ABSTRACT
The aim of this article to is explore the origins of the Beta Israel people; analyse the conditions of their existence in mainland Israel; and critique the notions of displacement and diaspora as applied to their historical experience in Ethiopia. Scholars of the Beta Israel in Ethiopia and Israel tend to project them as a marooned community, one without roots in Ethiopia and yet denied the right to live decently under Israeli law. In rethinking the agency of Beta Israel it is important not to adopt a theoretical perspective that is romantically uncritical of their struggle for human dignity. Nor should their struggle for identity formation be belittled in any way or simply dismissed as a negative fait accompli. This article argues that the existential experiences of the Beta Israelis can best be described as diasporic. Diaspora is in fact the language of those on the margins of history; those who nevertheless insist on having their stories told from their point of view. Diaspora acknowledges the possibility of returning to imagined communities previously abandoned. Ironically, diaspora also forces us to reckon with the possibility of taking up options such as integration and dissolution in host-communities. These are choices and processes fraught with contradictions; they leave permanent social and historical imprints on the affected people and can produce unintended or unexpected consequences for the communities in diaspora.
