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State Comptroller: Absorption of Ethiopians a 'failure'
Yaron Druckman
Published: 08.05.13, 17:10
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1. Absorption
Joe Mevorah ,   Lincoln, U.S.A.   (05.08.13)
After all the hoopla about getting the Ethiopians out the fact apparently remains that in the area of race relations Israel is doing as well as the United States. I wonder if the same applies to the Russians who came to Israel? I doubt it. Race, in my opinion, raises it's ugly hand in a land that wants and asks Jews to come and be citizens in a free Jewish state.
2. solution found
Alon ,   TA   (05.08.13)
Give them a religious zionist education and pair them up with the pale ashekenazis and you will have beautiful family and integrated bith ethiopia s and russians.
3. Best of intentions gone wrong ... well maybe ...maybe not
Arnold ,   Montreal-Canada   (05.08.13)
The closest comparison of large amounts of blacks being brought into a white country goes back to the slave trade of the USA. The biggest difference though goes into the ways and means of introduction. The blacks brought into America were chained and forced while the Ethiopians were invited into Israel and flew in with some luxury. But both scenarios had the same effect. bias of the whites to the blacks. It took centuries to get to where Black Americans have achieved their equal status and to this day there are still racial problems. One can only hope that Israel will not suffer the same fate of long term racism against their Ethiopian black population.
4. THE FAILURE LIES IN THE THE SYSTEMIC RACIST POLICIES
stude ham   (05.08.13)
of the religious factions... and possibly of far too many white skinned Israelis. Israel's government also failed miserably in rooting out this systemic racism among its people.
5. Please excuse my scepticism....
Ian ,   Newcastle upon Tyne   (05.08.13)
....but what makes anyone think that Jews from Ethiopia wish to be forced into an 'official' mould any more than the rest of us would?They're free,independently thinking human beings who can decide for themselves in which direction they go and accept responsibility for their actions. THREE CHEERS FOR ISRAEL!!!
6. Lets be truthful.
Eli ,   Jerusalem   (05.08.13)
The fact that there has been a gap in absorption among the Ethiopians has less to due with racism and more to do with Israel in general. The Russians came in 1 million strong and comprise close to 25% of the country which translates into political clout. The Ethiopians came in smaller numbers with no money and no political power. Life in Israel is no picnic and they get shat on just like everyone else! Lets see Americans try to make it here without money. BTW: If there is racism it comes much more from the Edot hamizrach than from the Askenazim.Lets be truthful!
7. # 1 & 3 Joe and Arnold
MR   (05.08.13)
I read the article and I didn't find any hint about racism. The ministries responsible for getting the funds to the right places just work terrible, but not only for the "Ethiopians". The high education in Israel is very demanding and expensive and one needs a solid education (and money) prior to getting there. Give them time, these people are merely 20+ years in Israel, after all we are talking about the first generation raised here. If the budgets allocated to them wouldn't get stuck somewhere, like so many other budgets, it would work faster and better. It's not racism, we just have our share of idiots who work terrible.
8. It is not racism to point out this is a problem in all Afric
Alan ,   SA   (05.08.13)
9. Black ?
marian ,   Romania   (05.08.13)
Ethiopians are not black, they are beige. 34 % of the Eth. mails have the Y chromosone in haplogroup J1, the Semitic haplogroup, compared to the Ashkenazim (only 15%) and Sephardim (only 11%)
10. Arnold # 3
Eaglebeak ,   Left Coast, USA   (05.08.13)
Affirmative action actually makes blacks more equal than others. The bias amongst blacks and whites goes both ways. Many of the blacks have not put the slave days behind them. They use it as a crutch to feel that we owe them and should be treated extra special and not equal. As a group they don't value education to improve themselves and schools have to dummy down entrance exams to get them into their schools. Many of their men split the moment they get a woman pregnant leaving a lot of broken families that are left to be raised by the women. The men go merrily on their way. In contrast look at the asians who come here. They value an education and work hard to succeed. They don't say "We have been treated poorly and you owe us." These Asians have faced hardships too but they put it behind them. I admire them for that. A lot of the east Indians here are much the same. Study and work hard. I wish all black people well that try hard and that don't play the race card. Clarence Thomas is a good example of a really wonderful man. They certainly exist but it's the "poor little me" group that always seems to get the attention.
