The International Center for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry at Ono Academic College launched a Chair for Research of Ethiopian Jewry on Sunday, the first such academic position in the country and likely the world. Excerpted from the January 9, 2019 Jerusalem Post -  Israel Online News  - by Jeremy Sharon Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom, (pictured here) the head of the international center, will se...

This year in Jerusalem:   The Sigd holiday - the Ethiopian Jewish holy day expressing the commitment to return to Zion -  was observed in Jerusalem on November 7, 2018 with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin making a stirring address denouncing discrimination and promising to help Ethiopian Israeli youth offenders clear their records. A JTA news article stated,   "Rivlin and Justice Minister Ayele...

The Ethiopian Jewish holiday of Sigd is national holiday in Israel nowadays, thanks to the tireless efforts of advocacy groups such as the Association of Ethiopian Jews, which is based in Jerusalem.    Sigd is an Amharic word meaning “prostration” or “worship” and the holiday falls on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. This date is exactly 50 days after Yom Kippur, usually happening in l...

Fentahun Assefa-Dawit, Executive Director of Tebeka, Equality and Justice for Ethiopian Israelis, the Ethiopian Israeli legal aid and advocacy organization, is running for City Council in Ashdod.    Elections are October 30, 2019. We wish Fentahun - a tireless crusader for civil rights for all minorities - very good luck! UPDATE:  We are sorry to report that Fentahun did not win a seat on t...

Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy, fulfilling and successful New Year with gratitude, from Friends of Ethiopian Jews

Watch the Olim Beyahad video!   

Founded in 1993, the Association of Ethiopian Jews, or AEJ, (formerly, the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews, IAEJ) has a new website and new campaign for a equal and just society in Israel.    AEJ tracks the latest statistics and conditions, and advocates at the highest levels to bring change.   Check out their new and informative website, here in both Hebrew and English.

Tech-Career - the Computer software and programming technology training center for Ethiopian-Israelis - is expanding its horizons and nurturing a new generation of techpreneurs.  The plan is to create a permanent campus that will be a model for tech education and a springboard for economic and social integration for young Ethiopian-Israelis—and over the long term, for under-served young adults fro...

Tech Career has a new Exec. Director, Takele Mekonen, who has just stepped into the position after Passover.  After 3.5 years as Executive Director, Naftali Avraham has retired.  We wish him all the very best.   Naftali took Tech Career from the rural kibbutz to a central location in Lod, and launched a $2 million campaign to build a new campus there. Takele Mekonen is uniquely qualified to take ...