<HTML><< Not in Israel.  He would have to convert first.  The orthodox rabbis -- and those are the only rabbis there are, legally speaking, in Israel -- don't consider the Falashas Jewish because they don't have records proving descent. >> </BLOCKQUOTE> That is not my understanding. It is true that, at first, the Orthodox Rabbis took that stand, and demand that the Ethiopian Jews "convert" to Judaism. But there was a substantial battle over the question, which was, I had thought, resolved in favor of the Ethiopians. BTW, Ethiopian Jews reject the term 'Falasha.' I don't remember all of the details, but it apparently has a derogatory meaning in Amharic language. Leo Casey United Federation of Teachers 260 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10010-7272 (212-598-6869) Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its waters. -- Frederick Douglass -- </HTML>