Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum

IRIN: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

ETHIOPIA-ISRAEL: Waiting Falash Mura languish in squalor
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70425

TEL AVIV, 27 February 2007 (IRIN) - Thousands of Ethiopian former Jews
have
been waiting more than 10 years in disease-ridden camps in Ethiopia for
the
Israeli government to take them to Israel, NGOs say.

About 16,000 of the Falash Mura - Jews who converted to Christianity,
and
some who reverted back - live in squalid conditions in immigration
compounds
in the capital, Addis Ababa, the city of Gondar in north-western
Ethiopia,
and in villages.

In these compounds, tuberculosis and hepatitis are rife and children
routinely die of preventable diseases such as measles, according to
Falash
Mura who have made it to Israel and specialists who have visited them.

"It's basically a refugee camp without running water or toilet
facilities.
It's overcrowded, there's open sewage. Their diet is lacking in fruit,
vegetables and dairy products. It must be stopped," said Ravit Cohen,
an
Israeli anthropologist who recently visited Gondar.

The Falash Mura abandoned their homes many years ago in the hope of
qualifying to immigrate to Israel under the Jewish state's 1950 Law of
Return - which grants any person with at least one Jewish grandparent
the
right to Israeli citizenship.

Representatives of the Falash Mura say they have been left to rot in
Ethiopia because the Israeli government does not view them as real
Jews.

"These people are kept in a transitory state, they are prone to
diseases
that can easily be treated in Israel and also to harsh treatment from
the
local Christians. On my last trip to Ethiopia I witnessed the death of
a
five-year-old child from measles," said Avshalom Elizur, chairman of
the
Committee for the Falash Mura.

Outright racism

"This is a clear violation of human rights and constitutes outright
racism.
More than a million immigrants from the former Soviet Union arrived in
Israel over the past 10 years, yet no one questions their Judaism. I
believe
this is down to skin colour," he added.

The Falash Mura are of Jewish descent, but they converted to
Christianity
after suffering persecution and being targeted by missionaries.

The group was cast out from Ethiopian Jewry yet did not assimilate into
Ethiopian Christian society. The claims of those who say they are
Falash
Mura have been questioned both in Ethiopia and Israel.

In 1978, when the Falasha or Beta Israel - Ethiopian Jews - began to
immigrate to Israel, the Falash Mura community came forward and asked
to
immigrate too - sparking controversy over their claim to Jewish
descent.

Matters came to a head in May 1991, just days before rebel forces
overthrew
the government of Ethiopian President Mengistu Haile Mariam. Israel
sent a
fleet of 32 aircraft stripped of their seating to evacuate 14,400
Ethiopian
Jews from Addis Ababa.

But before the rescue operation, the government of the then Prime
Minister
Yitzhak Shamir decided to leave behind the Falash Mura.

Israel's rabbinical court later accepted their claims to being Jewish
and in
1993, following pressure from the Ethiopian community in Israel, the
government allowed the Falash Mura to immigrate, providing they had
direct
relatives in Israel, such as parents, siblings or grandparents.

A trickle of Falash Mura has been arriving in Israel at a rate of 300 a
month for the past 14 years. They now make up about 40 per cent of the
110,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel.

Now, campaigners are asking why the Israeli government cannot simply
bring
all the remaining Falash Mura to Israel in one go.

A humanitarian issue

"These people are Jews and must be brought here to be reunited with
their
families, this is a humanitarian issue. I cannot understand why the
Israeli
government has dragged its feet for the past 14 years," said Avraham
Negussie, founder of the South Wing to Zion NGO.

While about 7,000 Falash Mura have been approved to immigrate to
Israel,
some 9,000 living in villages have been denied immigration permits.

"Three lists of families were handed to the [Israeli] government in
2003,
Gondar, Addis Ababa and the villages. For some reason the government
chose
to accept only the Gondar and Addis lists. Some office clerk decided
the
fate of 9,000 people. This is what we're fighting about and we will not
cease until these people are given fair treatment," said Negussie.
His organisation and the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry
(NACOEJ) have appealed to Israel's Supreme Court in a bid to force the
government to act.

For its part, the Israeli government in January voted to reduce the
budget
for bringing the Falash Mura to Israel, which appeared to contradict
earlier
promises to increase the monthly immigration quota.

But Israeli Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad promised the
7,000
Falash Mura selected for immigration would soon be brought to Israel.
"There
are 6,899 Falash Mura in Addis and Gondar and their requests are being
processed. Those eligible will be brought to Israel in the very near
 future," she said.

"Those in Addis who are not eligible were notified by special
messengers.
Sadly, the messengers did not manage to deliver these letters, but we
will
notify the families."