Tag: #ethiopia

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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies Italo-Ethiopian War

The Chicago Defender, March 9 1935

The Chicago Defender, March 9 1935

“DOOM AND DESTRUCTION AWAIT ITALY IN ETHIOPIA SAY EXPERTS

MUSSOLINI’S TROOPS CAN NEVER CONQUER AFRICAN WARRIORS

ADDIS ABABA – Some of the tenseness that originally attended the break between Ethiopia and Italy has subsided in the last few days, but one can see at a glance that preparations for war are going on as usual. Day by day new troops, headed by their chieftains ride down from the mountains that almost completely hide this town from the world, and stack their arms in view of their Emperor’s castle.

In the meantime, Emperor Haile Selassie, the only absolute monarch in the world today, sits in his consultation room of the palace and discusses with his advisers the best methods of keeping he troops from far-off Italy from grabbing up his kingdom as white soldiers have gobbled up the rest of Africa. Dressed in regular European attire, the Emperor look much like an American mulatto but for his beard which he prizes highly. His street clothes, however, consist always of the native raiment of flowing robes and rich headwear.

The native costume, the Emperor says, is for he benefi of his people who would not appreciate the European wear. The Emperor, however, having been educated in Europe, has all the culture and diplomacy of the best of France and England. He speaks English, German, French and Italian fluently, edits his own newspaper and, in the opinion of English critics, writes some of the most biting editorials known to journalism.

He is kindly, considerate, and yet rules his 15,000,000 subjects with an iron hand. He speaks with a soft voice, yes with an authority that indicates that he means to be obeyed.

Those are some of the outstanding traits of the Emperor who is preparing daily to resist the invasion of his country now being openly threatened by Italy and the blustering Mussolini.”

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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

C.F. Rey – British Civil Servant – 1935

C.F. Rey, taken from “The Real Abyssinia” (1935):

“Amid the few strong men and striking personalities brought to light during and immediately after the Great War, Tafari Makonnen, now King of Kings of Ethiopia under the style of Haile Selassie I, deserves to take a high place. I have had the privilege of knowing him since 1919, and few personalities with whom I have come in contact have made so deep an impression upon me as this remarkable man. (…)

The present Emperor is rather below medium height, slight in build, with refined, even delicate features, small and well-formed feet and hands, ‘les attaches fines’.

Ordinarily his face is almost Oriental in its calm expressionless immobility – but when really interested, angry, or amused the large dreamy eyes light up and the whole face shews the working of the alert mind and the passionate soul behind them. Courtesy and charm of manner are allied to a carriage full of dignity, and he plays his part in State and official receptions in a manner that leaves nothing to be desired.

Though kind-hearted in general, he can shew hardness and even cruelty in a manner typically Abyssinian. His thoughts are all his own, I do not suppose he has given his confidence to a single human being (…)

I think that if he had been left to administer his own vast personal estates in Harrar, and to live the life of a ‘grand seigneur’ among his own people, he would have developed into a lovable character, possibly of a dreamer. He is a very well educated man, a great and catholic reader, a fine horseman, and – a comparative rarity in Abyssinia – a good family man.

He married a very charming and cultured lady, the Wazero Manen, now the Empress, and has six children, three sons and three daughters; (…)

His outstanding ability, allied to his royal descent, marked him out as one of the forces to be reckoned with in Abyssinia even at an early age. (…)

Tafari now faced with a tremendous task. The country was in a chaotic state, owing to the years of Lej Yasu’s misrule. The great chieftains of Rases, who governed most of the provinces as quasi-Kings, were semi-independent, impatient of control from headquarters, and opposed to any kind of reform. The Treasury was empty, and revenues only slender. There was no standing army to enforce his decrees. The three limitrophe powers, France, England, and Italy, still in the throes of the Great War, could give him no help, and one effect of the War had been to reduce the external trade of the country and thus impoverish it still further.

Worst of all, Tafari was not Emperor but merely Regent; and his progressive ideas were by no means shared by his cousin the Empress, whose reactionary tendencies received strong support from the very powerful Abyssinian Church.

