Racism in Israel towards Ethiopians is not the sole reason for this group having difficulty succeeding. Even though Ethiopians receive a lot of government aid, they have difficulty succeeding based on several factors, such as immigrants suffering from cultural differences, low levels of Ethiopians in universities, and Ethiopians with degrees still not finding high-tech jobs.
In term of government support Ethiopians are not at a disadvantage, but gain more help than other groups. Ethiopians receive roughly four times more support from the Israeli government than any other group of immigrants. (Rosenthal, 157) The type of support they receive is focused around helping them to assimilate into Israeli society and acquire their own housing. This involves free Hebrew classes, government grants, financial aid, and counseling, among other types of support. (Rosenthal, 158) On top of this they also get the highest number of housing subsides, when compared to other immigrants. Even with all these government benefits Ethiopians are the poorest Jewish group in Israel.(Rosenthal, 159) This evidence shows the lack of racism in the Israeli government towards Ethiopians.
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| Israeli Ethiopian university students. |
A factor that causes Ethiopian immigrants to have difficulty succeeding in Israel is cultural differences. This normally revolves around the loss of traditional Ethiopian hierarchical structures. In Ethiopian society they have a strict set structure that puts a huge emphasis on respecting elders. This even goes as far as children not being allowed to speak without permission or even making eye contact with elders.(Rosenthal, 158) The loss of this respect and authority, causes some Ethiopian fathers to often suffer from depression, due to this harsh shift in cultures. The males in the household no longer hold the same level of authority, as women are finding more work and parents often rely on their children for help with Hebrew. (Rosenthal, 158) In addition to this culture shock, Ethiopian immigrants often have trouble finding jobs because of their language barrier and low education background. When compared to their children born in Israel, which have more opportunities, their children have a much easier time getting jobs.
According to the Haaretz article, “Ethiopian-Israeli Woman Makes Good in High-tech: An Unrepresentative Story,” settled Ethiopians still find it difficult to succeed in Israel. This is most likely due to only twenty-seven percent of Ethiopians, who pass high school, have the grades needed for a university. This is extremely low when compared the fifty-three percent of Jews having the grades needed. The Olim Beyahad organization website states that its goal is to “help excelling Ethiopian Israelis who hold university degrees integrate into the forefront of Israel’s workforce.” This is concerning as the Haaretz article points out that a factor for Ethiopian failure is rooted in the high schools and subsequently the lack of Ethiopians in universities.
The Haaretz article, brings up another factor, saying that Ethiopians’ lack of success is due to a third of high-tech employees being hired because of the “friend brings in a friend” system. The issue with this system is that if there is not a high percentage of Ethiopians already in those tech-industries, their odds of getting hired drops dramatically. Although Olim Beyahad does not tackle the factor involving low levels of Ethiopians in universities, it does seem geared to finding high-tech jobs for those with degrees, which can be seen across their website.
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| Confrontation between IDF and Israeli Ethiopians. |
Concerning statistics listed in the Haaretz article, it is easy for them to be misinterpreted. One such statistic brings to light this confusion, “The state comptroller report from 2012 revealed that Ethiopian Israelis who find work suited to their abilities get 40 percent less than the average Israeli.” The author did not provide a link to the source of this article and I was not able to find the direct source. Without the full context, what exactly does “find work suited to their abilities” mean? It would be extremely daunting to find this statistic accurately without compromising the integrity of the survey, as this is extremely subjective. If this statistic is a survey of the working Ethiopian population, the forty percent is in fact a more reasonable number than at first glance. This statistic includes the Ethiopian immigrants that are working and immigrated after adolescence, who suffer from a lack of education and language barriers. These harsh obstacles often result in low paying jobs. The Haaretz article even mentions that in a Taub Center report half of Ethiopian women and seventeen percent of Ethiopian men, who came to Israel over the age of 12, find jobs in cleaning and kitchen work. These low paying jobs lower the total population’s earnings, causing the statistics to be more skewed. As the older immigrant population gets replaced by Israeli-born Ethiopians, the statistics should yield more conclusive results.This does not mean that Ethiopians do not have difficulty succeeding in Israel but just simply means the statistics are skewed and not as valid.
Other pieces of data provided in the Haaretz article are anecdotal accounts of Shoshi Jambar and WalkMe employees. This data is a reliable account of an individual's story. Although reliable, it is important not take this one account at face value and generalize the whole ethnic group. Unfortunately there are no links in the article backing the statistics or other information provided. Some of the statistics do not even list the source, like the one that provided information on the percentage of the gaps between Ethiopians and Israelis. On the other hand when the author does list the source it becomes more reliable. For example, the author cites the Central Bureau of Statistics, which makes the information much more reliable as this it is an Israeli government office. Similarly the information provide by the Taub Center is also reliable as they are an independent, non-partisan organization.
The reliability of the data on the Olim Beyahad organization website is not the most reliable. This is due to the nature of the data being on a website that is meant to promote its cause. The website is not going to give the whole picture but just account for its successes, as the goal is to gain support and donations. Although questionable, the stories and data given on the website help to understand the level of their success.
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| Protesting Israeli Ethiopians |
The point of view of the sources covered in the blog share varied perspectives about Ethiopians in Israeli society. The author of the Haaretz article, Ruti Levy, has a perspective of Ethiopian Israeli women being successful where they are normally excluded. This can been seen in the title, where she says it is an unrepresentative story. The pictures in the article display Shoshi Jambar’s pride and confidence as an equal to white Israelis, which expresses the author's positive view about Ethiopian Israeli’s future. The next source, Olim Beyahad website projects a view of empowerment towards Ethiopians. The organizations point view is clearly stated on website, which is to promote the successful integration of Ethiopian Israelis into Israel. Their website displays several pictures of Ethiopians in powerful and creative situations, such as on stage singing or at podiums. In contrast, Rosenthal speaks from the Israeli point of view of the Ethiopian plight. As stated in a previous blog post, Rosenthal’s point of view is pro-Israeli. She does provide an accurate perspective of several Israeli ethnic groups but in the case of the Ethiopian chapter it feels one sided. This is due to her depicting the Ethiopians as a singular group with one set of shared issues and successes. She lacks multitude of varying perspectives, like in other chapters of the book.