11. # 7
Josh ,   Tel Aviv   (05.08.13)
If the education in Israel is very high and demanding why are the ministries operated by personnel that cant perform simple tasks ie their job?
12. Give me a break, they come from a 3rd
Don Rosenberg ,   Palatine USA   (05.08.13)
world country and suddenly they should be heading corporations, becoming doctors and lawyers. As usual, Israel is suppose to make a trouble free world for the ethiopians. Of course there is some discrimination, just like every country in this world. Let them adjust and work to make their lives better or go back to Ethiopia.
13. 1 Joe.it's not race,just I.Q,i vonder,they
J.K. ,   Brooklyn USA   (05.08.13)
are in Israel about 30 years,how many Doctors,Engineers did they produce?.
14. 10 Eaglebeack.slavery,Mohamad Ali,
J.K. ,   Brooklyn USA   (05.08.13)
on a visit to Africa,said :i am so grateful to that grand father,who took that boat,the only way to solve the problem of black-hispanic,some white, fatherless children,is,every newborn,and every male in the US must provide a dna sample,males will have to think hard before they father a child that sombody else will have to raise and provide for,will obama do it ?.no way.
15. Two Words
Steve ,   Palm Beach, U.S.A.   (05.09.13)
Or more to the point, two letters; I.Q.
16. The absorption joke.
David ,   Rishon, Israel   (05.09.13)
We're recent olim, both professionals with international experience. We were told by our ministry worker and her manager that the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption in Israel does not have any responsibility for helping or guiding immigrants in finding employment. It's a joke! They asked for my CV on file 7 months after I came here, seemingly so they could check that box on the computer. Israel is wasting manpower and potential at the hands of officious, over-unionized government workers.
17. #7 MR
Austin ,   Victoria   (05.09.13)
it's really got nothing to do with budgets exactly. It's to do with the Ethiopians' self-perception. they don't seem to think enough of themselves to stay in school, to study properly,nor to behave themselves and obey the rules in the IDF. I know only what I've read in this report. Either they don't want to be in Israel, or they aren't intelligent enough to grasp the concept of living in a modern society; perhaps they are unduly influenced by ther home surroundings, or their neighbours etc. Money can only improve living conditions, not inject willingness or ability to succeed. That must come from within.
18. Racism and Hypocracy
John Robey ,   Austin, Texas   (05.09.13)
In the sixties I lived in Mississippi...it was a segregated society and "freedom riders" (many of them Jewish kids from up north) came and helped point the way toward a more egalatarian society. That was good we needed to be slapped in the face. What I don't understand is why is it that racial equal treatment does not work in Israel....I grew up in post WWII United States hating Nazis and liking Jack Benny, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Bob Dylan> None of them were racists, nobody (hardly) openly espouses racist policies in Mississippi any more. Why Israel?
19. america had similar problems
Sean green ,   Pasadena ca   (05.09.13)
used to be Jew IQ tests in the US were as low as blacks. one generation tlater hey are higher then average whites. why? culture change. the value placed on education that causes US Asians to also surpass whites. call it Confucian ethics call it solomonic teaching. valuing knowledge in your children is the key.
20. You probably cannot achieve these goals in a few years
Yael Schlichting ,   currently Munich   (05.09.13)
There are families, there is a community background, that only slowly and gradually adopts to the new environment. You cannot compensate the family and community environment with a few million NIS. You need to educate the parents, too. And not all Ethiopian Jews have made good experiences in Israel. We all know it, that there are groups who are hostile to black Jews. The money still will be good invested to better integrate Ethiopian Jews into Israel. Just start with one little thing: Children of Ethiopian Jews, born in Israel, are native Israeli Jews! Period!