Nevertheless he set himself to work with undaunted courage and vigour, working from daybreak until late at night, carrying the whole burden of the State on his shoulders, undermining with infinite patience and astuteness the positions of his domestic adversaries, playing off one foreign country against another when pressed from outside.

One by one the great Rases began to be replaced as Provincial Governors by nominees of his own, revenue began to be swollen by increased taxation, schools and hospitals were built in the capital, law and order enforced, and modern ideas began to infiltrate.

In 1922 he left the country for the first time on a visit to Aden, and there he impressed his hosts immensely, for within ten minutes of seeing an aeroplace for the first time in his life Ras Tafari was flying in it, in spite of the almost tearful efforts of his suit to prevent him.

Tafari was not content with trying to develop internal resources of his country; he was anxious to establish its position in the world. Realizing its weakness, and the covetous inclinations of some of its more powerful neighbours, he strove to secure its safety by admission to the League of Nations, and after much difficulty secured this personal triumph in September 1923. He followed this up by a visit to various European capitals in the springs of 1924, and it is to be feared that his head may have been a little turned and he may have derived a false impression of things by the rather elaborate welcome he received, being indeed met at the stations of various capitals by Kings and Prime Ministers.

The shock he received in 1925 was the greater. The negotiation of the agreement between Italy and England for mutual support for their requirements in Abyssinia led him to make a vigorous protest to the League of Nations, and he expressed his feelings with much force … (…)

From now onwards he worked harder than ever for the development of Abyssinia; he took a personal interest in every form of enterprise great and small, and how he found and still finds time to do it all is really astonishing. As an example I well remember one day seeing him superintending road construction. As a survival of feudalism, it has always been a the practice when any such work was undertaked for the Ruler for him to set the example by himself placing the first stone of the road. Chiefs and Ministers followed, and so on down through the hierarchy until thousands of individuals were to be seen toiling like ants along the whole stretch of road to be dealt with, while their feudal superiors watched the progress of the work from the nearest shady spot. On this occasion the familiar scene was in full progress, men carrying one small stone each, or a handful of earth on a leaf, most of them on foot, but some on mules, riding with a minute portion of soil in a cactus-leaf on their shoulder. And every morning for a week the Regent surveyed the work in person until the road was ready; but – the modern touch – from his motor-car, while at the same time transacting business of State with his ministers and officials.

A few years later he was again watching a road being made. But this time there was no feudal army at work – just a powerful modern caterpillar tractor, and a handful of men. A significant change.

The opposition he encountered from the Empress and the reactionary party came to a head in 1928 when, after the usual preliminary intrigues, a ‘coup d’etat’ was staged and Tafari took all power into his own hands and had himself crowned King. Inasmuch, however, as the Empress’ relationship to Menelik and the fact that she had been crowned by the Abouna gave her a sort of almost semi-divine status, Tafari was wise enough to leave her her position of Empress, though stripped of all real power; and her convenient death in 1930 left him literally, as well as metaphorically, monarch of all he surveyed, albeit a monarch.

Two pictures of Haile Selassie I shall always carry in my mind. One is of a private talk I had alone with him, discussing various matters affecting Abyssinia with insight and clarity while a favourite dog lay on his knees, and his small son stood by his side, his hand on his father’s arm, staring from his father to me with wide open eyes.

The other was in Wazero Manen’s drawing-room where my wife and I were having a tea with them. Into the room came what I am bound to say I regarded as a rather overgrown lion cub, and I shall never forget Tafari’s mischievous smile as he watched to see how we should take the arrival of the latest guest. It was pleasant enough to play with, but some of the Abyssinian dignitaries present did not share their master’s enthusiasm, and the champagne trickled over the edges of one or two of their glasses which seemed to have become curiously unsteady.”

 

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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

COMMON LIES THEM SPREAD ABOUT ETHIOPIAN FAITH


1)”The Bible came chronologically after the egyptian books.” FALSE

The Bible started with Enoch, being the first written prophet. His Book, that is the first Scripture of the World, is still kept ONLY in ethiopian language. He was an Ethiopian like all the fathers from Adam to Noah, living in Ethiopian land. So the Bible is the First Scripture, and comes from Ethiopia.

