Be·ta Israel 
(bātə)
(bātə)n.
1. A people of uncertain origin, living since ancient times in what is now central Ethiopia and practicing a form of Judaism. Between 1984 and 1991, most Ethiopian Jews were resettled in Israel.
2. A member of this people.
[Ge'ez beta 'əsrā'el, house of Israel : beta, bound form of bet, house + 'əsrā'el, Israel (from Hebrew yiśrā'ēl); see ISRAEL1.]