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June 2, 2000/28 Iyar 5760, Vol. 52, No.39
Ethiopians concerned about fate of relatives
AVI MACHLIS
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - From the hilltop caravan site known as Givat Hamatos, the entire new city of Jerusalem shines below like a mirage.
About 150 Ethiopian immigrant families once known as Falash Mura - Ethiopians whose ancestors converted from Judaism to Christianity - look down in envy at everything from the drab housing projects of Katamon to the quaint red-roofed homes of old Talpiot. Yet despite their relative poverty, most of the people here know they are very lucky.
Back in Ethiopia, war is raging, famine is spreading and 26,000 more Falash Mura - including many of their family members - are desperately waiting to be granted entry to Israel. Some 18,000 of then have amassed at transit camps in Addis Ababa and Gondar, where they live in squalid conditions. They would be more than happy to live in temporary housing.
Last month, Israeli Interior Minister Natan Sharansky returned from a visit to Ethiopia with promises to expedite the process of verifying who is eligible to immigrate. But Sharansky also indicated that perhaps only several thousand would qualify.
For Israel, the unresolved debate over whether the Falash Mura were originally converted by force or chose Christianity is not the main issue. Rather, Israel fears that a sweeping exodus could open the floodgates to non-Jewish Ethiopians seeking to escape Africa by claiming reunification with family members in Israel.
But the residents of Givat Hamatos do not understand why, if the Jewish state has recognized their right to return, their relatives are undergoing such scrutiny.
"They are eligible to come," said Bakala Abera, a tall 65-year-old high-school director who immigrated with his Falash Mura wife and then converted to Judaism himself. Abera's wife has two brothers waiting to emigrate from Ethiopia.
"The people in the camps have left their homes, farms cattle and everything," Abera said. "The Israeli government must facilitate their arrival. I find it a very puzzling question why they are making difficulties for Ethiopians when there is no such difficulty for immigrants from other states."
Israel says the problem is not so simple. In 1997 and 1998, pressure mounted on Israel to allow about 4,000 Falash Mura to immigrate.
"We decided to bring them all in without checking them," Sharansky told JTA. "When it was checked, we discovered that more than half were not really eligible" under the Law of Return.
Sharansky rejected accusations that the government is dragging its feet because the immigrants are black.
"One of the most disgusting things that I have heard is that Israel brings goyim from Russia and lets Jews die because they are black," said Sharansky. "Of all the countries in the world, we are the only ones bringing black people from Africa and granting them citizenship immediately. We never provided such liberal criteria like in Ethiopia."
Sharansky has now secured support from the Finance Ministry and American Jewish organizations to increase the government staff in Ethiopia from one to three people.
There are currently about 250 Ethiopians cleared for immigration.
Israel's Law of Return allows immigration for anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent, along with his or her spouse, children, grandchildren and their spouses.
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