Faraan Zionist Research Base; The migration of Ethiopian Jews or the ‘Falasha Jews’ [1] to the occupied territories dates back to the 1980s and 1990s. Due to the conditions in Ethiopia, this group of Jews entered the occupied Palestine to live a favorable life under the rule of the Zionist Jews; However, the dream of the falasha Jews never came true.
The entry of the Ethiopian Jews in Israel
The Falasha Jews lived in Africa and practiced Judaism before migrating to the occupied Palestine to practice Judaism. After 1948, when Israel officially declared its existence, they were unable to enter the occupied territories. This is because the Zionists believed that the Falasha Jews were not genuine Jews.
Nonetheless, from 1975 onwards, everything changed, and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin allowed the Ethiopian Jews to enter the occupied territories. The Zionists, who had not previously recognized the ethnicity of the Ethiopian Jews, with the help of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [2] and in three operations, more than 23,000 Jews were transferred to the occupied territories. [3]
Racial discrimination against Falasha Jews
Basically, the formation of the Zionist regime and the occupation of Palestine began with racist ideologies and approaches; Jews, as their religious teachings, claim superiority over Christians and Muslims; But it seems that this racial superiority includes only the white Jews, and the Falasha Jews are not considered the superior race.
Although the Ethiopian Jews set foot in the occupied Palestine in the hope of living in an all-Jewish land and favorable conditions, their wish for happiness became a pipe dream.
The following is a look at some of the suffering of the Ethiopian Jews in the Occupied Territories:
Population control: One of the laws that the Zionist regime had imposed on the entry of the Falasha Jews into the occupied territories is the injection of contraceptive pills on the Ethiopian women as soon as they entered occupied Palestine. In 2012, it was reported that the Israeli Ministry of Health had implemented policies to prevent long-term pregnancies of the Ethiopian women in order to control the Falasha Jewish population in the occupied territories. [4]
Poverty: According to a report published by the Zionist newspaper Haaretz, more than 52% of Falasha Jews and 65% of these children live in poverty. [5] Other reports also show that the Falasha Jews earn 35% less than other Jews. [6]
Humiliation in the Israeli army: Statistics released in 2013 show that one in every four Ethiopian soldiers in the Israeli army has been imprisoned more than once. According to a Haaretz report, the percentage of the Ethiopian soldiers in Israeli military prisons is five times more than that of other Israeli soldiers. [7]
The unfavorable conditions of the Falasha soldiers in the Israeli army have made the suicide rate of these soldiers much higher than the other soldiers of the Israeli army. Extensive studies in this field show that the poor economic situation and discrimination in the Israeli society are the cause of suicide of many Ethiopian soldiers. [8]
Insecurity: Today, more than 135,000 Ethiopian Jews live in the occupied Palestine and are occasionally shot dead by the Israeli police. In 2015, a Falasha soldier was beaten by the Israeli police, and pictures of it were published in the media and widely covered. After this event, demonstrations were held by thousands of people in the occupied territories, during which more than 50 people were injured and more than 40 were arrested.
Benjamin Netanyahu met with the Jewish leaders in the Occupied Territories during a media and propaganda campaign after the occupying regime’s violent treatment of the Ethiopian soldier. During the meeting, Netanyahu hugged an Ethiopian soldier and said that everyone should work to eradicate racism. [9]
Although Netanyahu spoke of the need to end racism, the Jewish apartheid against the Falasha Jews did not end, and in 2019, an 18-year-old Ethiopian man, Solomon Tekah, was shot dead by a police officer who was not even on duty even though he was not harassing the Israeli police officer. [10]
According to one published statistic, the number of the Falasha Jews killed by the Israeli police since 1997 has risen to 11. [11]
Instrumental use of the Falasha Jews
After occupying the land of Palestine in 1948, the Zionists tried to increase the number of Jews in the land in any way possible. At the same time, settlements for the Jews were on the agenda of the Zionist regime, and thus the Jewish population in the occupied Palestine increased day by day.
In line with the policy of attracting the Jewish immigrants, the Ethiopian Jews were also allowed to enter Palestine under certain conditions. But now the question arises: “What was the goal of the Zionist regime in attracting the Falasha Jews to the occupied territories and putting them in unfavorable economic, living and security conditions?”
It should be said that the Zionist regime needed the Falasha Jews in the situation when it needed to fill the occupied Palestine with Jews, and now that it has firmly established its position in this land, it has revealed the true view of Judaism and Zionism towards the Ethiopian Jews. Thus, the only reason for the migration of the Ethiopian Jews to the occupied Palestine was the filling of Zionist settlements, and they have basically no other value for the occupying regime.
The Falasha Jews, an active fault in Israel
A look at the statistics of the demonstrators in 2015 and 2019 protesting against racial segregation in the Zionist community shows that the Falasha Jews, who one day entered the occupied territories to strengthen the Zionist regime’s position, could lead to severe insecurity in the occupied territories.
According to media reports, more than 10,000 people protested against the racist policies of the Zionist regime during the 2015 demonstrations and threw stones at police during the street protests. [12]
Last year, following the assassination of Solomon Tekah by the Israeli police, the anti-racist demonstrations in the Zionist community intensified more than in 2015, and the demonstration turned into a real riot. Thousands of protesters marched in the cities of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ashdod, and Ashkelon, setting fire to tires and cars and blocking streets. [13] At the end of the riots, 111 police were injured and more than 130 protesters were arrested. [14]
From the statistics of the wounded and the detainees, it can be concluded that the Zionist regime is also violent against the Jews and the internal protesters, and if there is a serious protest against the policies of this regime, riots with more people and more intensity will take place throughout the occupied territories.
Thus, the issue of the Jews and racial discrimination in Israel is an active fault, and each time it is activated, it can plunge the Zionist regime into more problems.
Author: Erfan Khalil Far
[1] In Hebrew: ביתא ישראל
[2] Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
[3] http://tabyincenter.ir/32929/
[4] http://tabyincenter.ir/32885
[5] https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-comptroller-slams-immigrant-absorption-1.5241395
[6] https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-situation-of-ethiopian-jews-in-israel
[7] https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-ethiopian-israeli-military-inmates-5-times-higher-than-average-1.5285793
[8] http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212349
[9] https://p.dw.com/p/1FKOD
[10] https://kheybar.net/?p=24123
[11] https://www.trt.net.tr/persian/jhn/2019/07/09/dmh-tzhrt-yhwdyn-tywpyyy-dr-sry-yl-1232498
[12] https://p.dw.com/p/1FJaJ
[13] https://kheybar.net/?p=24223
[14] http://www.bbc.com/persian/world-48862931
