Falash Mura

The original term the Beta Israel gave to the converts was Faras Muqra "horse of the raven", in which the word "horse" refers to the converts and the word "raven" refers to the missionary Johann Martin Flad of the Basel Mission, who used to wear black clothes. This term derived the additional names Falas Muqra, Faras Mura and Falas Mura. In Hebrew, the term Falash Mura or Falashmura is probably a result of confusion over the use of the term Faras Muqra and its derivatives, and based on false cognate, it was given the Hebrew meaning Falashim Mumarim "converted Falashas". In Geʽez, the original language of the Betä Israel, Falasha means "cut off" or "exiled" or "immigrants". This term was coined due to the Betä Israel's resistance to converting to Christianity, which may have led to their internal exile in Ethiopia. The term Falash Mura has no clear origin, but the Jewish Virtual Library suggests that the term may come from one of the Agaw languages and means "someone who changes their faith." == History ==

In 1860, Henry Aaron Stern, a Jewish convert to Christianity, traveled to Ethiopia in an attempt to convert the Beta Israel community to Christianity. Conversion to Christianity For years, Jews were unable to own land and were often persecuted by the Christian majority of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Jews were afraid to touch non-Jews because they believed non-Jews were not pure, which also ostracized them from their Christian neighbors. For this reason, many Ethiopian Jews converted to Christianity to seek a better life in Ethiopia. The Jewish Agency's Ethiopia emissary, Asher Seyum, says the Falash Mura "converted in the 19th and 20th century, when Jewish relations with Christian rulers soured. Regardless, many kept ties with their Jewish brethren and were never fully accepted into the Christian communities. When word spread about the aliyah, many thousands of Falash Mura left their villages for Gondar and Addis Ababa, assuming they counted." In the Achefer district of the West Gojjam Zone, roughly 1,000–2,000 families of Beta Israel were found. There may be other such regions in Ethiopia with significant Jewish enclaves, which would raise the total population to more than 50,000 people. Return to Judaism The Falash Mura did not refer to themselves as members of the Beta Israel, the name for the Ethiopian Jewish community, until after the first wave of immigration to Israel. Beta Israel by ancestry, the Falash Mura believe they have just as much of a right to return to Israel as the Beta Israel themselves. Ovadia Yosef, the Sefardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, a significant player in the first wave of Beta Israel immigration to Israel, declared in 2002 that the Falash Mura had converted out of fear and persecution and therefore should be considered Jews. == Controversy ==

Today, both Israeli and Ethiopian groups dispute the Falash Mura's religious and political status. Although the government has threatened to stop all efforts to bring these people to Israel, they have still continued to address the issue. In 2018, the Israeli government allowed 1,000 Falash Mura to immigrate to Israel. However, members of the Ethiopian community say the process for immigration approval is poorly executed and inaccurate, dividing families. At least 80 percent of the tribe members in Ethiopia say they have first-degree relatives living in Israel, and some have been waiting for 20 years to immigrate. ==See also==