"Let me explain something to you. There are certain things that you have to know are lomdus, and it depends on lamdanim to clarify those things. And there are certain things you have to know that are מציאות, factual matters, and those things depend on people who know the מציאות, the facts.
Ethiopians have no connection with our nation. It's not even the slightest הוה אמינא. There is no safek at all. They weren't originally from the עם ישראל and they never were מגייר, they never converted. They never had any Torah among them and they never had any white Jews among them. After all, the Jews are a white people, you have to know. The Ethiopians are a black people.
And therefore, they are nothing but a group of gentiles who adopted some of our ways, which was prevalent sometimes in the days of old. But they have no connection to us - not even the slightest. And this is not a matter of this talmid chochom saying this or that. Because they don't know. Because when you know the history of the Ethiopians, then you know that the Ethiopians have absolutely no valid tradition at all. And this is what we know from historians who have studied the subject in depth.
It's only lately that the New York Times came out for "Ethiopian Jews." The New York Times gave them s'micha as Jews. But up until recently, all the historians knew that they were not Jews. They were just blacks who adopted some Jewish customs. And therefore, there isn't the slightest doubt about that question.
Now, how great is the error? Maybe they did bigger errors in the State of Israel. It's quite possible. But now they're bringing in blacks from Ethiopia who refuse to even be מגייר. Now, if they're really such sincere people, let them at least go through the גירות. If they lived so long without any Torah, let them be מגייר. No, they refuse to be מגייר! So now what? If they stay the way they are, they will increase and multiply as well. And now they're going to government schools. So now the government schools will have black atheists. That's what's going to be soon. It's not enough that the State is creating Jewish atheists, but now there will be black gentile atheists as well. Oh, that's wonderful!
That's what they're going to have soon. In one generation, you'll have black atheists, black criminals, and you'll have black ghettos and the black problem of Israel. Do they need that on top of all the tzoros they already have?!
And so, it shouldn't be any question in your mind at all. As far as I'm concerned, there's not even the slightest הוה אמינא that the Ethiopians are Jews. Not even the slightest doubt."
Rabbi Avigdor Miller TAPE # 844 (November 1991)