangering their lives and jeopardizing diplomatic ties with Ethiopia.

Despite the fraud, Minister Tamano-Shata said the situation in Ethiopia was indeed serious and demanded in November that the state expedite its efforts to bring 8,000 Jews to Israel. In November, the government agreed to accelerate the immigration of 5,000. Operation Tzur Yisrael intended to first bring children whose parents are in Israel, and then parents of children in Israel, and finally siblings.

Shortly after the announcement Joseph Feit, chairman of Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry, claimed 14,100 Jews were awaiting aliyah. He said, “from 2011 to 2013, Israel took only maternally linked Jews; the government left behind in the camps 9,400 paternally-linked Beta Israel....The original 9,400 naturally increased in number by thousands, because of births over the years.” This is an extraordinary number given that all of the Jews were supposed to have been brought to Israel years ago and indicative of what critics claim is an effort by some Ethiopians to leave the country by claiming to be Jewish.

In June 2022, 300 Falash Mura from Gondar were brought to Israel. “It’s a historic event and I’m glad that after unrelenting efforts we are continuing aliyah from Ethiopia,” said Tamano-Shata.

On July 12, 2023, 130 Ethiopian immigrants arrived in Israel on the final flight of Operation Tzur Yisrael. Advocates for Ethiopian Jews protested that the operation ended without bringing all the Jews to Israel. Thousands approved for immigration remained in camps in Addis Ababa and Gondar, but no budget was allocated to transport them.

In addition to the usual benefits offered to new immigrants –  housing in an “absorption center,” a stipend, free Hebrew-language instruction, and tax benefits  –  new programs provide an opportunity for Ethiopians to move directly into apartments in Kiryat Gat and help them get jobs in the high-tech industry.

More Immigrants Identifying as Christians

The Population and Immigration Authority reported in 2023 that out of more than 5,000 immigrants from Ethiopia between 2020 and 2022, two-thirds (3,301) identified as Christians, and only 1,773 claimed to be descendants of Jews. Israel has become increasingly concerned that many Ethiopian Christians are trying to immigrate. In 2022, the government banned them from visiting Israel for Easter because of fear they would not return home.

On August 21, 2023, Israel rescued 204 Israeli and Ethiopian nationals who were in danger due to the civil war in Ethiopia. Only 44 were eligible to emigrate; most were Israeli citizens.

Activists were dissatisfied with the government’s failure to bring all the Jews who remained in Ethiopia to Israel, and thousands demonstrated to demand that their relatives be allowed to make aliyah. According to the Population Authority, 4,226 people remained in camps in Gondar and Addis Ababa and had filed requests for aliyah. The Immigration and Integration Ministry said that there are at least 1,200 eligible people and thousands of others who want to immigrate whose qualification has not been determined.

Advocates also complained of what they saw as a double standard as the government allowed anyone with an Israeli relative fleeing the war in Ukraine to enter the country freely. Steps were also taken to rescue Ukrainians eligible to immigrate. 

Milestones

Israel holds an annual memorial service at the national cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to remember the estimated 4,000 Ethiopian Jews who died trying to reach Israel.

• In 1999, Ethiopian youth joined the Israeli Scouts and the first Ethiopian Jew became a doctor.
• In 2012, Israel appointed its first Ethiopian Jewish ambassador.
• In 2012, Pnina Tamano-Shata became the first Ethiopian-born woman to serve in the Knesset.
• In 2013, an Ethiopian-Israeli won the Miss Israel Pageant.
• In 2016, Lt. Col. Avi Yitzhak became the first Ethiopian Israeli to graduate from the IDF's Brigade Commander course. He was also the first Ethiopian Israeli to ever serve as a combat doctor and is a graduate of Ben-Gurion University's medical program. Yitzhak emigrated to Israel at age 19 in 1991, and prior to entering the Brigade Commander course, he led the Combat Medical Branch of the IDF Medical Corps. In another first, Yitzhak became the first Ethiopian-Israeli to attain the rank of Colonel in the IDF in November 2016.
• In 2016, the Israeli Bar Association announced that for the first time in history, the Israeli Judicial Committee had selected two Ethiopian women, Adenko Sabhat Haimovich and Esther Tapeta Gradi, to serve as judges.  Haimowitz will serve on the Central District Magistrate’s Court, and Gardi was appointed to serve on the Haifa District Traffic Court.
• In 2017, an Ethiopian-Israeli IDF officer, Major Yaros Shigot, lit the torch at Israel's national Independence Day ceremony. 
• Seventeen-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli Eden Alene won the 2018 Edition of Israel's X Factor singing contest television show in January 2018.
• In November 2018, Israel’s first male Ethiopian judge, Bialin Elazar, was appointed to the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.
• In December 2018, the Israeli Air Force’s first Ethiopian pilot completed his training.
• The International Center for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry at Ono Academic College launched a Chair for Research of Ethiopian Jewry, the first such academic position in the country and likely the world.
• Pnina Tamano-Shata became Israel’s first Ethiopian-born cabinet minister in May 2020. She will be Minster for Immigration and Integration.
• In December 2020, Eden Amare Yitbarek became the first Israeli of Ethiopian background to win a Rhodes scholarship.
• Eden Alene made history as Israel’s first Ethiopian representative in the Eurovision 2021 Song Contest.