21. In this land but not of it ...
Michael Redbourn ,   Arad, Israel   (05.09.13)
I live in Arad and we have a fair number of Ethiopians here. It would be impossible to integrate the older ones, most of whom sit huddled together on benches, still wear their traditional clothes, swinging something that I imagine is to keep flies away. They are in this land but not of it. And whereas I am on very friendly term with many Bedouin here I have never had contact with an Ethiopian. Not because of any racism on my side but because they keep themselves to themselves. Non-Jewish Russians didn't integrate, but their grandchildren are doing so, so hopefully it will be the same with the Ethiopians.
22. UK has same problem
Harvey ,   London   (05.09.13)
There is a deep divide on universities campuses across the UK . Our top red brick universities mostly comprise white middle class students while former polytechnics such as East London , Westminster , Thames Valley etc regularly feature at the bottom of the league table and have a high proportion of ethnic minorities . The qualifications these so called universities provide do not provide entry level to our top employers ie not worth the paper they are written on . They simply tick the boxes for successive governments to say 50 % of school leavers go on to further education . For the most part students encounter high rates of unemployment on leaving or are forced to take on menial jobs with the bonus of having to repay tens of thousands of pounds in tuition fees which the government inevitably writes off .
23. #6 - Russians make up 12.5 % of the population not 25%
Michael Redbourn ,   Arad   (05.09.13)
Today there are approximately a million "Russian Israelis" in Israel. Israel's population is eight million So Russians represent 12.5% of Israel's population and not 25% I'm sure that it sometimes feels like there are more because it does it Arad, but that doesn't make it so. I haven't seen official figures but Russian most likely make up over 40% of Arad's population of 25 thousand.
24. Once I went to the Sigid celebration
Susan ,   Kfar Saba   (05.09.13)
in my city. Except for city officials, I was the only white person there. They showed a presentation of activities the city gives their community. The kids get a lot of enrichment that my kids dont get. I think a lot is done to try to help them, but you have middle age parents who through no fault of their own never went to school and cant read in their own native language. I also go to a continuing uplan. No Ethiopians come. There is also Tehilla, classes where a lot of older women who didnt get a lot of education when they were young come. No Ethiopians there either. These classes are open to every adult in the city. That is the homelife a lot of the kids grow up in. As #7 said, it will take a few generations for them to catch up. You cant compare them to the Russians, many of whom came with advanced educations and were some of the smartest people in the USSR.
25. I think this is just a news spin, in the Kneset
lili   (05.09.13)
there is Ethiopian MK. some doctors and hospital staff are Ethiopians. just how much is this article reflect reality?
26. Racism is everywhere just ignore it
C2 ,   Aus   (05.09.13)
I heard a story from a friend that the flashomra are being treated with discrimination even in their own country because they are Jews Enteracting with the rest of the community can reduce hostilities and racism off course this is the responsibility of everyone to make it .work
27. They aren't Jews ...
Mack ,   LA, Calif   (05.09.13)
is my guess. Where is the proof? Africans with a few similar religious customs doesn't mean they were ever Jews. It's obvious.
28. number 27 they are jews, they belong to the Dan
lili   (05.09.13)
tribe, even during king Shlomo, there was jews immigration to Kush today is Ethiopia. and I don't think you are the one to tell who is jewish or not.
29. Well spotted 28
josh ,   tel aviv   (05.09.13)
Amazing how over a period of 2000yrs Jews can only evolve from a middle eastern skin tone to a European white one...
30. It is not as simple as racism. The culture is so different
Jo   (05.09.13)
There is a huge cultural divide between Ethopians and Israeli cultural. Israel is not a country where you get a head with hard self motivation and work, you make it happen, just like in the US, what you put in you get out (albeit far from the American standard) Ethoipians expect the goverement to care and provide for them, owe them, their cultural does not teach self initiative and drive, this cultural gap is too wide and only succeeding generations will change and adapt. The Russians did not have this problem. As to racism it exists in all countries,and even in African countries amongst the different tribal groups. It exists in Israel even within white Jewry itself. It is not the main cause of the failure to intregrate in Israel. More in house Ethiopian cultural factors are too blame. It will take time to bridge this huge gap, the resourcesand opportunities are available in Israel but the Ethiopians need to learn to make use of them.
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