alternatehistory.com

The Kingdom of Semien, sometimes referred to as the Kingdom of Beta Israel, was an ancient kingdom of the Beta Israel, centered in the northwestern part of Ethiopia, which was purportedly established after Ezana was crowned as the Emperor of Axum in 325 CE, and which came to an end in 1627, when it was invaded, conquered and annexed by the Ethiopian Empire during the reign of emperor Susenyos I. Emperor Susenyos I confiscated their lands, sold many people into slavery and forcibly baptized others; Jewish writings and religious books were burned, and the practice of any form of Jewish religion was forbidden in Ethiopia.

The Beta Israel community still clung on for a long time, due largely to Christian Ethiopian taboos about professions such as craftsmanship, masonry, and carpentry. According to contemporary accounts by European visitors (Portuguese merchants and diplomats, French, British and other travellers) the Beta Israel still numbered about one million persons in the 17th century, soon after these measures were introduced.

So then, your challenge is to come up with a scenario in which the Kingdom of Semien, aka 'Beta Israel' endures and maintains its national independence all the way to the present day- or, at the very least, regains its full independence by the present day. And extra bonus points are on offer for each for the following points which you manage to meet:
  • Beta Israel maintains all of its historical territories (marked in green on the map), or expands its borders beyond them, by the present day
  • Beta Israel's maintains or improves upon its share of the world population by the present day, compared to its share of the world population in the 17th century IOTL (i.r.o. 0.17 to 0.2%)
  • Beta Israel is a developed country by the present day, with an HDI of over 0.750
  • Beta Israel has the largest economy, population and military of any Jewish-majority nation on Earth by the present day
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