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Graenum Berger Papers

 Collection
Identifier: P-717

Scope and Content Note

The greater part of the Graenum Berger Papers relate to Berger's involvement with Ethiopian Jewry, and his efforts to bring about their rescue through the organization he formed, the American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ), which existed from 1973-1993. There also are considerable materials documenting his other interests, including: his writings, his travels, his community affiliations, his research into Black American Jews, his professional work, and his commitment to Jewish causes, and to Israel. The collection also contains many personal and biographical materials from throughout Berger's life, which provide insight into his family life and his many long-term friendships and associations.

This collection is valuable to researchers studying the history of Ethiopian Jewry from antiquity through current times, including theories regarding their origins, Rabbinic opinions as to whether they should be accepted as Jews according to Jewish Law, and their dramatic rescue and absorption into Israeli society. The extensive records from the AAEJ contain important information about the development of this organization, its major players, its goals, and its methods.

These records also provide information for researchers studying the politics behind the rescue of the Beta Israel, and the role played in it not only by grass roots advocacy groups, but also by the organized Jewish establishment, the Israeli government, and the government of Ethiopia. Of special note in the collection is correspondence to and from various US and Israeli governmental officials and personalities, such as Menachem Begin, Teddy Kolleck, Senator Rudy Boschwitz, and Elie Wiesel.

This collection also includes information of interest to those researching the history of Black Jews in America, as well as some Jewish social work, and Jewish organizational administration (1930s-1970s). Further, Berger's early biographical materials provide some insight into Jewish community life in a small town in the early twentieth century.

The collection contains correspondence, minutes, reports, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, research materials such as notes and book excerpts, journal articles, photographs, pamphlets, and publications. There are also some non-print materials such as posters, buttons, and maps. The documents are primarily in English, followed by Hebrew, Amharic, French, German and Italian. Folders are arranged by series. Each series contains various format divisions arranged chronologically. The original order and folder titles were retained wherever possible.

Dates

  • Creation: undated, [1825]-2002 (bulk 1923-2001)

Language of Materials

The collection is in English with some materials in Hebrew, Amharic, French, and German.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers, except items that may be restricted due to their fragility, or privacy.

Use Restrictions

No permission is required to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection, as long as the usage is scholarly, educational, and non-commercial. For inquiries about other usage, please contact the Director of Collections and Engagement at mmeyers@ajhs.org.

For reference questions, please email: inquiries@cjh.org

Biographical Note

Graenum Berger (1908-1999)

Graenum Berger was born on April 21, 1908 in Gloversville, NY, a small town in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. His parents arrived in the United States from Russian-controlled Poland several years earlier with their three eldest children; an additional three would be born in the United States. The Bergers joined a large extended family already in the United States, and relationships with aunts, uncles, and cousins played a notable role in Graenum's early life. Berger's father earned his livelihood first as a peddler, and then in the leather business, which was the major industry in the Gloversville area. The family prospered sufficiently during Berger's early years to afford a telephone, a car, and a summer cottage; all reflecting the household's active, sociable character.

Berger's parents kept a traditional Jewish home, and his father was a strict Sabbath observer who hired a private tutor to provide for his son's religious education before the local Hebrew School existed. Gloversville had a small but identifying Jewish community during Berger's childhood that included a local Orthodox synagogue, the Hebrew school, a Jewish Community Center, and a kosher meat market. Berger's father was an active member of both the synagogue and the Hebrew School committee; and his mother was involved in the synagogue's relief society. Berger's childhood years, then, were spent in a lively and outgoing Jewish household.

Unsure of returning to college after his less-than-successful first year at New York University, Berger spent the next year working for a local newspaper. It was during this period that he met Emma Finestein, who would soon become his wife and life partner for more than 70 years. The following year, he enrolled in the University of Missouri, but the long distance relationship blossomed. During his second year at the university, Graenum and Emma eloped in Missouri to avoid their families' disapproval of their marriage at such young ages. The first of their two sons was born the following year.

