Category Books

The Beta Israel in Ethiopia and Israel: Studies on the Ethiopian Jews »

Authors: Tudor Parfitt, Parfitt Tudor
ISBN-13: 9780700710928, ISBN-10: 0700710922
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Inc.
Date Published: November 1998
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: Tudor Parfitt

Book Synopsis

For decade the Falashas - the Black Jews of Ethiopia - have fascinated scholars. Are they really Jews and in what sense? How can their origins be explained? Since the Falashas' transfer to Israel in the much publicised Israeli air lifts the fascination has continued and and new factors are now being discussed.

Written by the leading scholars in the field the essays in this collection examine the history, music, art, anthropology and current situations of the Ethopian Jews. Issues examined include their integration into Middle Eastern society, contacts between the Falasha and the State of Israel how the Falasha became Jews in the first place.

	Acknowledgements
	Introduction
	Note on Editors
1	Rabbi Nahoum's Anthropological Mission to Ethiopia	1
2	From Wolleqa to Florence: The Tragic Story of Faitlovitch's Pupil Hizkiahu Finkas	15
3	The Life and Death of Solomon Isaac	40
4	The Impact of the Italian Occupation of Ethiopia on the Beta Israel	50
5	Some Unpublished Documents Relating to the Twentieth Century History of the Beta Israel in Ethiopia	61
6	The Case of the Falas Mura	70
7	Ethiopian Dynastic Marriage and the Beta Israel	81
8	All in the Family: 'Kinship' as a Paradigm for the Ethnography of Beta Israel	94
9	Everyday Resistance and the Study of Ethiopian Jews	113
10	Israeli Women of Ethiopian Descent: The Strengths, Conflicts and Successes	128
11	Fertility Decline and Changes in the Life Course among Ethiopian Jewish Women	137
12	Women in History and Historiography: Research on Women of the Beta Israel	160
13	Identity Reformulation among Ethiopian Immigrant Soldiers: Processes of Interpretation and Struggle	169
14	The Beta Israel Band of Porachat Ha Tikva: War in Songs and Songs in War	181
15	Dance at the Ethiopian Disco: Tradition or Change	191
16	Of Names, Amulets and Movies: Some Patterns of Oral, Written and Non-Verbal Negotiation among the Ethiopian Jews in Israel	201
17	Beta Israel prayers: Oral and Written Traditions - Analysis of a service for the New Moon	209
18	The Formal Organisation of the Beta Israel Liturgy - Substance and Performance: Literary Structure	235
19	The Formal Organisation of the Beta Israel Liturgy - Substance and Performance: Musical Structure	252
20	Differences Between the Amharic Dialects of Gondar and Addis Ababa	257
21	Divination as Prevention of Illness and other Life Problems	264
22	Sickness and Medicine: Perceptions of Ethiopian Immigrants and their Doctors in Israel	275
23	Idioms and Narratives of Mental Health Problems among Ethiopian Jewish Patients in Israel	285
24	The Long Journey of the Young Beta Israel from Lasta	296
25	The Epistle of Elias	301