Enoch is also called Toth or Ermes Trismegistos (Idris for Quran) in Egyptian culture, being also for them the SCRIPTURE GIVER.

2) “The Bible was given to Ethiopia through greeks and romans.” FALSE

Enoch the Ethiopian was the first Written prophet and the first book given, and the wife of Moses, the most important prophet of Old, was an Ethiopian. There’s no reason to think that.

3) “Christianity came into Ethiopia through greeks and romans.” FALSE

Even if the official adoption of Christianity as state religion occurred in the forth century, and Ethiopia has received the administration of ecclestiastical priesthood and sacraments at that time, Christianity was there way before, as the oldest christian tradition of the World.

Among the Three Wise Men, in fact, we count King Bazen (Balthasar), emperor of Ethiopia, as their head. The picture we attached is the stamp made by Haile Selassie to commemorate Bazen and the star that has guided him to worship Christ before all men, representing the Ethiopian Empire and Monarchy.

But let we read what His Majesty says about how Christianity reached Ethiopia:

“These thirty-five sovereigns at the time of Akapta Tsenfa Arad (30-38 A.D.) had been christianised by the Apostle Saint Matthew. There were few men who did not believe, for they had heard the words of the gospel. After this Jen Daraba, favourite of the Queen of Ethiopia, Garsemat Kandake (40-50 A.D.) … Phillip the Apostle taught him the gospel, and after he had made him believe the truth he sent him back, baptising him… He taught by word of mouth the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ and baptised them.”

So, Christianity did come into Ethiopia through Bazen, Matthew and the eunuch of Kandake before any european nation.

 

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The Wild Buffalo (1930)

“At the Italian Legation the chief problem at the time of my arrival was not political, but did not require any less tactful handling on that account. The Negus had sent over a wild buffalo as a gift to the Duke of Abruzzi. During its first day in the Legation grounds the animal had broken loose and torn around the park to the terror of both visitors and residents; therefore the proper disposal of this gift was the agitating question. To cage the animal for shipment to Italy would be costly; to ship him uncaged would be dangerous, and it was necessary to get him out of the way quickly both for the sake of comfort at the Legation and to show proper appreciation of the honour paid to the Duke”.

Taken from “Africa’s Last Empire: Through Abyssinia to Lake Tana and the Country of the Falasha”, H. Norden, 1930

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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

H. Norden, Member of the American Geographical Society, 1930

“During the first days in Addis Ababa the strange goes about wondering whether his heart will stand the strain of the altitude, but he soon finds himself adjusted and stimulated by the high, dry air. There could be no better evidence of the general virtues of the climate than the robustness of the twenty European children whom I saw assembled at one of the Legation parties.

My introduction to Ras Tafari, and my first glimpse of Ethiopian court life and customs, came almost immediately after my arrival at the capital. The occasion was a dinner given in honour of the members of an expedition sent out by the Field Museul in Chicago: five scientists under the leadership of Captain White. The guests included all the American colony, which consisted of the United States Minister, Mr. Southard, and his wife, and about a dozen missionaries, religious and medical.

A line of armed soldiers outside the Gibbi saluted the guests as they entered. (…)

When all the guests had assembled we were conducted into the throne-room, where the Negus awaited us. The light was dim but adeguate to reveal the beauty of the rugs and the splendour of the gold throne standing on a dais and canopied with red velvet. The latest heir to the throne of Solomon’s son stood on the first of the four steps leading to the platform, and since he is below medium height this position brought his eyes level with those of most of the men he welcomed. His dark face is both beautiful and aristocratic, with finely cut features and great melancholy eyes. Beautiful and aristocratic too, and not easely forgotten, are his small, sensitive, and exquisitely shaped hands.