Berger was greatly involved in the Jewish student organization at the University of Missouri, and forged a strong relationship with its Director of Jewish Studies. It was this mentor who encouraged him to change his intended profession from public education to Jewish communal work. Upon Berger's graduation in 1930, he received a scholarship to and attended the recently formed Graduate School of Jewish Social Work in New York. After completing his graduate work, he began his career as Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island. The field of professional Jewish organizational administration was well suited to Berger, with his natural tendency toward leadership and advocacy. He spent six years in this position, and the next eleven at the Bronx Settlement House. There, he expanded its services, assumed a role as a key neighborhood organization, and developed into a professional organization with a well-trained staff; in 1989, Bronx Settlement House was renamed the Graenum Berger Bronx Jewish Federation Service Center in his honor.

In 1949, Berger joined the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York as a consultant to its Executive Director for Federation-sponsored community centers and summer camps. During the 24 years he spent at Federation until his retirement in 1973, Berger assumed many additional responsibilities including: directing an institute dedicated to training middle and upper level future Federation executives, conducting studies, and delivering papers and lecturing on a variety of Jewish social work topics. Additionally, as a high level executive in the organization, he was involved in discussions regarding Federation's overall goals and policies. While Berger's energy, dedication and competence earned him wide respect among his colleagues, his direct, intemperate style often interfered with others' ability to open-mindedly consider his ideas, despite the considerable merit these ideas had. Further, his opinions were occasionally at odds with those of many in the executive group. Most notably, Berger always believed strongly in the value of Jewish education, at a time when Federation was becoming increasingly secular and even contemplated adopting a non-sectarian policy, Berger strongly advocated for preserving, and even expanding, the Jewish character of Federation and its member institutions.

While the Bergers lived a fairly modest lifestyle, they enjoyed a rich social and cultural life. They were active in many Jewish organizations and sustained numerous friendships, many of which were established in the early years of their marriage. They maintained a lifelong association with the Gloversville Jewish community, where Graenum was born, and helped found the Pelham Jewish Center. Berger was a voracious reader, given his curiosity about a broad range of topics, and, over time, amassed a substantial library that included many valuable books, particularly relating to Ethiopian Jewry and Black Jews, subjects about which Berger researched and wrote extensively. Over the course of their lives, the Bergers also accumulated a considerable amount of artwork from many different countries, for they were avid travelers, perhaps the one luxury which they extensively pursued as a means of satisfying their enthusiasm for exploring the various cultures and places throughout the world.

This natural inquisitiveness, coupled with Berger's persistent manner, gradually propelled a coincidental encounter in 1955 with Ethiopian Jewish children studying in Israel into a mission which would dominate the latter half of his life. While this first exposure was merely noted as an interesting event at the time, during the ensuing years, Berger attempted to learn all he could about this ancient tribe, disparagingly referred to by their gentile neighbors as "Falashas," but who called themselves "Beta Israel." In 1965, the Bergers traveled to Ethiopia to see firsthand the conditions under which the Ethiopian Jews were living. During this visit, the first of many which would follow, Berger was, at the same time, captivated by the dignity of the people and their unwavering loyalty to their faith, yet appalled by their dire poverty and lack of medical care, education and other basic necessities. It was then and there that he fully realized that, while immediate relief was critically needed, the only lasting solution for this long-isolated tribe which, as his research indicated, had once numbered hundreds of thousands but which harsh circumstances had already reduced to less than 50,000, was for them to be absorbed en masse in Israel. At that moment, he also determined, with characteristic resolve, to work toward fulfillment of this objective.

From that initial visit to Ethiopia, until his retirement from Federation in 1973, Berger became increasingly involved in the cause of Ethiopian Jewry. He and Emma worked to raise money for educational and medical programs; Berger reached out to leaders in the Jewish world who might be helpful to the issue of large scale rescue; and made contacts with the few, assorted groups and individuals involved in the plight of Ethiopian Jews. As the benefit of consolidating the various activist efforts became evident, following his retirement from Federation, Berger formed the American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) in 1974, merging two grassroots organizations that had become active on behalf of Ethiopian Jewry. He was elected President of the newly formed organization.

