During my last trip to Jerusalem, I happened to visit the Ethno Yisrael cafe of Ethiopian Jews, located in the very center of the city, and talked about the life of falash, or Bethe Yisrael, as they call themselves, 1 with its owner, Moshe. When he found out that I was from Russia, he immediately informed me that the great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin was also descended from his people. In fact, there are many versions about the origin of Abraham Hannibal. So, supporters of the" Eritrean " version claim that Pushkin's ancestor was born in what is now Eritrea, in the family of one of the numerous princes in Abyssinia at that time. According to another version, the birthplace of Hannibal is the area of the Logon River, which flows through the territory of Chad and Cameroon. He was allegedly taken to Ethiopia at the age of six or eight by the Berbers, from where he was then sold as a slave to the Turks. And already through Istanbul, Abraham Hannibal came to the court of Peter the Great. Thus, there is still no convincing evidence of his "Jewish" origin. Relatively little is known about falasha. In the encyclopedic reference book "Africa", for example, they are given only five sentences. Their past and present are connected with myths. Their origins are still unclear, and many Israelis view them with prejudice. MOSAIC OF DIASPORAS Modern Israeli society is a mosaic of diasporas (the so-called "edot"), each of which contributes to the political, economic and cultural life of the country. One of the small pieces of this puzzle is the diaspora of immigrants from Ethiopia. In Israel and Ethiopia, they are called "falasha". The Ethiopian diaspora in Israel, with its distinctive features and customs, is very different from the rest of the population, most of which are from Europe or Arab countries. Anthropologically, Ethiopian Jews belong to the small Ethiopian race - their appearance combines Caucasian and Negroid features. In Israel, the Falasha are a relatively closed social ... Read more