Jacques Faitlovitch Explained

Jacques Faitlovitch (1881–1955) was an anthropologist.

Biography

An Ashkenazi Jew born in Łódź, Congress Poland, Faitlovitch studied Ethiopian languages at the Sorbonne under Joseph Halévy. He travelled to Ethiopia for the first time in 1904, with support from the French banker, Baron Edmond de Rothschild.

He travelled and lived among the Ethiopian Jews, and became a champion of their cause. In 1923 he opened a Jewish school in Addis Ababa.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

A Zionist, he settled in Tel Aviv in the 1930s and had links with Yitzhak Ben Zvi and with the revisionist movement. Faitlovitch bequeathed his valuable library to the Tel Aviv Municipality, with the collection now located at the Sourasky Library of the Tel Aviv University.^[5]

A film about Faitlovitch's life was planned by Six Point Films. A film entitled Jacques Faitlovitch and the Lost Tribes, directed by French filmmakers, Maurice and Sarah Dorès, was screened in 2012 and later in various film festivals.^{[6] [7] [8] [9]}

Sources

• Return of a Lost Tribe
• Book: Jews of Ethiopia. Emanuela Trevisan Semi, Tudor Parfitt.
• Photos and letters of Dr. Faitlovitch appear in the Koren Ethiopian Haggada: The Journey to Freedom (pages 72–73) – Book: Waldman, Menachem. Koren Ethiopian Haggada: The Journey to Freedom. 2012-02-01. Koren Publishers Jerusalem. 9789653012929. Hebrew/English. Jerusalem; New Milford, CT. Hebrew.

External links

• • Works by or about Jacques Faitlovitch in University Library JCS Frankfurt am Main: Digital Collections Judaica

Notes and References

1. Book: Rosenthal, Donna. The Israelis: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land. 2003-01-01. Simon and Schuster. 9780684869728. en.
2. News: A Polishman among Ethiopians. Aderet. Ofer. 2011-05-20. Haaretz. en. 2016-04-27.
3. Book: Summerfield, Daniel. From Falashas to Ethiopian Jews: The External Influences for Change C.1860-1960. 2003-01-01. Psychology Press. 9780700712182. en.
4. Book: The Jews of Ethiopia: The Birth of an Elite. Parfitt. Tudor. Semi. Emanuela Trevisan. 2013-04-15. Routledge. 9781134367689. en.
5. Web site: Jacques Faitlovich. Beit Hatfutsot Open Databases Project, The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot.
6. Web site: Jacques Faitlovitch and The Lost Tribes-Sheba Film Festival 2012 BINA Cultural Foundation. www.binacf.org. 2016-04-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20160408155124/http://binacf.org/content/jacques-faitlovitch-and-lost-tribes-sheba-film-festival-2012. 2016-04-08. dead.
7. Web site: Seeking Kin: Bringing Jacques Faitlovitch to the screen and relatives back in touch. 2013-05-03. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2016-04-27.
8. Web site: Jacques Faitlovich and the Lost Tribes. primolevicenter.org. 2016-04-27.
9. Web site: Film - Jacques Faitlovitch and the lost tribes Limmud TLV לימוד תל אביב. 2015-04-28. Limmud TLV לימוד תל אביב. en-US. 2016-04-27.