At a time when many at his stage of life would be content to reflect on what had been a long and successful career, Berger assumed the leadership role of an ambitious undertaking to which he immediately devoted much of his considerable energies. The primary objective of the AAEJ was to make saving Ethiopian Jewry a number one priority of the Government of Israel, and Jewish leadership. To this end, Berger spent much time speaking with Israeli and Jewish organizational officials about the plight of the Beta Israel, believing that, once told, rescue would not be long in coming. However, at that time, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel had not yet unequivocally ruled on the Jewishness of the Beta Israel, therefore they were not eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return. This ambiguity regarding their status as Jews, combined with (except in the case of a few individuals) what Berger believed was an overall disinclination to bring them to Israel on the part of officials of the dominant Labor government in Israel, frustrated his early expectations for prompt improvement of the circumstances of the Ethiopian Jews.

While continuing their efforts with Israeli government, the AAEJ also embarked on a campaign to educate the general North American public regarding the predicament of the Beta Israel as a means of both raising money on their behalf, and increasing grassroots pressure on both the organized Jewish establishment and Israel. Berger lectured frequently, wrote numerous articles, and was interviewed on radio, television, and in print. His organization continued to work with various Jewish relief agencies, although many of these preferred to focus on long-term improvement of conditions for the Jews in Ethiopia, instead of emigration to Israel; regarded by the AAEJ policy regarded as the only viable solution to predicament of Ethioian Jewry.

By the late 1970's, the Israeli Rabbinate recognized the Beta Israel as Jews. While Berger had stepped down as president of AAEJ in order to allow it to broaden its leadership, he was still fully devoted to and engaged with the cause, and remained a most influential member of its Board. Berger anxiously hoped an imminent breakthrough was at hand, for his mounting frustration had progressed into alarm as the political and economic conditions in Ethiopia deteriorated due to the civil unrest that erupted following the Marxist takeover of the government in 1974, and the severe famine that was then devastating the country. The Israeli government, however, maintained that, despite its present desire to rescue the Beta Israel, they no longer had any diplomatic influence in Ethiopia. Israel further cautioned that calling attention to the issue would imperil any clandestine agreements that were being negotiated in the highly sensitive political environment.

As time progressed and no rescue appeared imminent or even planned for, Berger's growing skepticism of Israel's intent, and his genuine distress over the plight of the Ethiopian Jews, drove him to employ increasingly more aggressive tactics to embarrass the Israeli government into taking action. Berger threatened to publicize Israel's apparent indifference in lectures and advertisements (an unpopular approach that exacerbated what had already become strained relations between AAEJ on one side, and most other Jewish organizations and the Israeli government on the other). AAEJ also attempted its own rescues of individuals and small groups from Ethiopia and Sudan, where many had fled--with varying degrees of success and some notable failures--in order to prove that rescue could be achieved outside of official diplomatic avenues. This practice was criticized for interfering with Israel's covert efforts and contributed to AAEJ's further alienation from the Israeli government and the Jewish organizational establishment.

In the years prior to the first wave of large-scale Israeli airlifts of Ethiopian Jews (beginning in 1984), through the final airlift in 1991, Berger and AAEJ continued to work for the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry. Berger was largely undeterred by the near pariah status of his organization, except that it impeded access to influential people who could assist in the goals of AAEJ. The motivations and politics behind the rescue continue to be widely debated. The AAEJ role has been, at the same time, condemned for its public criticism of Israel and its interference with Israeli rescue efforts. Berger himself remained fully convinced it was chiefly the unrelenting, forceful pressure of AAEJ that put the issue on the agenda of the Jewish establishment, and which, ultimately, compelled the Israeli government to begin its rescue of the Ethiopian Jews.

Despite the range of opinions regarding AAEJ's methods and influence, even Berger's staunchest critics have acknowledged his devotion to the welfare of Ethiopian Jewry. Of the many examples of this in Berger's personal records, most revealing, perhaps, are the numerous correspondence from Ethiopian Jews, whom Berger had both met and not met, on a variety of issues and concerns, and which were promptly answered with lengthy, individualized responses in which he, depending on the case, humbly acknowledged their gratitude for his assistance on their behalf, encouraged them in the challenges they faced in adopting to a new land and culture, and shared their distress over relatives left behind and pledged to continue his efforts until all of the Beta Israel had been rescued. Berger rejoiced in the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry, and within months of the final airlift, demonstrated his once more by recommending that AAEJ consider closing its doors, since its original goal of advocating for the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry had been met. By mid-1993, AAEJ had officially shut down.