The dining-room of the palace is furnished in European fashion. The gold table-service was the work of the court jeweller, who is not Abyssinian but Armenian, and had made also the crown lately assumed by Ras Tafari. From across the table little Prince Makonnen favoured me with a boyish grin, in recognition of our meeting on the train. (…)

I was fortunately placed for conversation with the Negus. We spoke in French, and I chose my sentences with great care, lest I provoked the gesture dreaded by Legation folk, that of lifting the collar of the black silk cape to cover one side of the face; a gesture common among Abyssinian aristocrats, and which signifies weariness, displeasure, or disgust. The meaning of the action is, ‘You and your breath are offensive to me’.

This custom has come down through the centuries from a time when there was no need to resort to subtleties to express or conceal repugnance. Happily, Ras Tafari did not hide his face from me, though perhaps I was near to incurring his displeasure at the moment when I told him I should like to see a military display in Addis Ababa. (…)

That evening at dinner no mention was made of politics, either national or international. We spoke of food, of domestic matters, and of education. The Negus said he had brought a chef from Paris; that he enjoyed French food as much as he did Abyssinian. He regretted that his wife’s enforced stay at the clinic at Diredawa prevented her presence at this dinner. He spoke of the education of his son, now studying English with Mr. Russell of the American Presbyterian Mission, and who will go later to a university in England. Some talk about the prevalence of divorce in America floated across the table. I asked Ras Tafari whether it were a common practice in his country. ‘Only the rich can afford divorce’ he said. (…)

Coffee and liquors were served in the throne-room. Afterwards the lights were turned out and the great hall became a moving-picture theatre. Through the cinema a part of Ras Tafari’s empire was brought to us: mountains and valleys, rivers and villages; men on caravan and animals caught unawares by the camera, for the film had been made during a former expedition sent by the Field Museum.

Customs followed geography. The second film showed us the celebration mescal, the religious festival which occurs late in September. (…) I left the Gibbi feeling that Ras Tafari could not have offered more interesting intertainment. He had give his alien guests a glimpse of himself and his ministers; the aspect of the country over which he reigns, and its most characteristic fantasia, full of religious and social significance to his people.”

Taken from “Africa’s Last Empire: Through Abyssinia to Lake Tana and the Country of the Falasha”, H. Norden, 1930

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

The 1928 Attempted Coup

“After these events the Empress’s suspicion and fear of her co-ruler increased. Worked on as she was by the priests, she became more and more bigoted and unbalanced. At the deathbed of the Emperor Menelik, her father, she had promised to help and support Lij Yassu, and was now seized with remorse at having left her promised unfullfilled. Her former husband – she had been married to Ras Gugsa Olie, governor of the province of Amhara, but this marriage was dissolved on her accession – now did everything possible to infuse suspicion of Ras Tafari, whom Gugsa envied and hated. Then in the Empress’s immediate circle were men ready to use any means of removing her co-ruler, whose reforms and modern views they could not or would not understand. The real instigator of the conspiracy against Ras Tafari has never been revealed, but one day in September 1928 words became deeds.

Early in the morning of that day Ras Tafari left the Little Gibi for the Great Gibi, whither he had been summoned by the Empress. As soon as he had stepped into the Empress’s reception-hall, troops assembled, unknown to him, in the Gibi court-yards; the palace gates were shut, soldiers took up positions along the wall which surrounds the Gibi hill, and machine-guns were placed on housetops so as to command the roads of approach. The object was to capture Ras Tafari and depose him.

News of what was happening at the Great Gibi soon reached the ears of Ras Tafari’s wife at the Little Gibi. Quickly summoning all the house-people who were at hand, she distributed weapons among them and ordered them to hasten to the relief of their lord. Soon a yelling crowd collected outside the Great Gibi and demanded that the doors should be opened. Ras Tafari found himself suddenly surrounded by a crowd of threatening soldiers who had been alarmed by the shouts and commotion, and seemed about to take violent action. Without for one instant losing his calmness or self-possession he walked slowly through them, and so great was the power of his personality that the soldiers unwillingly drew back and at his orders opened the gates. When his servants poured in he cried in a voice that carried far:

‘The man who fires the first shot, be he of my own people or my opponent’s, shall die’.

