(39) But Color of the Cross sought to make this symbolic connection precisely by making the argument that Jesus was historically black, like the modern-day
Falasha Jews of Ethiopia.
A black rabbi named Matthews, who "has other
Falasha people in his congregation up there in Harlem" (222), is willing to offer them shelter and help.
Today Ethiopia is home to the Beta Israels
Falasha or the 'Black Jews.'
The first Ethiopian Protestant missionary was Mikael Argawi * (1848-1931), a converted
Falasha Jew.
We find out in passing that Ephraim is half-Jewish through his mother, whom the relatives refer to as "
Falasha"; but Zeleke said that this was not at all meant to signal division, as Ethiopians generally do not identify themselves by religious affiliation.
The anger of the
Falasha (exiles in Ethiopia's Amharic language) against "police racism" has exploded yesterday in Jerusalem when several hundred Ethiopian Jews, gathered in French Square, clashed with riot police agents.
This is a community not used to having deep cultural stuff examined by outsiders." (73) Audience members for the band's early gigs figured Byron must be a
Falasha, an Ethiopian Jew, on the assumption that a non-Jewish African American was incapable of playing authentic klezmer.
Consequently, Rodman paints an essentially favorable picture of the IAF and its role in preserving both Israeli security and the safety of the Jewish people (historically done through airlift operations like those that brought the
Falasha Jews of Ethiopia to Israel in the 1980s and 1990s), as well as helping Israel in its diplomatic ambitions through extensive humanitarian aid in such diverse locations as Turkey, Mexico, India, Japan, and Haiti.