The Black Jews of Ethiopia [Hardcover]

Durrenda Nash Onolemhemhen (Author), Kebede Gessesse (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0810834146 | ISBN-13: 978-0810834149 | Publication Date: March 2002

Over a 15-year period beginning in the mid-1970s, more than 40,000 Ethiopian Jews migrated from Africa and resettled in Israel. The return of the "Black Jews" to Israel is one of the most unique phenomena of modern day Black history for two reasons: first, the Ethiopian Jews are the only group of Africans practicing Judaism and secondly, they are the only group of Africans to immigrate to a predominantly white society for religious reasons.

The Black Jews of Ethiopia examines the past of the Ethiopian Jews, or Beta Israelites, in order to understand their present life in Israel. A must for any library supporting African or Judaic studies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The authors' graphic description of the journey to the promised land through the Sudan is spectacular... (African Studies Review )

About the Author

Durrenda Nash Onolemhemhen is Associate Professor at Wayne State University. Kebede Gessesse, a native of Ethiopia, is Associate Professor and Head of Public Services at the Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering at the University of Alabama.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810834146
• ISBN-13: 978-0810834149
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,448,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very balenced and informative book, December 17, 2005

By 

Ehav Eliyahu Ever (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Black Jews of Ethiopia (Hardcover)

I must first note that I only rated the book at 4 because I can't rate it at 4.5 where I really would want to rate it. The only reason I don't give it a 5 is because it doesn't have enough photos.

All in all I found this book to be very informative of the practical, psychological, and cultural changes that have taken place in the Ethiopian Jewish community since the mass transportations from Ethiopia to Israel. This book does the subject matter a lot of justice in not taking sides in the issue of whether the Jews of Ethiopia are anciently Jewish or descendants of converts, but instead deals with as they are "JEWS." This book is one that I believe should be in every Jewish library, synagogue, and yeshivah. It puts the reality of the current social issues into an understandable format. The book also is impressive in the fact that it is a social study of the Ethiopian Jewish community and its transition from Ethiopia to Israel.