Berger had numerous interests to occupy him after the AAEJ disbanded; he has always been a voracious reader, and a prolific writer. In addition to having written many articles and papers during his professional career, Berger had also produced several full length works, including an autobiography entitled Graenum, (1987), and a biography of his brother who was a foreign diplomat entitled A Not So Silent Envoy (1992). An earlier work, Black Jews in America (1978), was a subject about which Berger collected much material and researched in depth. A memoir of Berger's involvement in the plight of Ethiopian Jewry entitled Rescue the Ethiopian Jews! was published in 1996. The Bergers maintained their contacts with many individual Ethiopian Jews, and traveled to the extent that their health permitted. They suffered the painful loss of their eldest son, Ramon, in 1993, but were actively involved in the lives of their remaining son, Michael, their five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Berger died on March 31, 1999 at the age of 90.

CHRONOLOGY

April 21, 1908
Born in Gloversville, New York
1925
Enters New York University. Later transfers to University of Missouri
1928
Elopes with Emma Finestein in Missouri
1929
Berger's first son, Ramon, is born
1930-1932
Attends the Graduate School of Jewish Social Work in New York
1932-1938
Appointed Executive Director of Jewish Community Center of Staten Island
1938
Son, Michael Berger, is born
1938-1949
Appointed Headworker, Bronx Settlement House
1949
Joins Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York as consultant for Jewish Community Centers and Camps
1955
Meets Ethiopian Jewish children in Kfar Batya, Israel
1965
Visits Jewish villages in Ethiopia. Becomes involved with Ethiopian Jewry
1973
Retires from Federation
1973
Awarded Doctor in Humane Letters from Yeshiva University
1974
American Association for Ethiopian Jewry formed; Berger is first President
1975
Revisits Ethiopia to observe conditions of Jews under the Marxist revolution
1978
Black Jews in America published
1978
Turns over AAEJ Presidency to Howard Lenhoff
1984
Operation Moses airlifts Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel
1987
Autobiography Graenum published
1991
Operation Solomon airlifts Ethiopian Jews from Ethiopia to Israel
1993
AAEJ closes down upon completion of its mission
1996
Rescue the Ethiopian Jews! published
March 31, 1999
Dies in New Rochelle, New York

Extent

40.15 Linear Feet (65 manuscript boxes, 1 half-manuscript box, 1 photograph box, 3 oversized boxes and 5 Map Folders.)

Abstract

The Papers of Graenum Berger (1908-1999) document Berger's involvement with Ethiopian Jewry and his efforts to bring about their rescue from Ethiopia through his organization, the American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ). The Papers also contain materials regarding Berger's other interests-his writings, his travels throughout the world, his community affiliations, his career as a Jewish social work executive, his commitment to Jewish causes, and his commitment to Israel. Also included are personal and biographical materials from his many long-term friendships and associations; correspondence, minutes, reports, clippings, manuscripts, research materials, journal articles, photographs, and publications.

Arrangement

The collection contains the following nine series:

  1. Series I: Personal
  2. Series II: Writings
  3. Series III: Early Rescue and Relief Efforts
  4. Series IV: American Association for Ethiopian Jews
  5. Series V: Ethiopian Jewry
  6. Series VI: Ethiopia
  7. Series VII: Black Jews
  8. Series VIII: Photographs
  9. Series IX: Artifacts
  10. Oversized Material

Provenance

Graenum Berger donated his papers to the Society beginning 1987, with a series of accessions. Materials donated after his death by his wife Emma Berger were incorporated into the collection.

Digitization Note

In 2017-2018, archival material from the Graenum Berger Papers was selected by the Friends of Ethiopian Jews and folder-level digitization has been made possible through a generous grant from Howard and Sylvia Lenhoff.

