Belaynesh Zevadia Explained

Belaynesh Zevadia
Native Name:	בליינש זבדיה
Birth Place:	Gondar, Ethiopia
Nationality:	Israeli
Occupation:	Diplomat
Ambassador
Alma Mater:	Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Known For:	First Ethiopian-born Israeli ambassador

Belaynesh Zevadia (Hebrew: בליינש זבדיה; born 1967) is an Ethiopian-born Israeli diplomat. She was appointed Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia in 2012 and was the Israeli ambassador to Rwanda.

Biography

Belaynesh Zevadia was born to a Jewish family in the Gondar region of Ethiopia. She immigrated to Israel in 1984 at the age of 17, during Operation Moses.^[1] She is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.^[2]

Diplomatic career

Zevadia was the first immigrant from Ethiopia to enter the Israeli Foreign Service as a trainee,^[3] working at Israeli consulate posts in Houston and Chicago. In 2012, she was appointed ambassador to Ethiopia, becoming the first immigrant from Ethiopia to Israel to serve as an Israeli ambassador.^{[4] [5]} By 2016, she was the Israeli ambassador to Rwanda.^[6]

See also

• Women of Israel

Notes and References

1. Web site: Belaynesh Zevadia - Diplomacy. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151223110155/http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/People/Pages/Belaynesh-Zevadia-Diplomacy.aspx. 2015-12-23.
2. Web site: HU alumna Belaynesh Zevadia appointed Israel's first Ethiopian-born ambassador . 2016-07-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170625193031/http://support.huji.ac.il/news-events/press/Belaynesh-Zevadia/ . 2017-06-25 . dead .
3. http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=259779 J’lem appoints first Ethiopian-born ambassador
4. News: Keinon. Herb. From Ethiopia to Israel - and back again (profile). The Jerusalem Post. July 2016.
5. News: Ravid. Barak. Foreign Ministry Names First Israeli of Ethiopian Origin as Ambassador. 31 July 2016. Haaretz. 28 February 2012.
6. News: Israel, Germany, Rwanda in Holocaust victims' tribute . 25 January 2016 . 8 June 2019 . Deutsche Welle.