In the stillness which followed, Ras Tafari mounted his horse and rode quietly out through the gate, to be received with shouts of rejoicing from the mob outside. The psychological moment had passed. The coup had failed.

Ras Tafari’s behaviour on this occasion won general approval among the Abyssinian people, who love to see personal courage in their leader. Many who had hitherto been his enemies now condemned the attempted coup. The Empress Zauditu was one of these who most eagerly denied having had anything to do with it. To show her appreciation of him she formally made over to him the entire rule – being at this time very ill with diabetes – and on October 7th, 1928, with all pomp and ceremony, Tafari Makonnen was crowned Negus (King) of Abyssinia.”

(Taken from “The Abyssinia I Knew”, General Virgin, London 1936)

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Haile Selassie I - Anecdotes

His Majesty’s Prodigious Memory

“Much of His Majesty’s success was due to an extraordinary ability to attend to the myriad of administrative details, the most minor of appointments to offices in remote localities, the most insignificant of expenditures, each trip abroad of every official, including (thanks to discreet observers) details as to persons visited, every authorization to provincial officials to come to Addis Ababa, to extend their stays in the capital, every directive to return to the provinces, the most minor of ministerial disputes, and the peccadilloes of his entourage.

None of this would have been possible without instant recollection of names, faces, and conversations, of the particularities of the most remote localities in Ethiopia and of events however distant in time or significance. Once, following the Liberation in 1941, while passing out gifts to his followers, a man came forward to protest that he had been overlooked. His Majesty turned sharply on him: ‘You lie!’ he growled, and, calling him by name, reminded him of the exact time and place at which the Emperor had rewarded him for obtaining urgently needed mules for the Army.

That same powerful memory, constantly nourished by intelligence sources, supported him in the delicate task of imposing his appointments, dismissals, incarcerations and banishments. Able to recall in detail long-forgotten errors, indiscretions, or admissions, Haile Selassie would coldly hang before the protesting dignitary the intricate tapestry of that official’s past life and conduct from which the latter could only avert his embarassed gaze.”

(Taken from “Ethiopia At Bay, John H. Spencer, 1987)

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Ethiopian Icons Ethiopian Orthodox Church

The New Ethiopian Year and John the Baptist’s Beheading

On 11th of September Ethiopians celebrate the feast of Enkutatash, i.e. the First Day (1th of Meskerem) of New Solar Year of the Enochian calendar, still used in Ethiopia. On that day, the beheading of John the Baptist also occurred, and it is therefore commemorated by the Ethiopian Church.

John the Baptist was in fact a bridge between the Old and the New Covenant, and similarly, this day marks the passage between Old and New year. As it was written in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 11:

“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (…) For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”

The head-cutting of John is therefore a perfect image of Transition from Old to New.

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Haile Selassie I - Testimonies

General E.Vergin, Swedish Military, 1936

“Tafari Makonnen, grew up in the old city of Harar, where he was educated by French missionary monks and thus came to master both spoken and written French. He was an intelligent and ambitious boy with a thirst for knowledge, and at an early age showed an aptitude for statesmanship and for military affairs. When his father died in 1906, Tafari Makonnen succeeded him as Governor of Harar, and with great energy set himself to improve and develop the province now entrusted to him. (…)

From the beginning of his co-reign Ras Tafari sought to follow the principles laid down by the Emperor Menelik; that is to say, to preserve his country’s independence, to raise the material and intellectual levels of his people, and, in order to make this possible, to strengthen and consolidate the position of the central Government. In the fulfilment of this he had many difficulties to overcome. The foreign situations was disquieting. During the Great War those Powers which are Abyssinia’s neighbours tried in many ways to interfere with the nation’s politics. By cleverly playing off one against another, however, Ras Tafari was able to keep a free hand and prevent any one of his neighbours gaining too much of a hold over his country.