Related Material

American Jewish Historical Society:

- American Association for Ethiopian Jews Collection

- Howard Lenhoff Papers

- Nathan Shapiro Papers

- The Graduate School for Jewish Social Work Records, I-7

- Louis Kraft Papers, P-673

- Matthew Penn, Graenum Berger Collection, P-794

American Jewish Archives (Cincinnati, OH):

- Graenum Berger Papers, 1940-1989, MS-352

- Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York. Oral History Project, 1981-1987, MS-437

- American Pro-Falasha Committee. Records, 1922-1949, MS-61

Salvation for the Lost Tribe: The Ethiopian Exodus, a documentary about Operation Moses and the continuous Ethiopian exodus from Sudan to Israel since the 1980’s. Made by students of Herricks High School in Long Island, NY.

Appendix A: Ethiopian Jewry - Journal Articles, Historical/Political

  • Carol, Dr. Steven. "The Lion of Judah and the Land of Judah: Ethiopia and Israel Linkages." Judaica Philatelic Journal of the Judaica Historical Philatelic Society. Winter 1982: 2359-2366.
  • Friedenberg, Daniel M. "The Decline and Fall of the Falashas." Judaism, a Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought. 1956: 239-247.
  • Kaplan, Steven. "The Beta Israel (Falasha) Encounter with Protestant Missionaries: 1860-1905."Jewish Social Studies. Winter 1987: 27-42.
  • Kaplan Steven, "Falasha Christians: A Brief History." Midstream. 1992.
  • Kessler, David, and Tudor Parfitt. "The Falashas: The Jews of Ethiopia." Unknown Journal. 1980s.
  • Leslau, Wolf. "A Falasha Religious Dispute." Reprinted from the Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research. 1947: 71-95.
  • Messing, Simon D. "Journey to the Falashas: Ethiopia's Black Jews." Commentary. 1968 or 1969: 28-40.
  • Pankhurst, Richard. "Plans for Mass Jewish Settlement in Ethiopia (1936-1943)." 1973: Ethiopia. 235-245.
  • Selassie, Sergew Hable. "The Problem of Gudit." Journal of Ethiopian Studies. January 1972: 113-124.
  • Wagaw, Teshome G. "The Emigration and Settlement of Ethiopian Jews in Israel." Middle East Review. Winter 1987-88: 41-48.
  • Weitz, Martin M. "Dark Jews of the Dark Continent." The Hebrew Union College Monthly. June 1931: 19-22.
  • Zaoui, Andre C. "Falashas: Our Brethren Jews…of the Tribe of Dan." . Central Conference of American Rabbis Journal Winter 1973: 50-55

Appendix B: Ethiopian Jewry - Journal Articles - Jewish Legal Analysis

  • Angel, Marc D. "Another Halakhic Approach to Conversions." Tradition. 1983[?]: 107-112.
  • Bleich, David J. "The Problem of the Falashas." Or Hamizrah. 1985: 235-253 (Hebrew).
  • Elon, Menachem. "The Ethiopian Jews: A Case Study in the Functioning of the Jewish Legal System." New York University Journal of International Law and Politics. Spring 1987: 535-563.
  • Freehof, Solomon B. "Responsum on the Falashas as Jews." Central Conference of American Rabbis Journal. Winter 1973: 56-59.
  • Mann, Isaac. "The Prohibition of Teaching Non-Jews Torah: Its Historical Development" Gesher: Bridging the Spectrum of Orthodox Jewish Scholarship. 1984[?]: 122-153.
  • Riskin Steven. "Conversion in Jewish Law." Tradition. 1980[?]: 29-42.
  • Schachter, Rabbi Hershel. "Determining Jewish Identity: Ethiopian Jewry." Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society. Spring 1985: 143-160.
  • Tendler, Rabbi Moshe. "The Long Return." Yeshiva Student Publications. 1985[?]: 4-14.
  • Wolpin, Nisson. "The Ethiopian Aliya." The Jewish Observer. April 1985: 8-19.

