Government approves first female Ethiopian-born ambassador

(Mar 11, 2012, The Times of Iserale)--The historic appointment of Ethiopian-born Belaynesh Zevadia as Israel’s new envoy to Ethiopia was approved by the government during Sunday’s cabinet meeting.

Zevadia, who made aliya at the age of 17, was the first Ethiopian Foreign Ministry cadet, and now, at the age of 43, is the country’s first Ethiopian immigrant to be awarded an ambassadorship.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Arutz Sheva: “In the appointment of Belaynesh, the Foreign Ministry has been blessed with a talented and successful ambassador, and the State of Israel is blessed with a equitable society in which each and every one of its citizens… can succeed and fill any senior position.”

“This is proof that in Israel, opportunity is available to everyone — native Israelis and new immigrants alike,” Zevadia said after her appointment by the Foreign Ministry two weeks ago.

While her appointment was lauded as a milestone in the fight against discrimination of Ethiopian immigrants, Zevadia is not representative of her community. Previous to this appointment, Zevadia worked in Israeli consulates in Chicago and Houston. She earned her BA and MA degrees from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In contrast, Ethiopian immigrants without work experience now earn the lowest salaries in Israel, unseating Israeli Arabs as the country’s worst-paid employees, according to a new study from Bar-Ilan University quoted in Haaretz. Over 50 percent of Ethiopian immigrants live under the poverty line, and their high school drop-out rate is significantly higher than that of the rest of the Israeli population.

Source: The Times of Iserale

Related topic: 
Foreign Ministry names first Israeli of Ethiopian origin as ambassador 

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