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Mistreatment of Falasha Jews Under Italian Occupation Revealed in Report from Ethiopia

August 7, 1941
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The first report about the life of 60,000 Felasha Jews under the Italian occupation arrived here today following their deliverance from fascist oppression when the British forces completed the capture of Ethiopia.

The report reveals that during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia the Paleha Jews were subjected to special persecutions. The anti-Jewish discrimination was carried out by the Italian occupational forces in all places in Ethiopia where Jews lived, especially in Condar, which has the largest Jewish community, numbering 20,000 Falasha Jews who constitute almost one-third of all the Jews in Ethiopia.

“The property and the businesses of the Jews in Condar were confiscated, and many found it necessary to hide their Jewish identity,” the report states.

Now that the Duke of Aosta and his Italian troops have surrendered, the Falasha Jews are once more resuming their normal pursuits, the report informs. Most of them are tinsmiths, jewelers, shoemakers, blacksmiths, with some merchants and small shopkeepers. They live apart from the rest of the community and trade mostly among themselves.

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