Every year, coinciding
with the Sigd Holiday which falls 50 days after Yom Kippur, Israel's Central
Bureau of Statistics (CBS) releases data on the Ethiopian-Israeli population.
According to the CBS, there are currently 155,300 Ethiopian-Israelis living in
Israel, of whom 87,500 are Ethiopia-born. Additionally, there are some 4,280
Israelis of Ethiopian origin who live in households with an Ethiopian mother
and a non-Ethiopian father (CBS defines Ethiopian origin as the ethnic identity
of the father; additional maternal household data were collected in advance of
the November 2019 survey. ENP includes this statistic as part of the total
population data, which then stands at 159,680.) Among other insights, the data
reveal the deep and enduring socioeconomic gaps between Ethiopian-Israelis and
the general Jewish population, namely in the areas of employment, welfare and
education. For instance, one in every three Ethiopian-Israelis is listed in
Israel's Social Services, 2.5 times more than among the general Jewish and
other foreign-born population. ENP closely follows these and other CBS
statistics and prides itself on always being up to date on the most current
data in order to better understand the needs and the current state of the
Ethiopian-Israeli community. This enables ENP to refine and adjust its
response, in combination with additional tools including annual mappings in
localities across Israel. ENP's professional approach is lauded by the
Government of Israel and serves as an important base upon which improvement and
success of its programs can be measured.
