Jacques Faitlovitch and The Jews of Ethiopia

The architect of the ingathering of the most problematic group of the Jewish diaspora was Jacques Faitlovitch. He was an adventurer, scholar and Zionist, a Polish-born Jew who lived in Paris and Palestine. His life was marked by his devotion to the cause of the Beta Israel, the black Jews of Ethiopia. Faitlovitch was an Ashkenazi Jew of the neo-Orthodox school and took up the task, already initiated by Joseph Hal�������©vi, of assisting the Beta Israel, particularly in their struggle against the Protestant missionaries. He had close links with the chief Jewish institutions and with leading scholars and Ethiopian leaders, notably Emperor Haile Selasse.

Emanuela Trevisan Semi is Professor of Modern Jewish and Hebrew Studies at the University of Venice, Italy.