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118 SHOFAR Fall 1997 Vol. 16, No. I For Our Soul: Ethiopian Jews in Israel, by Teshome G. Wagaw. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1993. 293 pp. $44.95. One of the most dramatic stories of migration during the last decade has been the movement of an entire people-the Beta IsraellFalasha/Ethiopian Jews-from their homeland in Ethiopia to their reputed ultimate homeland in Israel. This book provides a useful survey ofthese events, including a preliminary analysis of their absorption into Israel. Though the book is packed with much useful information, particularly related to their educational experience in Israel, it is unduly marred by sloppy scholarship. Chapter 1 is an overview ofthe Beta Israel's historical and cultural background in Ethiopia. The most useful part of this chapter is the author's account of his personal experiences and encounters with Beta Israel in the Gondar region. The historical account accepts uncritically a partial view of their origins and history and is not based on research into many primary sources or even on the most thorough secondary sources. Throughout the book, the author assumes that Beta Israel religion and history was an unbroken tradition dating back 2500 years (pp. 4,54,56) or 2700 years (pp. 109,216), despite overwhelming historical evidence that the story is much more complex than that.! He states that the term "Ethiopia" as used in the Old Testament/Torah included the area of the modern country of Ethiopia (p. 7), when the accepted view is that the Greek "Ethiopia" was used to refer broadly to Africa south of Egypt, or specifically to the KushlNubia region in what is today northern Sudan. Errors and incomplete historical interpretations abound in Chapter 1. The author accepts uncritically that "Queen Judith/Gudit" was a tenth-century Jewish rebel, which is indeed one interpretation according to Ethiopian tradition (pp. 8-10). But the two sources he cites for this assertion in footnote 15 both argue that such a connection is problematic.2 Other factual errors include: the Islamic invasion of Ethiopia led by Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ("Gragn") did not occur during the reign ofSarsa Dengel (1563-97), but during those ofLebna Dengel (1508--40) and Galawdewos (1540-59); the Ethiopian emperors Za Dengel and Susenyos were not merely "suspected" of having become Catholics but actually did so; the Beta Israel did afford sanctuary to some ofthe rebels against Susenyos but none ofthem were his sons; and the edicts ofsegregation for Gondar city issued 'Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Music, Ritual, and Falasha History (East Lansing, 1986); James Quirin, The Evolution ofthe Ethiopian Jews: A History ofthe Beta Israel (Falasha) to 1920 (Philadelphia, 1992); Steven Kaplan, The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia (New York, 1992). 2Edward U1lendorfT, The Ethiopians, 2nd ed. (London, 1965), pp. 60-61; Shelemay, Music, Ritual, and Falasha History, p. 30-31. The author cites no pages for Ullendorff and the wrong pages for Shelemay. Book Reviews 119 by Yohannes I (who reigned from 1667 to 1682 and not '~between 1668 and 1678") should not be interpreted as providing either "religious freedom" or "tolerance" to the Beta Israel (all on p. 11). With regard to the problematic accounts of Eldad the Danite and Benjamin ofTudela concerning Jews in Ethiopia, he states that "most ofthe reports were based on hearsay and lacked historical bases" (p. 14), but he nevertheless evidently accepts their veracity! In general, the author is unclear and confusing as to his interpretation ofkey aspects of Beta Israel history and culture. On the one hand, he states several times that they were a distinct group whose religion and history dated back 2500 (or 2700) years, but on the other hand he often indicates their cultural similarities to other Ethiopians and even states simplistically that "the Beta Israel are for all intents and purposes Amhara" (p. 56). These two views may in fact mirror the ambiguities concerning various aspects of Beta Israel historical development, but this process is not illuminated by such bald statements. Chapter 2 deals with Israel as a home for immigrants. Chapter 3 and part of Chapter 4 focus on the migration of the Beta Israel to Israel. The harrowing process of secret migration, as well as...

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