Early in 2000, the Israel/Overseas Pillar of United Jewish Communities (the "Pillar") created a subcommittee (the "Subcommittee") to gather facts in the matter of Ethiopians whose antecedents converted from Judaism to Christianity and who now seek to immigrate to Israel (the "Falas Mura"). The inquiry was a response to concerns expressed at the United Jewish Communities' 1999 General Assembly.

Principally, the inquiry was to focus on the timeliness of processing aliyah applications and the well being of the Falas Mura, whether in Addis Ababa ("Addis"), Gondar or their villages. Initially, the Subcommittee gathered written input from all the then current service and advocacy organizations engaged on the issue. A list of such organizations is attached as Annex A. Information also was gathered from two brief missions to Ethiopia by others (June and September 2000) and by direct input from Israel's then Interior Minister (April and June 2000). Frequent reports on service levels were received from both the Jewish Agency for Israel ("JAFI") and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee ("JDC").

On October 23, 2000 members of the Subcommittee and others designated by the Pillar's Chair, as well as the Acting Director of the Pillar, traveled to Ethiopia for a first-hand investigation of the current conditions. The following is a report of those efforts. Five entities supported our mission. They and their roles are as follows:

1. The Government of the State of Israel through the Interior Ministry has the responsibility to accept, process and act upon aliyah applications. The Israeli Embassy in Addis and the Consulate in Gondar, supported by JAFI, conduct the process of taking applications for aliyah from the Falas Mura and such others who may apply.

2. JAFI is responsible for preparing those individuals whose applications have been approved for aliyah to Israel.

3. JDC maintains health clinics in Addis and Gondar for the Falas Mura and provides meals and other nutritional supplementation to certain at-risk individuals of this group.

4. The North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACOEJ) operates compounds in both Addis and Gondar, where a range of services is provided to the Falas Mura.

5. The South Wing to Zion (SWZ) is a prominent advocacy voice in Israel on behalf of the Falas Mura.

FINDINGS

Number of Persons Seeking to Emigrate

At the behest of certain American advocates, a privately funded census, subsequently entitled Census of the Remnants of Ethiopian Jewry [the "Census"], was commissioned to determine the demographics of the Falas Mura community in Addis, Gondar and their villages.

According to its terms, the Census was "designed to generate a comprehensive population survey of the remnants [sic] of Ethiopian Jewry, in order to provide the Israeli public and decision-makers with reliable information about this community." The Census concluded the total number of persons to be approximately 26,000.

There is little dispute that the total number of Ethiopians who claim the right to make aliyah exceeds the Census total, but because no data are available, no definitive assessment of the number above 26,000 can be made.

Adequacy of Processing

Until ordered by Israel's Supreme Court in response to an action initiated by SWZ, processing of applications for aliyah was initiated only in Israel by relatives of those in Ethiopia, and the pace of processing was very slow. Subsequently, but delayed somewhat by logistical, security and regulatory issues, processing began in Addis and Gondar. At this time approximately 2,000 families in Addis and 1,100 families in Gondar have yet to initiate the application process for eligibility determination. Given recently increased staffing levels in Ethiopia by the Ministry of the Interior, this process of initiating applications should be completed within the next three months.

The next critical phase of processing is the validation of applicant data by the Interior Ministry in Israel. Because almost no record of vital statistics is maintained in Ethiopia, the vast majority of verification occurs in Israel through interviews with Ethiopian Israelis. When the application-making process is completed in the next three months, the Interior Ministry may well have a caseload of approximately 5,000 unresolved applications representing approximately 25,000 individuals requiring investigation and adjudication. The Subcommittee is currently inquiring into the Ministry's staffing capacity for this task and expressing its support for a level of staffing which will result in a timely ruling on all applications.

Because of the individual nature of each application, the Interior Ministry has not established a date by which all applications will be acted upon. The Subcommittee believes that with enhanced staffing, it would not be unreasonable for the processing to be completed by January 1, 2002. In addition, we have recommended that the current form letter of rejection be modified to cite the reason for rejection.

In June 2000, the then Interior Minister opined that significantly less than all Falas Mura would be eligible under the Law of Return. This assumption must be viewed in the light of expectations of their advocates that all the remaining Falas Mura will be admitted to Israel in the same time frame under family reunification policies of the State of Israel, i.e., the Law of Entry.

JAFI has estimated that aliyah from Ethiopia in 2001 under the Law of Return will approximate 5,000 persons in addition to the approximately 3,000 who will have arrived in Israel during 2000.

An issue related to the pace of aliyah is the concern of the Government of Ethiopia that the movement of olim not have high visibility. JAFI has assured us it will take all appropriate action to expedite approved emigration. On a like issue, the lack of frequent non-Shabbat air service to Israel from Ethiopia slows the aliyah process. El Al is considering the establishment of service to Addis in early 2001; and, when implemented, this will reduce this concern.

Falas Mura Well-being

While any assessment of the well-being of the Falas Mura requires comparison with that of the society in which they live, it is important to view North American concern for this population in the light of western standards in Israel and North America.

Habitat. Based upon the Census, approximately 8,000 Falas Mura live in their native villages. The remaining persons live in proximity to the NACOEJ compounds in Addis and Gondar at which nutritional, educational and religious services are provided. Typically these residences are exceedingly small, one or two room wood and mud structures with dirt floors, and no power, water or sanitary facilities. We observed as many as twelve persons occupying such a "home" Rents in the range of $8 to $10 per month approximate two-thirds of average monthly family income.

Nutrition. Ethiopia is one of the poorest nations and the majority of its citizens have an inadequate diet. Falas Mura living in villages and continuing their subsistence way of life may be hungry but are not starving. For those Falas Mura receiving services in Addis and Gondar, nutritional support focuses principally on individuals deemed at risk based on WHO standards and young children. Meals of very modest cost are provided to schoolchildren by NACOEJ in the Addis and Gondar compounds and by JDC to persons at-risk in clinics in both cities. While there is no starvation among the Falas Mura, the nutritional value of their diet is low and hunger exists.

Health. JDC operates clinics for individuals who are registered in the Addis and Gondar compounds, i.e., those listed in the Census. Beyond this care and some nursing in the compounds, the other health services are the very modest ones provided by the Government and costly private care.

Nonetheless, the general health of the Falas Mura is now superior to that of the average Ethiopian and, since the reopening of the JDC clinics, the death rate is much lower than that of the general population and comparable to that in the United States and Israel. An adequate supply of medicine is available for even serious illness such as TB.

Education. NACOEJ conducts classes in such subjects as Amharic, Hebrew, English and mathematics in both compounds. The Ethiopian educational authority accredits the secular curriculum in Addis. The goal of these programs is to provide supervised daytime activity and to enhance preparedness to learn in the Israeli school system.

Religion. A full program of religious ritual and observance is encouraged at the NACOEJ compounds. During a visit to each compound, we observed large numbers of adult males laying tefillin and praying regularly. Although the Law of Return does not require this conduct, a goal of this behavior by the Falas Mura is to demonstrate that they are observant and deserving of aliyah and to familiarize themselves with what they believe to be Jewish religious practice.

Employment. Some Falas Mura are provided employment opportunities in the compounds. Most of the work involves Judaic craft (Addis only) and support work in the compounds. Minimal compensation for this work as well as occasional day labor in the general community augments meager living standards, but the Falas Mura remain dependent on social services.

Villages. We did not visit any Falas Mura in their villages. We were informed that there is no regular provision of services in the villages.