Appendix C: Ethiopian Jewry - Journal Articles - Social Science/ Cultural

  • Abbink, J. "Seged Celebration in Ethiopia and Israel: Continuity and Change of a Falasha Religious Holiday." International Review of Ethnology and Linguistics. 1983: 790-809.
  • Adam, Avinoam, et. al. "A Survey of Some Genetical Characters in Ethiopian Tribes." American Journal of Physical Anthropology. June 1962: 168-208B.
  • Friedman, Daniel & Ulysses Santamaria. "Identity Change: The Example of the Falashas, between Assimilation in Ethiopia and Integration in Israel." Dialectical Anthropology. 1990: 56-73.
  • Greenwald, Baruch. "Religious and Cultural Change: A Case Study of an Ethiopian Jewish Priest." Journal of Jewish Communal Service. Fall 1989: 92-96.
  • Harel, D., M.D. "Medical Work Among the Falashas of Ethiopia." Israel Journal of Medical Science. May/June 1967: 483-490.
  • Isaac, Ephraim."The Hebraic Character of Ethiopian Culture." The Jewish Digest. 1965: 67-72.
  • Leslau, Wolf. "Taamrat Emmanuel's Notes of Falasha Monks and Holy Places." American Academy for Jewish Research. 1974: 624-637.
  • Mafico, Temba. "Parallels Between Jewish and African Religio-Cultural Lives." Sidic: Journal of the Service International de Documentation Judeo-Chretienne (English edition). 1978: 9-27.
  • Pawlikowski, John T. "The Judaic Spirit of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church: A Case Study in Religious Acculturation." Journal of Religion in Africa. 1972: 178-199.
  • Schindler, Reuben. "Ethiopian Outreach: The Challenge for Social Work." The Jewish Social Work Forum. Spring 1989: 92-97.
  • Shelemay, Kay Kaufman. "Seged: A Falasha Pilgrimage Festival." Musica Judaica - Journal of the American Society for Jewish Music. 1980-1981: 42-62.
  • Shelemay, Kay Kaufman. "Zema: A Concept of Sacred Music in Ethiopia." The World of Music. n.d: 52-65.
  • Tesfai, Yacob, and Meseret Sebhat-Leah. "Jewish Elements in Ethiopian Christianity and the Religion of the Falashas." Sidic: Journal of the Service International de Documentation Judeo-Chretienne (English edition). 1978: 28-31.
  • Warmbrand, Martin J. "Falasha or Beta Israel of Ethiopia." The Hourglass. Fall 1971: 1-8.
  • Wurmbrand, Max. "The Falasha "Arde'et." Falasha Research Series. Published by Friends of the Faitlovitch Library. 1964.
  • Zipperstein, Steve, and Eliezer D. Jaffe. "Models of Israeli Social Analysis." Journal of Jewish Communal Service. Fall 1981: 24-35.

Appendix D: Ethiopian Jewry - Journal Articles - Reference

  • Kaplan Steven. List of Studies on Ethiopian Jewry. May 1986.
  • Leslau, Wolf. "A Supplementary Falasha Bibliography." Studies in Bibliography and Booklore. June 1957: 9-27.

Appendix E: Ethiopian Jewry - Book Chapters

  • Bleich, J. David. "Teaching Torah to Non-Jews." Contemporary Halachic Problems. New York: Ktav, 1985[?].
  • Freehof, Solomon B. "Marriage with Falasha." A Treasury of Responsa. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1963.
  • Goldstein, Israel. My World As A Jew: The Memoirs of Israel Goldstein. Volume 2. New York: Herzl Press, 1984.
  • Goldstein, Israel. "The Falasha Jews of Ethiopia. Address Before Conference of Jewish Organizations. Geneva, July 19, 1969." Israel at Home and Abroad. Jerusalem: Rubin Mass Press, 1973.
  • Hess, Robert L. "Toward a History of the Falasha." Eastern African History, McCall, D. F. et al., ed. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1969.
  • Kaplan, Robert D. The Arabists; The Romance of An American Elite. New York: The Free Press, 1993.
  • Kisch, E. E. "The Bible and Babel in the New World." Tales from Seven Ghettos. London: Robert Anscombe & Co., 1948.
  • Melman, Yossi, and Dan Raviv. "Lakam and the Nuclear Bomb." The Imperfect Spies; The History of Israeli Intelligence. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989.
  • Musleah, Rabbi Ezekiel N. On the Banks of the Ganga; The Sojourn of Jews in Calcutta. North Quincy, Mass: The Christopher Publishing House, 1975.
  • Ostrovsky, Victor, and Claire Hoy. "Operation Moses." By Way of Deception. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990.
  • Parfitt, Tudor. Operation Moses: the untold story of the secret exodus of the Falasha Jews from Ethiopia New York: Stein and Day, 1985.
  • Payne, Eric. Ethiopian Jews; The Story of a Mission. London: The Olive Press, 1972
  • Shack, William. "The Central Ethiopians: Amhara, Tigrina, and Related Peoples." Ethnographic Survey of Africa, Part IV. London: International African Institute, 1974.
  • Simoons, Frederick J. Northwest Ethiopia; Peoples and Economy. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1960.
  • Szulc, Ted. "The Black Jews." The Secret Alliance - The Extraordinary History of the Rescue of the Jews Since World War II. New York: Farrar, Straus, Ciroux, 1991.
  • Weise, Barry, and Abraham J. Bayer. "Ethiopian Jewry." The 1986 Jewish Directory and Almanac. Pacific Press, 1986.

