(JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s Cabinet has approved plans to bring in the last of Ethiopia’s Jews over the next two years.
More than 120,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel after waves of immigration over the past three decades. Advocates say some 2,200 Jews remain in Ethiopia.
They are Falash Mura, members of a community that converted to Christianity under duress more than a century ago but have reverted to Judaism.
Some in Israel have questioned whether the Falash Mura are actually Jewish. Ethiopian immigrants are routinely required to go through a religious conversion process. Once in the country, many face problems assimilating because of cultural differences. Some say they encounter racism.
The government said Sunday in a statement that it will open a $4.3 million absorption center in September to accommodate the newcomers.
