The Difficulties of Ethiopians in Israel

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.