Home affairs were no less threatening. As in the case of Lij Yassu, Ras Tafari’s promotion aroused envy and anger among the other pretenders. His plain intention to gather the power into his own hand, and also his efforts at reform, met with bitter opposition. His position was rendered still more difficult by the fact that the Empress, coerced by powerful rases and by the ultra-conservative priesthood which feared and hated all reforms, began to mistrust her co-ruler and to oppose his efforts. (…)

On April 8th, 1930, Negus Tafari ascended the Abyssinian throne as Emperor Haile Selassie I, and seven months later the coronation took place with great ceremonial, in the presence of representatives of many foreign nations. (…)

By his wisdom, self-control, energy, courage and shrewdness the Emperor Haile Selassie had found his way round the obstacles which beset him; but in his fight for power he had also shown humanity and nobility of character. Apart from those enemies of his who fell in battle, their weapons in their hands, he had never taken anyone’s life. (…) Of the remaining former adversaries, not named here, some indeed are still in prison, but many others have been reinstated in their positions and are the Emperor’s loyal allies. The streak of hardness and cruelty, characteristic of so many Oriental autocrats, is altogether lacking in the present Emperor of Abyssinia.

When the Emperor Haile Selassie I ascended the throne of his fathers he was mature; a grown man, hardened and tried in life’s school. During his long period of regency he had accumulated experience and ability whih well fitted him for his high office. In order to increase his knowledge still further, and to absorb new ideas, he made an extensive tour through Europe in 1924, in the course of which he visited Sweden. Knowledge gained on this tour he has since endeavoured to make fruitful in his Empire, and to that end he has invoked the aid of counsellors and helpers from those European countries which he considered ranked highest from both intellectual and material points of view.

As early as 1923, in spite of great opposition, the co-ruler, as he still was, acting as his own Foreign Secretary, succeeded in obtaining recognition for Abyssinia as a member of the League of Nations. On that occasion he undertook to abolish slavery within his realm – a promise which to the greatest extent yet possible he has striven to fulfil. All slave traffic is forbidden and punished very severely. (…)

From the earliest times the imperial power has been unlimited, and varied only with the ability of the monarch to enforce it. No statutes of laws defining of modifying the authority of the throne existed until July 16th, 1931, when the Emperor Haile Selassie I gave the land a constitution. (…)

Although this constitution leaves the power in the Emperor’s hands, it is remarkable from many points of view. By it the monarch sets up the law as the highest standard to which he too must conform, and at the same time renounces the right to make that law. then also the constitution determines the freedom and privileges of the citizen, and affirms the right of all who are deserving and competent to serve the State. All these are principles which we take as a matter of course, but in a feudal State like that of Abyssinia, where noble birth has hitherto been almost the only consideration, they represent a revolution in social ideas. (…)

It is true that always in his foreign policy the Emperor has sought to place justice above force. On many occasions he has stressed his willingness to submit delicate questions of foreign policy to impartial arbitration. (…)

Another field in which the Emperor has been very active is, as before mentioned, that of education. He has called in education authorities from abroad, and, with the help of the Empress, has founded a number of schools and colleges for both male and female students. (…)

In his efforts to raise the intellectual and material standards of his people the Emperor has had two great obstacles to contend with: the lack of competent assistants and the difficulty of raising the necessary funds.

For the carrying out of reforms pioneers are needed. The Emperor Haile Selassie himself – wise, clear-sighted, clever and energetic – is an example to his people, working from early morning until late at night. Unhappily the same cannot be said of most of his officials. (…) The result is that the Emperor has been obliged to give personal attention to nearly all affairs of state, and to settle details.” (…)

A great burden of work and responsibility rests on Emperor Haile Selassie’s shoulders. When one sees his slim figure, his unusually small and well-shaped hands, his finely cut features and his melancholy eyes for the first time, one finds it hard to believe that it is this man who has striven so mightily and won his way to power with such energy and endurance and who now leads with wisdom and strength his country’s destiny. Yet when one has had the opportunity of coming nearer to him, of watching his keen intellect, his wise and unclouded thoughts, of witnessing his limitless capacity for work and his dignified calm in moments of difficulty or emergency, one finds it easier to understand how he has attained his position, and of what significance he is, not only for his own country, but also in political situations far beyond its borders. It is said that no one is indispensable, but without exaggeration it may be affirmed that there is no man in Abyssinia to-day who could fully replace the Emperor. With him rests the to-be or not-to-be of the Empire, its inner unity, its outward strength and its future. With greater justice than even ‘le Roi Soleil’, the Emperor Haile Selassie might say, ‘L’état, c’est moi!’.”

