Send page to a Friend Ethiopians in Israel Upon their arrival in Israel, the new Ethiopian families are sent to absorption centers. The absorption center provides a first home and serves as an important stepping-stone into Israeli society. It provides immediate, temporary accommodation and offers a supportive, community-based environment. These families undergo a huge social transformation when they travel to Israel. Ethiopians from rural villages and poor urban shantytowns must learn to adapt to the modern high-tech culture of Israeli society. Ethiopian Jews, now about 100,000 people, are among the poorest economic groups in Israel. The majority of Ethiopian families, 72%, live under the poverty line. 70% left Ethiopia functionally illiterate in their native Amharic and many remain so in Hebrew as well. Unemployment among Ethiopian men in Israel ranges from 27% to 66%. Fewer than 25% of Ethiopian women are employed. More than half of the 100,000 Ethiopians living in Israel today arrived less than 10 years ago. A high proportion of the community - some 60 % of its total population is under age 18. According to the Brookdale Institute of the Joint Distribution Committee, the school dropout rate among Ethiopian immigrants is double what it is among the general Israeli population - 6.2% versus 3.5% respectively.  The Ethiopian immigrant dropout rate is especially high among those who came to Israel prior to 1991 (10.4%) and among boys (9%). There is also the more severe phenomenon of “hidden” dropouts. One indication is the 14% of Ethiopian immigrant pupils who are truant for at least one full day for reasons other than vacation or illness. To learn more, click on the following links: Basic Data on the Ethiopian Community in Haifa Ethiopian Israelis - Housing, Employment, Education (by Adva Center and IAEJ)