Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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The Ethiopian Jews of Israel

The Ethiopian Jews of Israel, numbering approximately 170,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a historic Jewish community that lived for centuries in the northern and north‑western Ethiopian highlands (especially Gondar, Simien, and Tigray). Major immigration to Israel occurred in the late 20th century (Operations Moses, Joshua, Solomon). They mostly adhere to Judaism and Amharic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Jew, Ethiopian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Jewish Peoples
Country: Israel
People Cluster: Jews
Primary Language(s): Amharic (amh)
Primary Religion(s): Judaism
Population: 170,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011740
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Pray for the Ethiopian Jews of Israel

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Judaism
Religious Affiliation: Judaism

100%
%
Judaism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Amharic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Amharic Speakers

Media Resources in Amharic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Amharic:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1962 Bible Society of Ethiopia✓
1988 Common Version✓
New Amharic Standard Version (NASV)✓
Orthodox-Septuagint Deuterocanonical Version✓

4 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Amharic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Ethiopian Jews are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Ethiopian Jews:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Ethiopian Jews of Israel

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will be freed from the emptiness of fading hopes and find lasting life and truth in the unchanging Word of God.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

Jew, Ethiopian Across Countries (ROP3 - 102987) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Ethiopian JewsPG011740Ethiopian JewsIsrael170,000Engaged yet UnreachedAmharicJudaism
Ethiopian JewsPG011598Ethiopian JewsEthiopia9,800Unengaged and UnreachedAmharicJudaism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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