Community in Dialogue: Ethiopian Jewry in a Contemporary Research Perspective

Conference of the Research Group of the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center
In collaboration with the Azrieli Center for Israel Studies, the Ben-Gurion Institute, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
September 16, 2025, Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center, 1 Shazar St. (Binyanei Ha’uma, 6th Floor)

16:00–16:30 Gathering and light refreshments
16:30–16:45 Greetings
Moderator: Tezeta Germay
Fentahun Assefa-Dawit, Council Chair of the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center
Prof. Paula Kabalo, Head of the Azrieli Center for Israel Studies (MALI)

16:45-18:00 First Session | Between Language and Identity: Intergenerational and Intercultural Connections
Chair: Prof. Simcha Getahune, Kibbutzim College
Yaacov Gonchel, Ben-Gurion University | Religious Boundaries in the Service of Colonialism
Varda Gil, University of Haifa | “To Write With and For the Other” – Revealing the Attitudes of Veteran Israeli Women Toward Israeli Women Who Made Aliyah from Ethiopia in Jointly Written Life Stories
Havtam Bere, Ben-Gurion University | “Like Something Good to Go Out Into the World With”: The Work of Sexual Education Professionals of Ethiopian Origin in the Ethiopian Community
Tali Semani, Ben-Gurion University | The Talk - Do Israeli - Ethiopian Parents Talk to Their Children about Ethiopian Identity and Racism?

18:00–18:30 Break
18:30–19:30 Second Session | Influential Voices: Between Heroic Narratives and Social Change
Chair: Dr. Bar Kribus, Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center
Eran Hermoni, University of Haifa | The Lobbying Activity of the American Association for Ethiopian Jews with the Administration and Congress, and Its Impact on the Aliyah via Sudan
Ilana Luie, Achva Academic College | The Impact of Exposure to Culturally Adapted Heroic Narratives on Resilience and General Self-Efficacy Among Young Israeli Adults of Ethiopian Descent
Danit Buskila-Volkov, University of Haifa | Informal Leadership in the Ethiopian Community in Israel: Gendered and Ethnic Dimensions of Intersectionality

19:30–20:00 Concluding Remarks
Dr. Danny Admasu, Azrieli Center for Israel Studies, Ben-Gurion University; and Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism, Hebrew University
Representatives of the Research Group

Participation in the conference is open to the public free of charge, but advance registration is required.