Aynau Ferede Sanbetu: "Christian Missionaries Have Taken Over Ethiopian Immigration"

Aynau Ferede Sanbetu made the long journey from Ethiopia to Israel in 1991 with his mother and brother. His father passed away in Ethiopia when Aynau was only 5 years old. "The journey for most Ethiopian Jews to the Land of Israel was particularly arduous," says Sanbetu. "More than 4,000 people perished during the journey while trying to fulfill their dream of immigrating to the homeland. This is why the current state of Ethiopian immigration is so difficult for us. It strikes at our sacred beliefs and values, and it hurts immensely."

Whether you are a fan of the media or not, you have likely come across Sanbetu or one of the initiatives he's involved with. Sanbetu (43) is married to Mare Maro, who serves as a board member of the Second Authority for Television and Radio and the Ethiopian Jewish Heritage Center. They have two children and reside in Rishon Lezion, focusing mainly on public and communication activities across various issues and fronts.

"From a young age, it was important for me to engage in public activity, which is why I studied management and public policy at the Open University, as well as group facilitation in multicultural societies," Sanbetu shares. "In Ethiopia, I was a shepherd, but no matter where you are, you must use the best tools you can get. That's one of the reasons I founded a radio station and engage in public writing. Articles I have written were published in 'Israel Hayom', 'Haaretz', 'Makor Rishon', translated into 'The Jerusalem Post', and published in other major media outlets. I was also a reporter for several years for 'Haaretz' and the Broadcasting Authority."

Thanks to Rabbi Ovadia

According to him, Sanbetu is not religious, but he holds a great belief and connection to tradition. "I observe Shabbat and holidays, but I do not wear a kippah daily. However, I have great faith. Jewish values are very important to me, and that's why I invest so much in this issue.

"Today, there's a very big problem with the continued immigration of Ethiopians to the country," Sanbetu says. "The Law of Return, which states that every Jew is entitled to immigrate to Israel and become a citizen, was applied to Ethiopian Jews in 1973, following a halachic ruling by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory. From 1973 to 1991, Ethiopian Jews immigrated under the Law of Return. Few newcomers who arrived after Operation Solomon in 1991 were connected to the ruling authorities in Ethiopia. They arrived until 1995 at the latest.

"During that period, there was order. Our spiritual leaders, the kessoch, checked carefully who was Jewish, who was of Israel's seed, and who was not, and only those who were truly Jewish came. Those who weren't, like many descendants of Israel's seed who converted to Christianity centuries ago, did not come. After all Ethiopian Jews had made aliyah, an emotional manipulation began by private individuals and interested groups. Today, there's a lot of political correctness and sensitivity towards people of color, so it worked exceptionally well."

What happened in those years in practice?

"Initially, there was a desire to bring to Israel the Falashmura. So they cleverly invented a new law, because the Law of Return no longer helped those people, simply because they could not prove they were Jews. It was called the 'Entrance Law'. This is a very vague law, mainly invented to bring to Israel people from Ethiopia who are not Jewish. Then the Rubinstein Committee, led by a retired judge, set criteria in the matter, and thus brought in another 3,000 people. Many of them requested family reunification, and it kept snowballing without an end in sight.

"Incidentally, on this matter, I recommend anyone who wants to delve deeper into the topic to read Uri Konforti's book, 'Zionism Upside Down'. Konforti was an emissary of the Jewish Agency in Ethiopia, knew the issue closely, and wrote very alarming things. He describes how large numbers of non-Jews, mainly Christians, come to Israel due to significant pressures from vested interest groups. Their strongest card is a request for family reunification.

"Truthfully," continues Sanbetu, "the situation is much more complicated because there are often situations of people requesting family reunification after being married several times, and they have many offspring. This reaches particularly high numbers. Those who had ties to Beta Israel have long since made aliyah. And if there is someone who can prove their Judaism, they do not need help from any organization or new law. They simply need to prove it. Today they are using this law, which is a very open law, to bring many people."

A Dangerous Breach for Assimilation

Beyond all this, according to Sanbetu, there is a particularly severe problem with the continued immigration of people from Ethiopia, as many of them live a Christian lifestyle. Additionally, for this reason, he says, various organizations want to encourage this phenomenon. "Anyone who is Jewish does not need breaches in the law. Not only does the Law of Return not apply to those arriving today, but the truth is that some do not remain Jews at all, even in terms of their own definition if they ever were. They simply go to Christianity. There is a lot of material on this issue. The Libah organization also published a report on the matter, and I was involved in writing it. It turns out that Christian missionary organizations strive a lot in this matter and even claim and boast that they succeed in bringing these people to Israel. It is dreadful in my eyes.

"Beyond that, it also causes severe problems of assimilation within the Ethiopian community. In Ethiopia, we lived separately from the Christians, and you knew who belonged where. Today, as you bring more and more Christians, it has become very difficult to maintain our families' identities and Jewish marriages.

"People tell me," Sanbetu concludes, "'Why do you care if more people come from Ethiopia? This way, we will have a stronger and bigger black force in Israel.' But that doesn't interest me. I'm not looking for that. I seek Jewish identity. Unfortunately, there are people who are only interested in money, interests that harm the people of Israel, and nothing else.

"Therefore, I expect the government to stop succumbing to this emotional blackmail. The Jewish heart is very compassionate. These organizations gather a lot of people in one place, film them begging, show their misery, make false propaganda, and thus exploit the Jewish heart to bring more and more Christians to the country. I expect the government to act fairly and put a halt to this. Succumbing to this emotion can harm Jewish identity and bring many troubles."