Ethiopian Jews

Message for Netanyahu: Let Ethiopian Jews represent Israel, not just clean its offices - opinion

We are wasting precious voices our people desperately need. No recogniton that an Ethiopian Jew might be an asset to Israel’s diplomacy in Africa and the English-speaking world.

|BySHMUEL LEGESSE
Shmuel Legesse at his wedding at The Sephardic Temple of Cedarhurst in Cedarhurst, NY, June 8, 2014.
A poster of nine-year-old Haymanut Kasau, who has been missing since 2023, seen on December 18, 2025

MK Tsega Melaku: Missing girl Haymanut Kasau ignored for nearly two years - interview

Melaku added that she distributed Kasau’s photo to fellow MKs "so they will remember: there is a kidnapped child, and nobody is talking about her."

|ByKESHET NEEV
Rescue teams searching for 9-year-old Haymanut Kasau, in the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, February 28, 2024.

'We'll bring her back': Netanyahu vows personal involvement in case of missing girl Haymanut Kasau

Kasau, nine years old at the time of her disappearance, has been missing since February 2024. “I will personally take up the matter. We will bring her back,” Netanyahu told the family in the meeting.

|ByKESHET NEEV
Shmuel Legesse at his wedding at The Sephardic Temple of Cedarhurst in Cedarhurst, NY, June 8, 2014.

Black and Zionist: A voice from inside the right‑wing Jewish soul - opinion

The Jewish Right in Israel and the US must elevate brown and Black Jews to lead credibly and defend the moral and political future.

|BySHMUEL LEGESSE

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.

AUGUST 13, 2025BySHMUEL LEGESSE
‘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.

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.