You seem to be fascinated with Ethiopia: What first drew your attention to our country?
Since the late 1960,s I had been documenting Black American history and culture. As a Jewish –American, I also have a special attachment, passion and concern for the Beta-Israel, the so-called Falasha.
Professionally, I have been documenting the lives of Ethiopians in America – especially the ones in and around Los Angeles for many years. Ethiopia and Ethiopians are a proud people that respect one another, are loving, gracious, and very patient. One can not help but be drawn to this handsome people, and their incredible history.

What is the situation of Ethiopian Jews in Israel?
Well, perhaps I can relate to you a sad story that may describe one aspect of their condition. Of course, this is not to say it illustrates the general situation.
I was in Tel –Aviv in October of last year and it happened to be the first time I cried in Israel. I was staying with a young Ethiopian couple and one night, they received a call from an aunt calling to tell them that their cousin did not come the night before. Later on the next morning, the police found him hanging from a tree.
I called two friends who are closely involved with the community. Babu Yakov, a very prominent Ethiopian Israeli who had been elected to the city council in Ramle. Even though the Beta – Israelis (Ethiopian Israelis) account for only 5% of the town’s population, he won with a majority of the vote. I also contacted Micha Feldman who works with The Jewish Agency and has been working with the Beta Israelis for 20 years. I asked Micha’,
“What is happening?” and he told me that there was a veritable epidemic of Ethio – Israeli youth suicide. Babu Yakov added that the situation has never been this bad for the Beta-Israel.
What is fueling this tragic epidemic of youth suicide?
A whole lot of things. It’s just reaching a critical point now and more people are becoming aware of it. The main factor is, in my opinion a matter of dashed expectations. The Beta Israel had very high hopes when they first came, that they were coming to the Holy Land and that people there would be holy ….That is far from true. You might say Israel is like every other country but in some ways its harder –more challenging.
Culturally, all Ethiopians are reserved, soft spoken and conservative. They are not an aggressive or “forward’ people. Israeli society is almost completely different. Israel is brash and in-your-face. They are loud, demanding and fiercely competitive.

So, culture shock still seems to be a problem even after 25 years of Ethiopian Jewish emigration to Israel….?
Absolutely And not only culture shock but the trauma of what happened before ….you know, getting to Israel was and is still very difficult. When the Beta- Israel finally arrive, they are already scarred and exhausted, both psychologically and physically.
In the 1980s, 11,000 Beta Israel left their villages and walked to Sudan, traveling by night to hide from government forces, rebels and bandits. Only 7,000 made it to Israel. The survivors, were all deeply traumatized by the suffering they witnessed as toddlers or experienced from their mothers ‘ankelba’.
Every family lost someone during that hellish trek. Its very unusual to find an Ethio-Israeli family that doesn’t count a relative among the 4000 that perished.
So when Ethiopian Jews come to Israel they find that its not only difficult but worse, that many if not most people, are not religious. This comes as a huge shock to them. The Ethiopians also don’t feel they are being casually accepted as Jews in their own right. The youngsters who are attending ‘Yeshiva’, ( Jewish school) are not made welcome. Most of the Yeshivot that accepted them did so because they needed the money which comes from the government’s integration program. The Yeshivot were the poorest ones and were not sophisticated enough to handle the special requirements of the Beta –Israel. The immigrants were made to feel less Jewish and mocked over their ignorance of modern ways.
There are many other factors that contribute to the alarming rate of suicide among young Ethio-Israelis but I think the shock and trauma of especially the first journeys, coupled with the realization that Israel is not a paradise, is the primary cause.

I’m wondering about the current mood of Israeli society. What is the malaise?
It’s been a difficult five years for the state and people of Israel, Well, actually its always been a history of ups and downs so you could say its almost normal. Israel survives despite the immense odds. To be fair to the Israeli government, they have had five years of very bloody intifada and then the Lebanon war-just right after. Through all that time social services went down the drain, education went down the tubes. To this day, only one third of all Israelis complete high school. This shows you to what extent Israel’s education system has deteriorated. You can well imagine how much lower the figures are for Ethio-Israelis.
These were the very things the Ethiopian community needed the most. Currently 65% of them are on some kind of social security so they are getting some form of government support –mostly financial but they need also other services.
Let us not forget that Ethiopian Jews had to jump over 200 years, within a few years, to integrate into Israeli society. They come from isolated mountain villages where 95% could not read or write their own language and into the 21st century and a high-tech, ultra – competitive Israel. No other immigrant group ever in Israel has had to go through that nearly impossible transition. The Beta-Israel have faced and still have to deal with great challenges.
Israel is constantly under siege. Security is the most important consideration so a large part of the country’s human and economic resources are by necessity geared toward maintaining its security and military strength.

Could you share with us what you know about the blood controversy a few years ago?
I’d be glad to because the situation has been portrayed as targeting only Ethio-Israelis. That is not the case. Every soldier who goes into the Army has to give their blood for possible future use in an emergency.
During the second airlift (Operation Solomon, May 1991 when the Mengistu government fell) the Beta-Israel were living in a compound in Addis Ababa, where they stayed awaiting departure for up to five years. During this period, around 5% of the men “strayed” and so became infected. One HIV/AIDS test does not ascertain infection unless the incubation period has passed.. This was the basic problem but it is not confined to Beta-Israelis.
In the U.S, gay people can not give blood… No person who has been to Africa and has had sex with anyone can give blood. In Israel, if you’re British, you can’t give blood because of the mad cow disease which was in the beef supply and killed several people
during a certain period of time.
When Beta-Israel blood was found to have around 5% positivity to HIV/AIDS, the authorities decided to discard it quietly. This was actually done in good will as it was deemed inappropriate to tell the Beta-Israel that their blood had been rejected.
A newspaper got hold of the story and the whole thing just mushroomed into a huge scandal. It created much pain and heartache in the Ethiopian Israeli Community. The first violent Ethio-Israeli demonstration ensued near the Knesset in Jerusalem as community members voiced their anger and sense of betrayal.
Lets talk about the success stories. Surely, the story is not all gloomy…?
Oh, of course not. There are many bright spots and very promising developments. The thing about immigration is that the following generations are always more empowered than their parents’. There are over 2300 Ethiopian Israelis in university or higher education every year. School attendance is increasing. Young men and women serve with competence in all branches of the military and civilian life. The community, now over 100,000 strong, is accumulating a professional skill base.
Many young and middle-aged Ethio-Israeli entrepreneurs have returned to invest in Ethiopia. They find it is less competitive here and they understand the culture. But most still believe in Israel as their home.