Melakus practices amount to nothing less than outright persecution for Ethiopian Jews living in Gondar. Jewish villages have been closed to outsiders. Border security has been tightened. Jews are prohibited from emigrating and those attempting to escape are often detained and tortured. The international development program. which was supplying them with aid and education. was suspended in 1981. This exacerbates the problem of poverty in a nation which already has one of the lowest standards of living in the world. shamefully boasting an average lifespan of 36 years for its citizens. Not only. therefore. are these Jews subjected to outright poverty and a denial of basic human rights. but they remain imprisoned in this misery by the current provincial regime. The only hope for relocation of Ethiopian Jews has been Israel. Although emigration is forbidden. some manage to reach neighboring countries where they languish as refugees. Israel. facing a limited diplomatic status in Africa. has managed to resettle over 3.000 of these refugees to their longawaited destination. The Ethiopian Jews who arrive in Israel are often uneducated. They are unfamiliar with modern society and much Jewish history and tradition.
Keywords matched
Border security emigration emigrating refugees