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| Ethiopians struggle to find their place in a foreign land |
Upon analyzing various academic
sources, I can support my claim that racism in Israel towards Ethiopians is not
the sole reason why this group has had a difficult time succeeding in Israel. Amongst
the many different groups that had migrated to Israel including Russians and
Europeans, Ethiopians have had the most difficulty in combining with the people
of Israel. Although it is clear that racism exists in Israel, especially
towards Ethiopians, it can’t be concluded indefinitely that it is the only
reason behind their struggle in Israel.
In Donna Rosenthal’s book, The
Israelis, she outlines the struggles of Ethiopians coming to Israel in a
chapter titled “Out of Africa”. In 1991, there was a massive migration of
Jewish Ethiopians, which were rescued by the Israeli military and were brought
to the holy land. Being in a new country and not being familiar with cultural
practices provided several new challenges for Ethiopian migrants. They were encouraged
to behave according to modern practices such as, sleeping in beds, using
utensils, and they were now being to be integrated into the mainstream society.
Before coming to Israel, these were all practices that Ethiopians had never
experienced. They came from an extremely poor country where women were sent to
bloodletting tents during ovulation, hands were used as utensils, and there was
no running water or electricity. This became a problem for the Ethiopians who
could not comprehend these modern practices, they were very unfamiliar with the
concept of letting their traditional practices go and some continued to utilize
them in their hotels. In many cases, older Ethiopians wee unable or unwilling
to learn Hebrew, which was the primary language of Israel. This greatly
inhibited the Ethiopians from acquiring jobs, causing many of the men to become
unemployed, which in turn caused them to lose prestige and control over their
households. Throughout the rest of the chapter, Rosenthal outlines the
struggles that migrating Ethiopians had to endure. She describes that the government
programs in place for the migrants, and although money was provided for each
family, it became difficult for the Ethiopians to climb the societal hierarchy.
Jewish Israelis were socially and economically oppressing the Ethiopians, which
proved to be a significant problem for Ethiopians and their oppression, was
something that went deeper than racism. The traditional practices of the
Ethiopians were not widely accepted by the Israelis, and the Ethiopians were
not receiving equal job opportunities despite an equal amount of education as
their Jewish-Israeli counterparts.
Education has also become a
significant obstacle for Ethiopians, because although many of them receive
secondary educations, they are not given equal job opportunities. A statistic
was released by Olim-Beyahad, which stated that those “who do find suitable employment earn 40% less than
the average Israeli.” Beyahad is making it clear that racism is a major
obstacle for Ethiopians, but it not the only problem this group faces. Olim-Beyahad
is a company focused on the employment and leadership for Ethiopian Israeli
University Graduates. The organization works to take students and graduates
alike and place them in professional environments so that they cannot only
develop skills but also professional connections. These types of opportunities
allow Israeli business owners to become better acquainted with Ethiopians in a
workplace, allowing them to prove themselves as contributing members of the
workforce. The view of this organization is that Ethiopian graduates require
integration in Israeli businesses in order to break down racial and cultural
barriers and prove that they are capable of completing work. Although the
website does not voice specific opinions, they provide information on how
Jewish Israelis are treating the Ethiopians differently. There was a statistic
found on the website, and said “53% of Israeli employers are averse to hiring
Ethiopian-Israelis. The Olim-Beyahad website is obviously in favor of Ethiopian
integration into society, and does recognize that Jewish-Israelis are one of
the major obstacles to integration.
An article from Haaretz titled “Ethiopian-IsraeliWoman Makes Good in High-tech: An Unrepresentative Story”, by Ruti Levy also supports
the notion that racism is not the sole reason for the difficulty of Ethiopians
to integrate in Israeli society. The article follows the story of Ethiopian
immigrant Shoshi Jambar, who made her way from cleaning office buildings to
managing a major start-up company. She mentions how her mother, who had taken
courses in various academic subjects could not find a suitable position based
on her education. Jambar attributes this, not solely based on her mother’s
ethnicity; “it’s a matter of opportunity, not education.” Shoshi also mentions
that “I’m young and sociable and I believe I also look good and am grateful, so
it was easy to help me.” This ability for Ethiopians to adapt to new societies,
customs, and develop relevant job skills was something that either resulted in
getting a job or remaining unemployed. For Haaretz contributor and journalist
Ruti Levy, she seems to be in support of Ethiopians becoming more involved in
Israeli society. She also recognizes that many Jewish-Israeli businesses may
not look at a “40-year-old Ethiopian cleaning woman with a rag on her hair” and
provide her an equal opportunity. Levy is arguing that there are not equal
opportunities for Ethiopians, not solely due to their appearance, but also
because of their lack in education and skill set. Jambar was forced to lie to
her current employers about her skills when she was first hired to the company,
but was able to persevere and work hard to teach herself.
In terms of reliability, it seems
as though the Haaretz article and the information from Olim-Beyahad are both
reliable and provide support for my argument. The Olim-Beyahad organization has
widespread support from several large companies including Checkpoint Software
Technologies, DBSI, Deloitte, as well as several religious and governmental
institutions. Each of these individual organizations has advocated for
Olim-Beyahad, which greatly increased its reliability. Haaretz is also a very
reputable news source and although the author is in support of Ethiopian
integration, she uses the story of Jambar to provide context about the
lifestyle of the average Ethiopian migrant. Levi has written several articles
about labor shortages and economic difficulties in some of her previous
articles, suggesting that she is knowledgeable about the topic.
