The Ethiopian Jews, also called the "Beta Israel" (House of Israel), termed "Falashas" (The Outsiders) by their neighbors, always remembered the hills of Jerusalem even as they lived in the mountains of Gonder. One of the core tenets of Ethiopian Jewish belief, prayer and day-today life was the desire to return to "Zion" - to once again look upon those hills. The journey from exile to redemption however, was one fraught with isolation and danger along the way.

Our story begins with the rise of Christianity in the 4th century. Conversion was forced upon the Jews of Ethiopia and those who maintained their faith and identity were persecuted, forcing them to withdraw to the mountainous region of Gondar. There they settled, built communities and lived for over 2000 years.

In the 10th Century the status of the Ethiopian Jews changed drastically with the rise of Queen Judith, who led them in a popular revolt that overthrew the Axum dynasty and sought to uproot Christianity throughout the land. A new royal dynasty was established and the Jews of Ethiopia held much influence for the next 350 years - often acting as a balance between Christian and Muslim groups in the land.

In 1270 the Axum dynasty returned to the throne once again, ushering in 400 years of tribal warfare and bloodshed. The end of that war in 1624 marked the end of Jewish freedom in Ethiopia. Jewish forces were defeated in a final battle by the Portuguese-backed Ethiopians and a long period of oppression began. Jewish captives were sold into slavery or forcibly baptized. Their lands were confiscated, their writings and religious books were burned and the practice of any form of Jewish religion was forbidden in Ethiopia.

Over the next couple of hundred years, despite some encounters with explorers and missionaries, the community remained fairly isolated. For centuries the world Jewish community remained unaware of the existence of Jews in the northern Ethiopian province of Gonder. Slowly however, recognition of Jews living in persecution in Ethiopia came to their attention.

In the 16th century, the Chief Rabbi of Egypt, Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Avi Zimra (Radbaz) proclaimed that in terms of Halachah (Jewish legal coda), the Ethiopian community was certainly Jewish. Throughout the nineteenth century, the majority of European Jewish authorities openly supported this assertion.

In 1908, the chief rabbis of 45 countries made a joint statement officially declaring their recognition. This proclamation was in large part due to the work of Professor Jaques Faitlovitch, who studied Amharic and Tigrinia at the Ecole des Hautes etudes in Paris under Professor Yosef Halevi. Halevi first visted the Ethiopian Jews in 1876. Upon his return to Europe he published an "Kol Korei," a cry to the world Jewish community to save the Ethiopian Jews. He also formed an organization called Kol Yisroel Chaverim ("All Israel are Friends"), which was to actively advocate on behalf of Ethiopian Jews for years to come.

Faitlovitch traveled to Gonder in 1904 and stayed for a year and a half studying the community's traditions and customs. Upon his return to Europe, Faitlovitch also appealed to the European Jewish community for aid to the Jews of Ethiopia. He fought for their recognition as Jews and the above proclamation was the result of his efforts. Faitlovitch continued to advocate on behalf of Ethiopian Jews, establishing "pro-Falasha" committees in Europe, returning to Ethiopia in 1920 to establish a village school and building the community's first boarding school in Addis Ababa in 1924. Professor Faitlovitch continued to lobby on behalf of the Ethiopian Jews until his death at the end of the 1950's.

Following Israeli independence the Jewish Agency began sending educational emissaries to organize Ethiopian Jewish "training groups" to travel to Israel to study Hebrew and Jewish studies and return to Ethiopia as teachers. By 1955 the first group had arrived in Kfar Batya. These operations continued for a number of years.

Well into the twentieth century Ethiopian Jews were not allowed to own land in Ethiopia. Their neighbors treated them poorly and used them as scapegoats for any misfortune that arose. In the conflict following Haile Selassie's deposition in 1974, some 2,500 Jews were killed and 7,000 made homeless. By 1977 the situation had become so unbearable that groups of Jews began to flee, establishing refugee camps in Sudan. The exodus had begun, but those caught trying to leave Ethiopia were imprisoned and tortured. In the early 1980s, Jews caught travelling were charged and imprisoned, but still the exodus continued, bringing the number of Jews living in squalid refugee camps in Sudan to the hundreds.

In the early 1980s, the administration of Marxist-Leninist dictator Colonel Mengistu Mariam forbade the practice of Judaism and the teaching of Hebrew. Claiming that Hebrew was taught only as a preparation for emigrating to Israel, the government confiscated all Hebrew books, Jewish schools and synagogues were closed and Jewish students caught speaking to tourists were arrested and questioned. The Kesim (Jewish religious leaders) were routinely harassed by the government and Jews were often falsely imprisoned as "Zionist Spies." Forced conscription at the age of 12, the constant threat of war, famine, high infant mortality rates, and bad health care and conditions were additional factors that contributed to the precarious nature of the Ethiopian Jewish community's position.