Falash Mura

Missionary Henry Aaron Stern preaches Christianity to Beta Israel.

Falash Mura is the name given to descendants of the Beta Israel community in Ethiopia who converted to Christianity, primarily as a consequence of Western proselytization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This term also includes Beta Israel who did not adhere to any Ethiopian Jewish practices, as well as the aforementioned historical converts to Christianity. While most voluntarily converted, some were also forcibly converted against their will, or felt compelled to convert due to economic hardship and social exclusion in a majority Christian population.

Many have made it to Israel but there are around 12,000 members of the Beta Israel communities in Addis Ababa and Gondar who are awaiting Aliyah, according to community records and lists compiled by SSEJ,[1] which are in the hands of Israel's Ministry of the Interior.[2]

As of around 2010, Israeli officials claimed that many of the Falash Mura converted back to Judaism once safely out of Africa, however activists claimed that most Falash Mura converted to Christianity permanently.[3]

Falash Mura woman making injera in Gondar in 1996.
Falash Mura child, 2005
  1. ^ http://www.SSEJ.org [bare URL]
  2. ^ "HaTikvah Association and SSEJ cited in Times of Israel". The Times of Israel.
  3. ^ "The Falash Mura". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2020-05-27.