Belaynesh zevadia biography channel
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It was David who helped Beylanesh obtain a visa from the Swedish Embassy to allow her immigration.
“Culture shock, of course,” is how Zevadia describes her first weeks and months in her new home. And to come to Israel which is a mostly developed country, and the language, the culture shock. It was new. The doctors set up two clinics where they are to undertake an eye surgery "marathon," aiming to restore the eyesight of some 1,000 Ethiopians, including some who have been blind for many years.
Nearly three decades later she has returned to her hometown, this time as the official Israeli envoy to the African country.
"I left when I was still a child and now I'm back as Israel's ambassador. It was the center of our lives, that someday we could go there.”
And, at the age of 16 Zevadia did go there, becoming, just nine years later, the first Israeli-Ethiopian member of Israel’s diplomatic corps.
Geographically, at least, Beylanesh grew up far from the stones of Jerusalem.
Zevadia said there has been an unwarranted spotlight on Israel’s refugee policies in Western media.
“We are doing it like any other Western country is doing it — like Sweden, like the United States,” Zevadia said.
Some audience members disagreed with Zevadia’s defense of Israel refugee policy.
Zevadia also stopped by the school where she used to attend, and sat next to the desk that used to be hers.
"I told the kids I attended their school and they were shocked," she said. Belaynesh is the first Israeli woman of Ethiopian origin to achieve the title of ambassador.
In Israel, Belaynesh worked in the branch for international cooperation in the diaspora unit, in the public information branch, and in her current position, works in the African branch, where she is responsible for bilateral issues.
In addition, she is a lecturer in different forums in Israel and overseas, among them Olim BeYahad, Keren HaYesod and various universities.
Belaynesh: The first Ethiopian-Israeli diplomat
By Laura Wiessen | Israel21c.org
As a baby, diplomat Beylanesh Zevadia’s first word was neither “mama” nor “papa.” It was “Jerusalem.”
“That’s how our parents directed us,” the Ethiopian-born Zevadia explains.
I am the answer.
Belaynesh Zevadia left her village in Ethiopia when she was 13 years old in order to immigrate to Israel. But there are no cowboys!” she jokes.
One thing Zevadia says she doesn’t like is the hot, humid weather. “He said, ‘It was my dream to see someone who was born here come back.’”
Although Boxerman said his political views differ from Zevadia’s, he still enjoyed the conversation.
“I think the ambassador is clearly a historic figure with a lot to say and a fascinating personal story,” Boxerman said.
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Join us with Ambassador Belaynesh Zevadia on Sunday for a special #Sigd celebration!
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Belaynesh Zevadia was born in Gondar, #Ethiopia, in 1967.
"I prayed at the spot where my father used to pray and cried like a little girl. And then, in 1993, Zevadia joined Israel’s Foreign Ministry, becoming, at age 25, the first Ethiopian in the Israeli Diplomatic Service.
“When I finished [university], diplomacy seemed very interesting to me,” explains Zevadia.
Three minority identities. Her father believed that an opportunity to send his youngest daughter to study at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel should not be passed up, Zevadia said.
The diplomat said she is the first and only Ethiopian woman to return to her home country as an Israeli ambassador.
“I remember when I presented my credentials to the president, who was 89 years old and sitting in a wheelchair,” Zevadia said.
I am educated in Israel, I represent Israel and I was born in Ethiopia. That’s what I say.”
Today, there is a second Ethiopian-Israeli diplomat in the Foreign Ministry, a junior diplomat who joined the diplomatic service 13 years after Zevadia, and is now stationed in South Africa.
While she acknowledges that there may be some prejudice against Ethiopians in Israel, Zevadia says she’s never experienced it at the state or municipal level.
During the conversation in University Hall, Zevadia addressed current debates surrounding Israeli refugee policy and the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile — which Ethiopia has been working to build despite objections from Egypt.