Watch this episode without interruptions.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Dr. Shmuel Legesse, an Ethiopian Jewish writer and activist, described his life’s mission as a call to strengthen Jewish unity, defend Israel’s legitimacy, and give voice to the Ethiopian Jewish experience during a conversation on The Jerusalem Post podcast.
Legesse said his sense of purpose began in childhood in Ethiopia, where his father would bless him and tell him he would one day “speak to the whole world” on behalf of his people. That message, he said, later became clearer after he moved to the US, encountered the wider Jewish world, and studied the teachings of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
After spending roughly 24 years in the US, Legesse returned to Israel with his wife and four children shortly before October 7. He said the Hamas attacks sharpened his belief that Israel needs stronger internal unity and a more confident Jewish voice abroad.
Challenges faced as a minority
Legesse also spoke about the challenges he faced as a Black Ethiopian Jew in American Jewish communities, saying he often felt he had to explain who he was before being accepted. While he credited several rabbis and community leaders with helping him find his place, he said the experience showed him the need for greater understanding between different Jewish communities.
Discussing the Ethiopian Israeli community, Legesse said racism and social gaps must be addressed honestly, but through a framework of shared responsibility. He pointed to the high level of Ethiopian Israeli military service as evidence of the community’s deep commitment to Israel and Zionism.
The conversation also turned to politics, including Jonathan Pollard’s request that Legesse join him as a political partner. Legesse said he does not view leadership as personal ambition, but as service. He criticized “one man leadership” and argued that Israel’s right-wing needs a broader leadership model rooted in Jewish values, mutual respect, and national service.
Throughout the interview, Legesse returned to one central message: Israeli society must learn to meet in the middle without erasing the identities, traditions, or values of any part of the Jewish people.