Almost all the Ethiopian Jews known for long under the name of Falashas (exiled, foreigners) but who called themselves as Beta Israel (House of Israel) immigrated to Israel from the beginning of the eighties.

As this exodus went along, many families who had converted to Christianity for generations started to look for immigration to Israel where a lot of them had already relatives. The aim of their conversion had been to escape the religious and social discrimination.

In the 15th century, Emperor Yeshaq published an edict depriving from the right to own land those who refused Christianism ; they became "Falasi" ("foreigner", "exiled)". These landlesss farmers specialized then in handicraft and became blacksmiths, potters to increase their income.

But these craftsmen were suspect of witchcraft as they mastered fire and were able to transform natural matter. They fell under the accusation of evil eye and transforming in hyenas at night and devouring their human fellows. People easily attacked and killed them to take revenge on them in case of disease, epidemics etc..

To escape this fate many of those who are now known under the name of Falach Muras or Beta Avraham (who split earlier from the mainstream, may be during the 18th century) converted to Christianity while keeping secretly the memory of their previous identity.

Encouraged with the immigration to Israel of those who had remained faithfull to the old religion, they started also in the nineties to claim their hidden identity and their right to immigrate to Israel.