Appendix F: Ethiopia - Journal Articles

  • Gitelson, Susan Aurelia. "Escalating Conflicts in the Horn of Africa." Middle East Review. Summer 1978: 57-63.
  • Janke, Peter. "Marxism in Africa: The Cuban Connection." Midstream. August-September 1978: 3-10.

Appendix G: Black Jews - Journal Articles

  • Bleich, J. David. "Black Jews: A Halakhic Perspective." Tradition. Spring/Summer 1975: 48-79.
  • Brotz, Howard. "The Negro-Jewish Community and the Contemporary Race Crisis." Jewish Social Studies. January 1965: 10-17.
  • Brotz, Howard. "Negro 'Jews' in the United States." Phylon. 4th Quarter 1952: 324-337.
  • Ehrman, Albert. "Explorations and Responses: Black Judaism in New York." Journal of Ecumenical Studies. Winter 1971: 103-114.
  • Kreigel, Annie. "Jews and Blacks." Jerusalem Quarterly. Spring 1978: 22-33.
  • Landes, Ruth. "Negro Jews in Harlem." Jewish Journal of Sociology. December 1967: 175-189.
  • Scott, William R. "Going to the Promised Land: Afro-American Immigrants in Ethiopia, 1930-1935." The Institute of the Black World. 1975: 1-16.
  • Waitzkin, Howard. "Black Judaism in New York." Harvard Journal of Negro Affairs. Vol. 1, No.3 (1967): 12-44.
  • Warmbrand, Martin J. "The Black Jews of America." The Hourglass, A Quarterly Journal of Ecumenics for Today and Tomorrow. Fall 1969: 86-104.
  • Whiteman, Maxwell. "Black Genealogy." RQ (unknown journal). Summer 1972: 311-319.

Appendix H: Black Jews - Book Chapters

  • Fauset, Arthur Huff. "Black Gods of the Metropolis." Negro Religious Cults of the Urban North. New York: Octagon Books, 1970.
  • Ginzburg, Eli. "Jew and Negro: Notes on the Mobility of Two Minority Groups in the United States." Salo Wittmayer Baron Jubilee Volume. Jerusalem: American Academy for Jewish Research, 1974.
  • Lavender, Abraham D., ed. "Black Jews." A Coat of Many Colors. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977.
  • Lincoln, C. Eric. "The Black Experience in Religion." Anchor Books, 1974.
  • Ottley, Roi. "Jews in Negro Life." New World A-Coming. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1943.
  • Simpson, George Eaton. Black Religions in the New World. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.

Appendices A-H: Bibliography of Selected Articles and Book Chapters

Subject

Title
Guide to the Papers of Graenum Berger (1908-1999), undated, [1825]-2002 (bulk 1923-2001) P-717
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Deena Schwimmer, Jessica Weglein, and Marvin Rusinek
Date
© 2004
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Edition statement
This version was derived from GBerger.xml

Revision Statements

  • May 2005.: Finding aid was updated and reconverted in order to match other online finding aids by Dianne Ritchey Oummia.
  • December 2011.: Accretion was added to Series I by Marvin Rusinek.
  • September 2018.: Dao links added to finding aid by Eric Fritzler.
  • November 2020: EHyman: post-ASpace migration cleanup.

Repository Details

Part of the American Jewish Historical Society Repository

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