INTRODUCTION

This bibliography, published by SOSTEJE (Society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry) includes all known references to publications on Ethiopian Jewry from the time of SOSTEJE's last international conference in Milan, Italy, in 1998 until this conference in Paris, France, in October 2001. The bibliography is compiled on the basis of research, and submission of references to this scientific coordinator. It includes acadcmic and quasi-academic works of interest to researchers, but not newspaper articlcs or unpublished materials. The work was entirely voluntary and not supported by any funding agency. While every attempt has been made to be as comprehensive as possible, obviously some references have not reached this coordinator. lf there are any additions, these can be added in future newsletters of the Society.

The bibliography follows on a tradition of books of illuminated bibliographies produced by Aescoli (1935-6), Leslau (1951), Kaplan and Ben-Dor (1988), and Salamon and Kaplan (1998). Compared to the latter two bibliographies, published under the auspices of the Ben-Zvi Institute in Jerusalem in the period after the large immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel, this bibliography covers books, scientific articles, book reviews of academic books, dissertations, and to a lesser extent reports and other literary forms in the last three years only. In contrast to previous bibliographies, publications are divided into categories, and only then listed alphabetically. While Salamon and Kaplan (1998: 1-2) remarked upon tbe unprecedented interest in the way of life of the Beta lsrael in Ethiopia and the integration of the Ethiopian Jews in Israel as expressed in the large number (932 in 11 years) of publications on the broader subject of Ethiopian Jewry, this more humble bibliography, with 148 entries, for the past three years only, clearly demonstrates that research into this fascinating group of Jews from Ethiopia continues unabated, if at a slower pace. Particularly important are the relatively large number of dissertations (and I am sure there are more than those reported hete) which will lead to more scientific publications in the future.

The state of research into Ethiopian Jewry appears to be changing over the past three years. While I described the state of research into Ethiopian Jews in the 1980's and pointed to the Iack of research in several major fields (Weil, 1985), today many of these topics have been covered. Another article on "Beta Israel studies toward the year 2000" (Kaplan 1995) stated that neither adequate studies of Jacques Faitlovitch and his students exist, nor are there researches on the ltalian conquest, Christian and Jewish missionary activity, or the various aliyah movements. "Changes which took place in Beta Israeli life prior to their emigration to Israeli remain only vaguely understood," Kaplan stated (1995: 15-16). He bemoaned that religious texts had been relatively neglected in recent scholarship and that there had been lack of interest in the social context of religion. Kaplan concluded: "Of all the gaps that exist in Beta Israel studies, no one appears as painful as the absence of a single first-rate ethnography of the group" (1995:20).

The year 2000 has come and gone. Some of the lacunae in Beta lsrael studies have been filled or are in the process of being rectified. The project of documenting Dr. Faitlovitch's life and the lives of his pupils is in full swing. Historical work is continuing unabated. The analysis of religious texts and their publication is progressing. Absorption studies are continuing, although these still sometimes lack academic direction and do not yet refer to the latest large waves of immigration to Israel. One or two ethnographies have appeared and others will yet appear; we still await multiple reconstructions and narratives of the lives of the Beta Israel in Ethiopia and in their new setting in Israel. Most important to mention is that while regretfully there are still no recognized academics from among the ranks of the Ethiopian Jews, there is a new trend to produce literature in Hebrew (and Amharic) by Ethiopian Jews, at present mainly describing the traumatic journey to Israel from Ethiopia. This may be the beginning of a new era in which Ethiopian Jews themselves narrate and take joint responsibility for documenting their own history and contemporary lives both in Ethiopia and Israel.

REFERENCES

Aescoly, Aaron Zeev 1935-6. The Falashas: A Bibliography. Tel-Aviv: Kiryat Sefer (Hebrew).

Kaplan, Steven and Ben-Dor, Shoshana. (eds.). 1988. Ethiopian Jewry: An Annotated Bibliography, Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute.

Kaplan, Steven. 1995. "Beta Israel Studies toward the Year 2000", In: S. Kaplan, T. Parfitt and E. Trevisan Semi ( eds. ): Between Africa and Zion: Proceedings of the first international congress of the society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry, Jerusalem:. Ben-Zvi lnstitute

Leslau, Wolf. 1951. Falasha Anthology. Yale Judaica Series 6, New Haven: Yale University Press.

Salamon, Hagar and Kaplan, Steven (eds.). 1998. Ethiopian Jewry: An Annotated Bibliography 1988-1997, Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute.

Weil, Shalva.1989. "Ethiopian Jews in Israel: A Survey of Research and Documentation," Jewish Folklore and Ethnology Review 2 (1-2): 28-32.

SHALVA WEIL
Scientific Coordinator
SOSTEJE
msshalva@mscc.huji.ac.il
shalva@bgumail. bgu. ac. il
October, 2001