Surviving Salvation: The Ethiopian Jewish Family in Transition

Surviving Salvation: The Ethiopian Jewish Family in Transition

By Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer
and Dr. Steven Kaplan

On May 25, 1991, a Boeing 747 packed with over 1,000 Ethiopians left the besieged capital of Addis Ababa for Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. In the next 36 hours, 13,000 more Ethiopians were to depart for Israel in what became known as Operation Solomon. After generations of praying and years of diplomatic wrangling, Ethiopia’s Jews were at last going to the Promised Land.
In the last twelve years, 40,000 Ethiopian Jews have left their native land and emigrated to Israel. Rarely in human history has an entire community been transplanted in such a short period from one civilization to another.
This is not a book about the journey of the Ethiopian Jews; rather, it is a chronicle of their experiences once they reached their destination. The focus of this work is the crucial issue of family life, examining how the personal relationships of the Ethiopian Jews are being radically transformed as they become assimilated into Israeli society. Thrust from isolated villages without electricity or running water into the urban bustle of modern, post-industrial society, they have seen their marriages challenged by the ongoing redefinition of gender and roles, their children increasingly Westernized, and their specific practice of Judaism closely scrutinized. This engrossing and handsomely illustrated volume is the tale of their struggle and the emotional saga of their experiences in the Promised Land.