One People, One Blood: Ethiopian-Israelis and the Return to Judaism (Jewish Cultures of the World) - Hardcover

Don Seeman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813545412 ISBN 13: 9780813545417

Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 2009

Synopsis

'Little by little, an egg will come to walk upon its own leg'. Ethiopian-Israelis fondly quote this bit of Amharic folk wisdom, reflecting upon the slow, difficult history that fulfilled their destiny far from their Horn of Africa birthplace. But today, unlike these 'authentic Jews,' the Feres Mura, Ethiopian Jews whose families converted to Christianity during the nineteenth century and then reasserted their Jewish identity in the latter part of the twentieth century, still await acceptance by Israel. Since the 1980s, they have sought homecoming through the state's right of return law. Instead of a welcoming embrace, Israel's government and society regard them with reticence and suspicion. ""One People, One Blood"" expertly documents this tenuous relationship and the challenges facing the Feres Mura. Distilling more than ten years of ethnographic research, Don Seeman depicts the rich culture of the group, as well as their social and cultural vulnerability, and addresses the problems that arise when a political entity empowers itself to decide whose identity is legitimate or not.

About this title

Review:

"Written with grace and thoroughly researched, One People, One Blood is an ethnography with a lot of heart that also sheds new light on a fascinating and fraught chapter in recent Jewish history."--Ruth Behar "author of An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba "

"Seeman has an eye for multifaceted complexity, and a gift for sensitive exploration of the many tough issues that the existence of the 'Feres Mura' has raised. The book also offers great insight into the concerns and thought processes of morally serious ethnographers."--Jewish Book World

"Seeman has done an outstanding job."
--Shofar

About the Author:

DON SEEMAN is an associate professor in the department of religion and the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies at Emory University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0813545412
• ISBN 13: 9780813545417
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 260