6 Friday, August 31, 1919 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS r 7:1ANNY CHUDNOW'S BETTER BUSINESS EQUIPMENT CO. DESKS FILES 69.95 —40EI CASH REGISTER Ethiopian Jews Remain a 'Community in Peril' • (Continued from Page 1) with those in Gemara and Midrash are also found in their writings. The Falashas have priests claiming descent from Aaron, although any- one of good character, well- versed in the Bible and prayers, can assume the priestly functions. They TYPEWRITERS 99.50 COMPLETE SHOWROOM OF BUDGET AND FINE EXECUTIVE FURNITURE I WANTED. MEW USED ANY USED RENTALS • LEASES TYPEWRITERS • TRADE-INS WE WY USED FURNITURE ] ST 548 -6404 231 W. ••Milo Rd.. firnwiol• to, flock West of Woodward THE SOURCE FOR ALL WINDOW COVERINGS With Competitive Prices On Quality Products And A Reputation That Speaks For Itself Since 1952 FREE ESTIMATES HURTIG INTERIORS 559•8209 CUSTOM DRAPES VERTICAL and SLIMLINE BLINDS PLASTIC VIEW "SEE THRU" SHADES - WOVEN WOODS Ziett freoge eta osee pre AT GLASSMAN OLDSMOBILE... "WE WONT SELL YOU A CAA .. . WE'LL HELP YOU BUY ONE" THAT'S MY PROMISE TO YOU "Come it test drive a new Diesel." Stock S election . of choose from 101 titettatti. delivety• GLASSMAN . ;ALES OPEN MON.- & THURS. TILL 9 OLDSMOBILE INC s" 4 "Zrin 28000 TELEGRAPH RD. • SOUTHFIELD. PHONE 354-3300 GM also have monks and nuns living in abstinence, who dedicate their lives to the service of the Creator. Their prayers are in the Ge'ez language, and they rigor- ously observe Shabat, and pay meticulous attention to the laws of uncleanness and purity, which is one reason why they are not affected by the venereal diseases which ravage most tribes in Ethiopia. They are monogamous, with adultery the only jus- tification for divorce. As well as circumcising their sons on the eighth day after birth, they follow African custom in also circumcising their daughters, although this is done by women and there is no fixed day or age. The Falashas in Ethiopia live in their own small vil- lages of round huts covered with conical straw roofs, in beautiful highland' country north of Lake Tana and the Nile headwaters. They are mainly farmers, but do not own their land and must hand over as much as 75 percent of their produce to the landowners. They also engage in crafts — pottery, spinning, weaving, bas- ketry and blacksmithing — the last making them feared and hated by neighboring primitive tribes who believe that this means they pos- sess "the evil eye." However, the Falashas are a community in peril. For the past 400 years, while they remained iso- lated and unknown to most of world Jewry, they have suffered poverty, discrimi- nation, disease and pres- sures to "convert or die." Last January, an Is- • We Take The Worry Out Of DRAPERY CLEANING Drapery cleaning when properly done is an art, we at CUSTOM DRAPERY CLEANERS practice most diligently, in our never ending quest to improve our service to you by seeking better systems and methods. Don't take good drapery cleaning for granted. We at CUSTOM DRAPERY CLEANERS make good cleaning happen. • DRAPERIES • BEDSPREADS • LAMPSHADES (Cleaned or Laundered) WINDOW SHADES (Cleaned & Reversed) (Cleaned, Recovered or Relined) BLANKETS ( Professionally Laundered) PILLOWS, new ticking & feathers or down added We Remove & Install CUSTOM DRAPERY CLEANERS Suburban call collect 11111111111 V/SA" 891-1818 Learn to remember phone numbers, practice on EIGHT NINE ONE EIGHTEEN EIGHTEEN A Falasha youth prunes a tree on an Is- raeli farm. raeli government official announced that 2,000 Falashas have been kil- led or wounded by rebels opposing the central Ethiopian government to which they remained loyal. Another 7,000 have been evicted from their homes, many sold into slavery or living as starv- ing refugees on the out- skirts of Gondar, the former capital of Ethiopia. They are extremely vul- nerable since government soldiers are engaged in re- mote Eritrea and in the Ogaden. Rebel armies have vowed to wipe them out be- cause they refused to join their insurrection. Even the remnants of Haile Selassie's army have been persecut- ing them — the craftsmen sold into slavery, the women raped and mutilated and the men castrated. Recently, in Israel, the small Falasha community demonstrated in front of the Knesset, pleading for help. Appeals also went out to English and American Jewish organizations. The Association of Ethio- pian Jews in Israel claim to be outraged by "the indif- ference" of the Israel gov- ernment, the Jewish Agency and the Jewish organizations around the world, to the plight of the Falashas in Ethiopia. In Jewish tradition and Halakha there is not and never was a "race" or skin color concept. In fact, a black American psychologist, Dr. Garcia, who spent 15 months in Israel doing a study on this subject, concluded that any prejudices in Is- rael were cultural only — that is, veteran Israelis vs. new immigrants; reli- gious vs. secular; Ashkenazim vs. Sephar- dim, etc. Israeli law explicitly bans racial dis- crimination. Because of this, the ab- sorption of the Falashas in Israel should be uniquely successful, and to a certain extent it has been. There are now 300 Falashas in Is- rael, and all the adults are employed. They do army service like all other Jews, 10 are studying in univer- sities, one became a rabbi (receiving "smiha" from Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef), none have committed any crimes, and none have left Israel. Why then did the desper- ate Falasha community demonstrate in front of the Knesset in January? They were pleading for help to get their families out of Ethiopia, insisting that no preparations were being made either for their arrival or their absorption. It is claimed that there has been a veil of secrecy, what they call "a conspiracy of silence." When Emperor Haile Selassie was in power, they were told not to make noise and let the Israel gov- ernment handle things quietly so as to keep rela- tions between the two coun- tries friendly. Now, with the military government in power, they say they are still asked not to rock the _ boat. There are 28,000 Falashas left in Ethiopia, living under frightful conditions. Before 1975, the government and the rabbinate did not offi- cially proclaim them as Jews, and thus they could not be helped to immigrate until then. Meanwhile, the military government seized power and does not let any of its citizens leave the country. In Israel, a government spokesman maintains that a great deal is being done, but of necessity it must be discreet. 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