(Taken from “The Abyssinia I Knew”, General Virgin, London 1936)

Categories
Haile Selassie I - Laws and Government

Haile Selassie I and The Palestinian Question

HAILE SELASSIE I BREAKS OFF ALL RELATIONS WITH THE STATE OF ISRAEL

When United Nations Resolution 181 (II) was passed in November 1947, which called for the creation of the State of Israel alongside a Palestinian Arab State and the related partition of the territory, Ethiopia abstained. The Emperor was not opposed in principle to the creation of a Jewish state to compensate for the persecution of Jews by Nazi-Fascism, but this had to be done with full respect for the resident Arab population, who disagreed with the plan on several points. That’s why, immediately after Israel’s declaration of independence in May 1948, the first Arab-Israeli war broke out.

After this first conflict, Zionist effectively settled in the Palestinian territories assigned to them and established the State of Israel. Nevertheless Ethiopia, precisely because of the critical issues outlined above, did not legally recognize it until 1961, when Israel established diplomatic relations with most countries of the world. It should be remembered that until then, the only state legally recognized and known as “Kingdom of Israel” was Ethiopia.

In 1967, as had been widely predicted, the situation degenerated into another conflict, during which Israel established itself as a military power within that area, technically and politically supported by the United States, and began progressively occupying the territories legally assigned to Arabs by the UN, including Gaza. This led to the unanimous approval of Resolution 242 by the United Nations Security Council, of which Ethiopia was a non-permanent member, which called on the Israelis to withdraw from the occupied Arab territories and to respect the sovereignty of all peoples in the area, including the Palestinians.

Here began a conflict between the State of Israel and international law that has endured to this day, as those territories have remained under occupation ever since, in violation of all political legality. In 1973, another conflict broke out, and the United Nations passed Resolution 338, which ordered a ceasefire within 12 hours and the implementation of Resolution 242 with the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories, which obviously did not happen.

Following this grave and tenacious obstinacy against international law, Haile Selassie I ordered a complete severance of relations with Israel: the cessation of all transactions and trade, the cessation of all forms of political cooperation and communication, the withdrawal of embassies and diplomatic representations, and the immediate expulsion of Israeli officials and leaders residing in Ethiopia. This is what all nations that respect human rights should do now, and most of the Western countries are not doing it because they fear political and financial retaliation, since the Zionists constitute one of the most powerful lobbies of their economic system and are an outpost of American imperialism in the Middle East.

And the Emperor never restored these relations, since the 1974 communist coup led by Mengistu Hayle Maryam occurred, and some historians believe this was also a consequence of that stance on the Palestinian question. As the King of Kings stated:

“As long as Israel remains in these territories, there is no possibility for peace in the Middle East. Since Israel has not withdrawn from the conquered territories, Ethiopia has decided to sever diplomatic relations with it, and will continue to do so until Israel withdraws.”

As you well know, the UN recently reaffirmed the legal validity of this request, and because of this the institution was accused by Israeli authorities of “anti-Semitism,” even though Arabs are Semitic, probably more than the clearly Europeanized Ashkenazi Jews. It is the responsibility of all those inspired by Haile Selassie I and Ethiopia to preserve this lesson and advance this truly humanitarian cause, crucial for peace in the Middle East and in the Holy Land of the Prophets. It is the special responsibility of all those who represent Rastafari in the media, and propose themselves as educators, to take a clear and explicit position and to highlight the urgency of commitment and mobilization, demonstrating that they truly understand the message of their King and care about truth and justice.

In photo: Haile Selassie I in Jerusalem in 1936