Sources: The Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews (IAEJ).
Lee Yaron, “Ethiopians Earn 40% Less Than Average Israeli Household,” Haaretz, (November 11, 2015).
Gill Hoffman, “Coalition crisis averted: 9000 Ethiopian immigrants to be brought to Israel over 5 years,” Jerusalem Post (April 8, 2016).
Judah Ari Gross, “In first, IDF taps member of Ethiopian community for colonel,” Times of Israel, (November 22, 2016).
Faye Greer Cashman, “Ethiopian Israeli women appointed judges,” Jerusalem Post, (December 21, 2016).
Meirav Arlosoroff, “Ethiopians in Israel: An Employment and Educational Success,” Haaretz, (July 9, 2015).
Jerusalem Report, (June 15, 2015).
Ilan Lior, “Israel Set to Greenlight Final Aliyah of Ethiopia's Falashmura Community,” Haaretz, (November 14, 2015):
Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman, “Breaking Glass,” Jerusalem Report, (February 6, 2017).
“231 immigrants from two ‘lost tribes’ arrive in Israel,” Times of Israel, (November 16, 2017).
Marcy Oster, Ethiopian-Israeli teen wins Israel’s ‘X-Factor,’ JTA, (January 31, 2018).
Benjamin Kerstein, “After 30 Years of Limbo, Traditional Ethiopian-Jewish Religious Leaders Recognized by Israel,” Algemeiner, (February 20, 2018).
Revital Hovel, “Israel Appoints First Male Ethiopian Judge,” Haaretz, (November 24, 2018).
“Cabinet approves immigration of 1,000 Ethiopian Falashmura to Israel,” Times of Israel, (October 7, 2018).
Judah Ari Gross, “Lt. ‘Yod’ to become first Ethiopian-Israeli air force pilot,” Times of Israel, (December 18, 2018).
Jeremy Sharon, “First-Ever Ethiopian Jewry Chair Established In Ono Academic College,” Jerusalem Post, (January 6, 2019).
Michael Bachner and Melanie Lidman, “Ending long wait, Israel welcomes 82 Ethiopian immigrants,” Times of Israel, (February 5, 2019).
David M. Halbfinger and Isabel Kershner, “After a Police Shooting, Ethiopian Israelis Seek a ‘Black Lives Matter’ Reckoning,” New York Times, (July 13, 2019).
“Israel approves $40.4 million to help Ethiopian students in higher education,” JTA, June 21, 2019).
Lisa Klug, “Hours before border closes, 72 Ethiopian immigrants land in Israel overnight,” Times of Israel, (March 24, 2020).
Tom Gross, “First female Ethiopian-born and ultra-orthodox Israeli cabinet ministers sworn in, Mideast Dispatch, (May 18, 2020).
“119 immigrants from Ethiopia arrive in Israel,” Times of Israel, (May 21, 2020).
“Israel remembers Ethiopian Jews who died trying to reach Israel,” World Israel News, (May 21, 2020).
Judy Maltz, “Another Group of Ethiopian Immigrants Lands in Israel Thursday Morning,” Haaretz, (July 23, 2020).
“Aliyah of 2,000 Ethiopians approved by government,” Jerusalem Post, (October 12, 2020).
Cnaan Liphshiz, “Tel Aviv University launches academic program to preserve knowledge of Ethiopian Jewish bible,” JTA, (October 28, 2020).
Jeremy Sharon, “First immigrants from Ethiopia in Operation Rock of Israel land,” Jerusalem Post, (December 3, 2020).
Sue Surkes, “Ethiopian-Israeli one of 2 Rhodes scholars bound for Oxford University,” Times of Israel, (December 17, 2020).
“300 Ethiopian immigrants the first to make aliyah to Israel in 2021,” Jerusalem Post, (January 3, 2021).
Gabe Friedman, “Listen: Israel’s 2021 Eurovision song entry by Ethiopian-Israeli pop star Eden Alene,” JTA, (February 4, 2021).
Helen Chernikoff, “The Ethiopian aliyah is not over,” eJewish Philanthropy, (August 3, 2021).
“The Population of Ethiopian Origin in Israel: Selected Data Published on the Occasion of the Sigd Festival 2021,” Central Bureau of Statistics, (November 1, 2021).
“Ministers expedite immigration of 5,000 Ethiopians to Israel as conflict worsens,” Times of Israel, (November 9, 2021).
Joseph Feit, “Ethiopian Jewry: Will Israel repeat mistakes?” Jerusalem Post, (November 20, 2021).
“Israel banning easy entry for Ethiopian Christians this Easter - report,” Jerusalem Post, (March 15, 2022).
Cnaan Liphshiz, “After decades of waiting, 300 of Ethiopia’s Falash Mura to leave for Israel this week,” JTA, (May 31, 2022).
Judah Ari Gross, “130 Ethiopian immigrants land in Israel, but thousands more still waiting to come,” eJP, (July 13, 2023).
Zivka Klein, “Majority of recent Ethiopian immigrants to Israel are Christians,” Jerusalem Post, (August 21, 2023).
Bar Peleg, “Ethiopian Israelis Are Angry Over a Double Standard That Leaves Loved Ones in Danger,” Haaretz, (August 22, 2023).

Photos: Netivot - מרכז להבה נתיבות, CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.
Raphael Hadane - Yaki Zimmerman (יקי צימרמן), CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Netanyahu -Israel Government Press Office.
Memorial -  יעקב, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.