{"id":1865,"date":"2009-06-13T12:11:39","date_gmt":"2009-06-13T16:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kulanuarchive.kulanu.org\/?p=1865"},"modified":"2019-04-08T11:01:27","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T15:01:27","slug":"the-overlooked-beit-avraham-in-ethiopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kulanu.org\/archive\/the-overlooked-beit-avraham-in-ethiopia\/","title":{"rendered":"The Overlooked Beit Avraham in Ethiopia"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div><em>In an exciting new development, Kulanu has been getting to know the Beit Avraham community in Ethiopia that has been practicing Judaism in secret. The author of this article, Amy Cowen, is a Visual Anthropologist who has done extensive research and documentary photography of Ethiopian Jews both in Ethiopia and in Israel.\u00c2\u00a0 She made Aliyah in 2006.\u00c2\u00a0 We have now posted her 17-page independent research manuscript and more of her photos at:<\/em><\/div>\n<div><em><a href=\"https:\/\/kulanu.org\/archive\/b2\/ethiopia\/longroadhome.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/cyan.olm.net\/~kulanu\/ethiopia\/longroadhome.php.<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<div><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<div><em>Here is the summary of Amy Cowen\u2019s article that appeared in the spring Kulanu Newsletter<\/em>:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>While nearly all Beta Israel have now been accepted and promised eventual access to Israel, there is yet another Jewish community still hidden in Ethiopia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s highlands:\u00c2\u00a0 the Beit Avraham or House of Abraham.\u00c2\u00a0 Extending from the northern Shewa region south to the capital city of Addis Ababa, the largest enclave of Beit Avraham is located in an area known as Kachene, numbering roughly 50,000.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Although nearly analogous in terms of their history to the remaining Beta Israel, or Falash Mura, this community has been overlooked by Israel and the rest of the Jewish world.\u00c2\u00a0 They have no known relatives in Israel at this time and have not taken significant steps to disclose their identity.\u00c2\u00a0 The success of other Beta Israel at throwing off the fetters that have silenced them for years has given a small number of Beit Avraham the confidence to defiantly speak the truth.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>My one desire is to make my people known to everyone around the world,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Aselef Teketel, artist and advocate for his community.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Yet, the vast majority of the Beit Avraham remain silent, hidden, and even slowly losing their Jewish heritage.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/albums.phanfare.com\/1386609\/4053367#imageID=71538817\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/content.delivra.com\/etapcontent\/\/KulanuInc\/Amy%20Cowen%20-%20Beit%20Avraham%20collage%20-%20small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"448\" height=\"299\" \/><\/a><em>Click on photos to view album\u00a0<\/em><em>\u00c2\u00a9 Amy Cowen<\/em><\/div>\n<div><strong>Silenced Beneath a Veil<\/strong><br \/>\nSilenced by fear, discrimination, and persecution, the Beit Avahram\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ancient past has remained a mystery and closed to outsiders, sometimes even the younger community members themselves.\u00c2\u00a0 Similar to the Falash Mura, in an act of survival, the Beit Avraham hid their Jewish identity under a shroud of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity for centuries.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather than completely forfeiting their Jewish identity, the Beit Avraham outwardly appeared Christian, while continuing to secretly practice their forefathers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 faith and Jewish traditions.\u2019<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Writer and actor Feleka Abebe says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My grandmother used to always tell me we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re Jewish; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s who we are, our heritage.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Yet, for others, it remained a mystery.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We were so confused [as children],\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said one young man.\u00c2\u00a0 Community members shared stories of their parents attending church one minute and in the next going off to the countryside to practice some secret religion.\u00c2\u00a0 Continually haunted by the question, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Who am I?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d many began to seek out their true identity, and as a result discovered this \u00e2\u20ac\u0153secret religion\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was Judaism.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>For the full article and more photos, click here:<\/div>\n<div><em><a href=\"https:\/\/kulanu.org\/archive\/b2\/ethiopia\/longroadhome.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/cyan.olm.net\/~kulanu\/ethiopia\/longroadhome.php<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an exciting new development, Kulanu has been getting to know the Beit Avraham community in Ethiopia that has been <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Overlooked Beit Avraham in Ethiopia - Kulanu<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In an exciting new development, Kulanu has been getting to know the Beit Avraham community in Ethiopia that has been practicing Judaism in secret. 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