Ethiopian Jewish leaders make gains in Israel
The government has accepted recommendations that the spiritual and religious leaders of the Ethiopian Jewish community be permitted to perform holiday ceremonies and burial and purity rites, but stopped short of granting the authority to officiate weddings.
The Jewish Ethiopian community in Israel has been struggling with different forms of discrimination in the years since they arrived in the country. They are fighting for their spiritual and religious leaders (the kessim) to be recognized by the Israeli religious establishment to formalize their status as part of the system of religious services in Israel.
The kessim achieved another victory last week, when a government subcommittee recommended that the kessim be permitted to perform holiday ceremonies and burial and purity rites and administer synagogues. Nevertheless, they still have a long way to go for full religious authority, such as the right to conduct weddings.
