The status of Levites for all Ethiopian Jews.

One of the most important reparations, for communities that have suffered ostracism, is in the honorable return of memory.
The Ethiopian Jewish community experienced a denial of identity when, at the beginning of its official contact with modern Judaism, it shared its ancestral tradition of coming from the Tribe of Levi. Not only was this ignored, but in order to get validated, Ethiopian Jews were forced to undergo conversion, and for men the humiliation of a new circumcision, (Hatafat Dam, the drop of blood) in order to be accepted as Gerim (misafek) and after that as Israelites, and not as Levites. This is not a question of hierarchical social values, but of cultural pride that requires generations of transmission of memory, as well as efforts and sacrifices to preserve it. There is no social or spiritual advantage between Jews to being a Cohen, Levite or Israel. All are equal in all things. However preserving a millenial heritage must be valued, not validated to fit another narrative. Ethiopian Jews are not people who woke up one day feeling that it would be good to call themselves Jews. They are not people who sewed up an invented narrative out of torn pieces of history. They resisted and suffered for millenia to carry what they considered an honor, and a living connection to their ancestors. It took the historic intervention of Rav Obadiah Yosef on behalf of Ethiopian Jews, to ensure that their Jewish identity was respected.
However, the question of culture still arises. Ethiopian Jews claim to be descendants of Levite families who came directly from Jerusalem. According to some, the families of the Cohanim of Jerusalem remained across the Red Sea in Yemen, while thousands of Levites crossed into Ethiopia, where they remain to this day. This would date back to the destruction of the first Temple, that of Solomon. It is precisely for this reason that the Ethiopian Jews, as Levites, are the only ones in the world who have incorporated musical instruments into their prayers since antiquity. This is strictly forbidden to non-Levites.
Who are we to doubt the ancient history of a community that is thousands of years old?
The Book of Eldad haDani, recognized by Rashi and many other religious authorities, had since the 9th century mentioned these Levites who live around the Sambatyon i.e. in Ethiopia. When they are standing before us, we do not believe them, and we ask them for proof. We have to heal this wound, and return to the beginning, when the Beta Israel first said loud and clear that they were all Levites. Everyone at that time should have understood that another tradition, that of the Jews of Morocco about the Benei Moshe who lived in sub-Saharan Africa, was also true. Benei Moshe means Levites, since Moses himself was from the tribe of Levi.