The long-preserved relationship between peoples of Jewish and Ethiopian ancestry has been flourishing for thousands of years as it is evident through the commonality they share in tradition, culture, and social values.   Ethiopia’s pre-Chrisitan faith system has been founded on divine commandments of the Old Testament which play a crucial role in the nation’s present day Chrisitan culture.  Traveling on foot through deserts under difficult circumstances, Ethiopians of ancient times established a close relationship with the holy city of Jerusalem that spanned centuries into the current era.  The monasteries and churches these pioneers established stand as monuments of Ethiopia’s antiquity and civilization.  Besides their significance as some of the oldest places of worship, the Ethiopian churches and monasteries in Jerusalem, indeed, serve as a source of pride for Africans around the world.

The current acts of aggression from the Egyptian Copts in Jerusalem, whom Ethiopians consider as our Christian brethren, trace their roots back to the first half of the nineteenth century, with a breakout of a cholera epidemic that wiped out most of the Ethiopian monastic population at Der el-Sultan [Church of the Holy Sepulchre?].  Although the Egyptians Copts had succeeded to take over the monastery through manipulating the tragic situation at the time, a 1961 court decision from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan guaranteed Ethiopia’s ownership of the monastery.  Because of geopolitical reasons, however, the court ruling was suspended temporarily. 

The Government of Israel, in the mean time, had promised to designate a special ministerial committee to implement the 1961 court decision that still remains ineffective because of political reasons.  Despite the Jordanian court’s crucial ruling, the status quo provision that the Ottoman Turks put in place has prevented Ethiopia from exercising its rights as the legal owner of the monastery.  This sever limitation prevents Ethiopia from doing any form of repair at the deteriorating monastery causing a subhuman standard of living for the Ethiopian monks and priests at the monastery.  For the sake of humanity, therefore, we ask the Government of Israel to use its authority to guarantee Ethiopia’s ownership of its monastery at Der el-Sultan per the 1961 court decision. 

The physical harm that several elderly Ethiopian monks at Der el-Sultan suffered last month as a result of the aggression and hostility that were directed against them from their Egyptian counterparts is very unsettling.  We are particularly disturbed by the actions of the Israeli police who used excessive force against the weak and elderly residents of the monastery.  We ask the Government of Israel to condemn such acts and give assurance that such acts will not be repeated in the future.  It is our sincere hope as well that the Government of Israel, through its good offices, shall guarantee Ethiopia’s rightful ownership of the monastery.  It is only through such an important action that the current miserable and impoverished lives of Ethiopian monks and priests at the Der el-Sultan monastery can be improved.  We send our appeal to you on behalf of the many elderly and weak Ethiopian monks and priests in Jerusalem.

May God bless the long and historical relationship between Israel and Ethiopia.