The Beta Israel

This “balanced and well informed” historical study is “a striking piece of scholarship aimed at demythologizing the origins of the Ethiopian Falasha” (Foreign Affairs).

The origin of the “Black Jews” of Ethiopia has long been a source of fascination and controversy. The culmination of almost a decade of research, The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia is the first comprehensive and authoritative study of the history of this unique community. Author Steven Kaplan seeks to demythologize the history of the Falasha and to consider them in the wider context of Ethiopian history and culture. This marks a clear departure from previous studies that have viewed them from the external perspective of Jewish history.

Drawing on a wide variety of sources including the Beta Israel’s own literature and oral traditions, Kaplan demonstrates that they are not a "lost Jewish tribe," but rather an ethnic group which emerged in Ethiopia between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Indeed, the name "Falasha," their religious hierarchy, sacred texts, and economic specialization can all be dated to this period. Among the subjects the book addresses are their links with Ethiopian Christianity, the medieval legends concerning their existence, their wars with the Ethiopian emperors, their relegation to the status of a despised semi-caste, their encounters with European missionaries, and the impact of the Great Famine of 1888–1892.