Ethiopian Jews

Jewish families in Ethiopia have been forgotten by Israel, they must be brought home - opinion

The roughly 7,000 Ethiopian Jews still waiting to come have close relatives in Israel. They have studied Judaism, embraced modern life, and are ready for integration.

|BySHMUEL LEGESSE
‘WE WILL never forget leaders like Israel’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Abraham Negussie, who has humbly worked to bring our brothers and sisters home,’ says the writer.
Nine-year-old Haymanot Kasau. The police released the image on February 26, 2024.

Police not doing enough to find Haymanot Kasau, family tells Knesset panel

Haymanot Kasau’s family accused police of neglect nearly two years after she disappeared, telling MKs her case would be treated differently if she weren’t Ethiopian.

|ByKESHET NEEV
Corinne Baum speaks to Naftali Aklum

‘Beyond Herzl’: Naftali Aklum on Ethiopian Jewish heritage, Zionism, and Israel’s future

WATCH: JPost’s Corinne Baum in conversation with Naftali Aklum on history, identity, and the place of Ethiopian Jews in shaping Zionism.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
‘WE LOVE YOU, Mr. Netanyahu, even when our families still suffer in Ethiopia because your government refuses to bring them home under the Law of Return,’ says the writer.

Letter to Netanyahu: We love you but listen - let Ethiopian Jews in - opinion

Now is the time to create a unified, strategic diplomatic team drawing from all political parties and all communities in Israel.

|BySHMUEL LEGESSE

Jews are not a color; we are a global people - opinion

Judaism is a family rooted in faith, strengthened by diversity, and united in a covenant that binds us across cultures, languages, and generations.

AUGUST 7, 2025BySHMUEL LEGESSE
ETHIOPIAN JEWS take part in a prayer of the Sigd holiday in Jerusalem last November. The God of Israel sees the heart, not the color of one’s skin, the writer affirms.

The time for talking is over: Ethiopian Israelis need family reunification now - opinion

According to official estimates, over 7,000 people of Ethiopian Jewish descent remain in Ethiopia, most living in designated waiting areas in Gondar and Addis Ababa.

JULY 30, 2025BySHMUEL LEGESSE
ETHIOPIAN ISRAELIS gather in Jerusalem earlier this week, calling for immediate government action to expedite the aliyah of family members still stranded in Ethiopia.

We are Black Zionists: Why are our sacrifices ignored? - opinion

Ethiopian Israelis are proud citizens of the state and serve in the army but don't receive much attention in the media.

JULY 23, 2025BySHMUEL LEGESSE
‘OUR COMMUNITY has been connected to the Land of Israel for millennia,’ says the writer.

As thousands stay away, Ethiopian Israelis pay a heavy price in Gaza war - opinion

Israelis of Ethiopian origin enlist in higher numbers than the national average, despite facing institutional neglect, racism, and economic hardship.

JULY 11, 2025ByYAAKOV KATZ
Deep grief at the funeral of Sgt. Shahar Manoav at the Ashkelon Military Cemetery last month: He served in a combat engineering unit in Gaza, and to his commanders, he was dependable, brave, and inspiring.

‘It’s amazing to see what education can do’

The Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation has opened new vistas for Israeli students of Ethiopian descent at the Hebrew University.

JULY 9, 2025ByALAN ROSENBAUM
FROM L) Gideon Pollack, Jonathan Goodman, Finkelstein, and Jeff Hart at a Hebrew University event. The four were involved in fundraising for the Walk in their Shoes campaign.

Oldest known 15th-Century Orit Books of Ethiopian Jewry uncovered by TAU researchers

These sacred texts, written in Ge'ez, a language known only to the Kessim (Ethiopian Jewish priests), hold significant cultural and historical importance.

JULY 8, 2025ByJOANIE MARGULIES
The 15th-century sacred books of Ethiopian Jewry from the Faitlovitch Collection at the Sourasky Central Library, TAU.

'It’s amazing to see what education can do'

In the fourth episode of the 2025 season of ‘The Philanthropists,’ Maxyne Finkelstein, President of the Morris & Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation, speaks to Israeli writer and director Maor Zaguri.

JULY 6, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF, IN COLLABORATION WITH CANADIAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY
Maxyne Finkelstein President of the Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation

Ethiopian families, women locked out of public shelter declared ‘men only’ by extremists - report

The extremist haredi faction reportedly spat on Ethiopian families attempting to access the shelter.

JUNE 26, 2025ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
People take shelter in an underground parking lot in Tel Aviv, during ongoing missile attacks from Iran

Municipal rabbi publicly apologizes for questioning Jewishness of Ethiopian mikveh attendant

Two weeks ago, and about eight years after the incident first occurred, the religious municipality of Kiryat Motzkin, along with Druckman, issued a public personal apology to Ishta.

JUNE 5, 2025BySARAH BEN-NUN
Tehila Ishta (third-left) is flanked by Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef to the right and attorney Ela Skaat to the left, at a meeting confirming her qualifications as a mikveh attendant.

On This Day: Operation Solomon’s record-breaking flight and humanitarian triumph

Ethiopian Jews who escaped remember being woken up by their parents in the middle of the night and being told to pack very few items.

MAY 25, 2025ByJOANIE MARGULIES
NEW OLIM rescued from Ethiopia step out of an IAF Hercules at a base in Israel, during Operation Solomon, May 1991.

Goodman Fellowship Project Expands Opportunities for Ethiopian Students at TAU

Tel Aviv University launches Goodman Fellowship to boost Ethiopian Israeli student access, support, and success with major backing from Canadian foundation.

MAY 22, 2025ByLIOR NOVIK
THE ETHIOPIAN community in Israel serves as a vibrant link between the two nations. Here, the community celebrates the Sigd on the Haas Promenade in the shadow of the Old City, in November.