Rachamim Elazar has been named by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Israel’s next Ambassador to Ethiopia, making him the first Israeli of Ethiopian descent ever to serve as an Ambassador for the State of Israel.
Rachamim was one of the first Ethiopian Jews to make aliyah to Israel in 1972 at the age of 14. His struggles to make it to Israel are chronicled in the 1977 book by Arnold Sherman, In Search For Rachamim. That same year, Rachamim became the first Ethiopian Israeli student to enroll in Tel Aviv University, where he earned degrees in Oriental & African Studies and Media & Communications. He then went on to a highly successful career in journalism. For nearly 30 years, Rachamim has been a leading voice and advocate for the Ethiopian Israeli community as host and producer of the most popular Amharic radio show in Israel on Kol Israel.
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