Contributed by CAMERA intern Shoshana Kranish
On May 5th, Israel U at the University of Delaware presented a speech by Zion Uness, a notable Ethiopian-born Israeli, who spoke about his experience in making aliyah. The event was hosted by CAMERA liaison Ori Zaff, and was meant to expand campus knowledge of Israeli culture.
Zion Uness is an Ethiopian Jew who walked from his native country to Sudan on foot, where he lived in a refugee camp until he was airlifted to Israel in 1984. After Operation Moses, he made aliyah to Israel, eventually serving in an infantry unit in the IDF and attending university in Haifa. Today, he works to try and improve education and community life for Ethiopians in Israel. During his talk, he spoke about his personal experiences before, during, and after Operation Moses, and about the Ethiopian community in Israel today. Liasion Zaff said the audience was “highly interested” and some members were even able to relate some of Uness’s stories to parts of their own lives.