This thesis is an ethnographic study of the Ethiopian Jews, or Beta Israel, a few years after their migration from rural Ethiopian to urban Israel. For the Beta Israel, the most significant issue is not, as is commonly assumed, adaptation to modern society, which to a large extent they have successfully achieved. But rather, their primary concerns revolve around the notion of "belonging" in their new homeland, and the loss of control they are experiencing over their lives and those of their children. The thesis analyses the experience of immigration from the Beta Israel's own perspective and focuses on: first, the factors which contribute to the Beta Israel's sense of well-being in Israel, second, the problems and difficulties they experience, and finally, the strategies they are developing to overcome these difficulties. This study elucidates the meanings of two apparently contradictory ascriptions which the Ethiopian Jewish immigrants make about themselves: "being well" and "becoming deaf'. Their sense of well-being is a result of their successful recreation of communal life, their expression of ethnic pride, and their appreciation of their new country. The expression "becoming deaf', which also means in Amharic "becoming ignorant", denotes the older generation's frustration at their inability to understand Hebrew, their feeling of being excluded by dominant society, and the loss of control they experience over most aspects of their lives. For the younger generation, the sense of exclusion revolves around issues of racial discrimination. Ethiopian Jewish immigrants resist those aspects of dominant society which they dislike: they reject normative Jewish practices and uphold Beta Israel religious and cultural ones, ideologically counteract disparaging Israeli attitudes, develop strong ethnic bonds and engage in overt forms of resistance. The difficulties of the present are also overcome by creating a perfect past and an ideal future: in what I have called 'the homeland postponed', all Jews will be united in a colour-blind world of material plenty and purity.

Cette thèse interroge la pérennité de la relation spéciale entre Israël et l’Éthiopie, étudiée au prisme des contextes géopolitiques des deux régions concernées : le Moyen-Orient et la Corne de l’Afrique. Assurément, les récits bibliques, du mythe de la rencontre entre la reine de Saba et le roi Salomon aux particularités du christianisme en Éthiopie, ancrent sur des temps longs les représentations communes à Israël et son jumeau à l’autre rive de la mer Rouge, auto-qualifié Verus Israel. Les Bétä Esraél, découverts tôt mais reconnus tardivement par le judaïsme institutionnalisé, font se croiser les destins éthiopien et israélien, ajoutant une dimension tout à fait originale à cette relation. Celle-ci s’inscrit par ailleurs dans le cadre plus général de l’élaboration des politiques africaines d’Israël, marquée elle aussi par des représentations fortes, imprégnées de valeurs juives et du sionisme, mais aussi par de nombreuses contradictions : la volonté d’incarner une démocratie modèle et la complexité à assumer un destin national unique et une identité particulière parfois exclusive. L’intégration des Juifs d’Éthiopie et plus encore l’afflux de réfugiés originaires de la Corne de l’Afrique font rejaillir ces questionnements existentiels. Puissance capitale de cette région, fenêtre ouverte ou connectée à la mer Rouge, l’Éthiopie, État-ciblé dès les années 1950 par Israël pour percer son isolement, conserve aujourd’hui une place de choix dans les visées israéliennes sur le continent. Néanmoins l’étude des conflits et des rapports de force nouveaux dans la Corne de l’Afrique invite à relativiser le rôle de l’allié éthiopien au profit d’une approche régionale intégrée. / This thesis explores the permanency of the special relationship between Israel and Ethiopia, studied through a geopolitical lens of two regions: the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. From biblical accounts of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon’s union, to the particularities of Christianity in Ethiopia, Israel and Ethiopia share significant historical, social, and religious ties, as well as similar perceptions and representations of their longstanding relationship and connection to the “Holy Land.” The Bétä Esraél, Ethiopia’s indigenous Jewish community, rediscovered in the 19th century and later recognized by the community of Jews in 1973, adds a unique dimension to the modern-day Israel-Ethiopia relationship. Nonetheless, the integration of Ethiopian Jewry into Israeli society, combined with the influx of refugees from the Horn of Africa, raise a number of existential questions, including Israel’s policies toward development in Africa, which is evidenced by strong representations of Jewish values and Zionism, as well as challenging contradictions (e.g. representing a model democracy versus the difficulty in assuming a unique national destiny or exclusive identity). Due to the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa, particularly its close proximity and access to the Red Sea, Israel targeted Ethiopia in the 1950’s as the country to help break its isolation. Even today, Ethiopia continues to play a prominent role in Israel’s ambitions on the continent; the analysis on conflicts and the balance of power in the region give rise to new intersecting challenges, which requires Israel to put Ethiopia into perspective and favor a more comprehensive regional approach to the relationship.