Ethiopian Jewish Immigrants in Israel Living Well and “Becoming Deaf” in the Homeland
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Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel Living well and “becoming deaf” in the homeland Tanya Schwarz Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology The London School of Economics and Political Science University of London May 1998 UMI Number: U615552 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615552 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I S F 7-S/f9 OF POLITICAL AND Abstract This thesis is an ethnographic study of the Ethiopian Jews, or Beta Israel, a few years after their migration from rural Ethiopian to urban Israel. For the Beta Israel, the most significant issue is not, as is commonly assumed, adaptation to modem society, which to a large extent they have successfully achieved. But rather, their primary concerns revolve around the notion o f “belonging” in their new homeland, and the loss of control they are experiencing over their lives and those o f their children. The thesis analyses the experience of immigration from the Beta Israel’s own perspective and focuses on: first, the factors which contribute to the Beta Israel’s sense of well-being in Israel, second, the problems and difficulties they experience, and finally, the strategies they are developing to overcome these difficulties. This study elucidates the meanings of two apparently contradictory ascriptions which the Ethiopian Jewish immigrants make about themselves: “being well” and “becoming deaf’. Their sense of well-being is a result of their successful recreation of communal life, their expression of ethnic pride, and their appreciation of their new country. The expression “becoming deaf’, which also means in Amharic “becoming ignorant”, denotes the older generation’s frustration at their inability to understand Hebrew, their feeling of being excluded by dominant society, and the loss of control they experience over most aspects of their lives. For the younger generation, the sense of exclusion revolves around issues of racial discrimination. Ethiopian Jewish immigrants resist those aspects of dominant society which they dislike: they reject normative Jewish practices and uphold Beta Israel religious and cultural ones, ideologically counteract disparaging Israeli attitudes, develop strong ethnic bonds and engage in overt forms of resistance. The difficulties of the present are also overcome by creating a perfect past and an ideal future: in what I have called ‘the homeland postponed’, all Jews will be united in a colour-blind world of material plenty and purity. 2 Acknowledgements I thank the Economic and Social Research Council for a Postgraduate Research Award and generous fieldwork allowance that enabled me to pursue this research. My last months of writing-up were kindly supported by the Royal Anthropological Institute (Radcliffe-Brown / Sutasoma Award) and by the London School of Economics (Malinowski Memorial Fund). In addition, I thank Emma Rothschild at the Centre for History and Economics, King’s College, Cambridge for funding a preliminary year of post-graduate study. In Israel, my Ethiopian adoptive family and neighbours and the Ethiopian Jewish community as a whole received me with boundless courtesy and hospitality. They rarely tired of my questions and allowed me to share their joys and sorrows for close to two years. My adoptive father became a veritable parent, cherishing me and guiding me, and I formed close friendships with many of his relatives and neighbours. I learned much from Ethiopian Jews on a personal level; their grace, hospitality, and remarkable ability to adapt to a totally new lifestyle, remain a source of inspiration. It is impossible to adequately thank them. Several non-Ethiopians helped to make fieldwork enjoyable. Shmulick Porat, a tireless community worker, shared much of his insights and knowledge of Ethiopian Jews. Jonathan Miran and researchers Dr Chaim Rosen, Dr Steven Kaplan and Dr Lisa Anteby, foremost experts on Ethiopian Jewry, offered me friendship, guidance and encouragement. My relatives in Israel provided welcome breaks. In Ethiopia, I was received regally by my Ethiopian Israeli adoptive family’s former neighbours in the village of Cheera, Gondar. I travelled in Ethiopian villages for over two months, and I thank all my hosts there, and Dr Alula Pankhurst and Dr Rick Hodes for welcoming me in Adis Abeba. Without the inspiration and encouragement of my supervisor, Professor Maurice Bloch, this thesis would not have been started, and never completed. He has greatly enhanced the quality of my work and I owe him an enormous debt. Dr David Lan provided initial guidance on fieldwork, read the manuscript at various stages, and generously contributed his enthusiasm and anthropological perceptions. Dr Michael Stewart’s approach to anthropology has influenced my own, and his critical insight and encouragement over the years have been invaluable. I thank all the staff and postgraduate students of the LSE anthropology department for a stimulating environment in which to conduct research. The enthusiastic welcome they gave the Departmental Seminar paper I presented and their insightful comments were extremely useful. Tadesse Wolde, Amina Abu Sehab, Ceri Willmott, Santiago Alvarez, Stokes Jones, Dena Freeman, Oliver Woolley and Dr Mark Jamieson have been valued companions. Thanks also to Margaret Bothwell for providing friendliness and stability in the department. At SOAS, I thank Professor David Appleyard and Dr. Tudor Parfitt for stimulating discussions about Beta Israel. I wrote-up in idyllic conditions thanks to my aunt Tanya Morgan who let me live rent-free in her gorgeous home in Primrose Hill and to friends and family who periodically hosted me and my computer in their beautiful homes in the French and English countryside. My family and friends, and my parents and elder sister in particular, have been invaluable throughout this project, and have put up with the strange psychological states of a Ph.D. student. Special thanks to my elder brother for computer assistance and to my army of proof-readers: Dorothy, Walter, Habie, Zoe, Miranda, Tom, Tom II, Matthew, Lucy, Kenny, Daniel and Maya. Tom III edited the final draft with extreme care. Thank you Kenny for filling the last year with love, lyrics, luxury, laughter, and lots of emails. 3 Detailed Table of Contents One: Introduction 19 A. Fieldwork 20 B. Immigrants in the Literature 22 1. General sociological and anthropological approaches 22 2. Sociological and anthropological study of immigrants to Israel 23 3. Motivations for migrating 25 4. Nature of the receiving and sending societies 27 The Beta Israel in Ethiopia 30 1. Theories of origin 31 2. Historical fragments 32 3. Migration 39 4. Contemporary demography and geography 41 Ethiopian Jews in the Literature 42 1. Ethnographies of Beta Israel in Ethiopia 43 2. The Beta Israel in Israel: The Falasha Phenomenon 44 3. Living Well and “Becoming deaf’ in the Homeland 46 Two: Being Together 50 A. Introduction 50 1. An Ethiopian neighbourhood 50 2. Inside and Outside 51 B. "Being together ” as neighbours 54 I. Ethiopian Neighbours 55 1. Circles of Neighbours 55 2. Becoming a neighbour 56 3. White Neighbours 5 7 II. Social relations among neighbours 58 1. Visiting Neighbours 58 2. Celebrations and mourning 59 3. Credit Societies 62 4. Dissent amongst Neighbours 64 C. "Being Together ” As Kin 65 I. Defining kin 65 1. The Term “zamad” 65 2. The ‘feel’ of kin 67 II. Social relations 69 1. Visiting kin 69 2. The Telephone 70 3. Mutual help 70 4. Quarrels and reconciliation 71 D. Ethiopian Jews Together in Israel 72 I. Divisions 72 1. Years of residence 72 2. Ethiopian region of origin 74 3. Slaves and non-slaves 75 II. “Being Together” as Ethiopians 76 1. Celebrations 76 4 2. Ethiopians vis-a-vis Israelis 77 Three: Tough Traditions 81 1. Introduction 81 B. Proud Ethiopians 83 I. Speaking of honey: the land of Ethiopia 83 II. Ethiopian Traditions 86 1. Ethiopian Behaviour (huneta) 86 2. Ethiopian Customs (ye'agar baal) 88 C. The True Jews 90 I. Religious Belief and practice 92 1. Myths of Origin and Colour 92 2. Religious belief: the Bible 93 3. Daily Religious Practice: Prayers and Sabbath (qidame) 94 4. Annual Holidays 98 5. Bar Mitzvah 100 Purity laws 101 2. Menstruation 102 3. Post-partum women 103 4. Meat 104 Marriage rules 105 1. The rules 105 2. Breaking marriage rules 106 Four: The Homeland 110 A. The Notion of the Homeland 110 I. “Our country” Israel 110 II. The Golden Country: Israel 112 1. Israel as a country of knowledge 113 2. An easy life 114 3. Material goods 115 4. Financial dealings 117 5. Social security 119 B. A Desire to Integrate 120 I. Rhetoric of Integration 121 II. Participation in Civil Life 121 III. Social Integration 123 1. Ethiopians on Israelis 123 2. Socialising with Israelis 124 IV. Cultural Adaptation 125 1. Beta Israel efforts 125 2. Beta Israel’s experience of cultural change 127 C. Ethiopian Youth 128 I. Students 130 II. Soldiers 131 III. Workers 134 IV. Identity 136 5 Five: On Becoming Deaf 144 A. Becoming deaf as a language problem 146 I. “We have no mouth” 146 II. Language in Amhara culture 147 III. Learning and not learning Hebrew 150 1. Hebrew classes 150 2. Difficulties and motivations in learning Hebrew 151 IV.