Last Updated on November 10, 2021
The Fidel Association for Education & Social Integration of Ethiopian Jews in Israel
Although many Anglo-Saxon experience challenges and hardships with their Aliyah and absorption, the Ethiopian community face a unique set of circumstances. As the focus of this website is Aliyah, it was decided that the Fidel Association’s objectives and programs are deserving of the global exposure the Anglo-list can give them.
Their story:
Today, 120,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel. Sixty percent of them are children under the age of 18.
During the past decades, the Ethiopian Jews have had to face many hardships, which were caused by cultural gaps, economic constraints and problematic absorption. These hardships became major obstacles in the Ethiopian Jews’ integration into the Israeli society, and the consequences of this problematic reality are severe: According to the Ministry of Education’s data, the educational achievements of Ethiopian immigrants are significantly lower than those of the rest of the Israeli society. Only 40% of them are entitled to receive their matriculation diploma, as opposed to 60% of the pupils in the Jewish school system.
Furthermore, the dropout rate among Ethiopian teenagers is much higher than the general dropout rate in the Jewish school system in Israel (12% versus 7.5%).
Therefore, there is an increasing need to bridge the educational and cultural gaps and promote Ethiopian children and teenagers, who are the majority of the Ethiopian population in Israel.
The Fidel Association (Fidel- Alphabet in Amharic), which was established in 1997 by Ethiopian immigrants and veteran Israelis, believes that education is the key for successful integration and adjustment of Ethiopian Jews into the Israeli society.
Fidel focuses especially on Ethiopian teenagers, who need a lot of support in order to stay in school, receive good grades and join the military or national service programs.
Fidel’s programs:
(1) Youth Centers: Fidel operates 7 Youth Centers around the country, which offer Ethiopian youth enrichment programs and academic assistance. To the present, more than 1,700 teenagers have participated in Fidel’s Youth Centers’ enrichment programs, thanks to the financial support of the ENP, local councils, private foundations and American Federations.
(2) Young Leadership Program: Fidel provides valuable tools for the empowerment of teenagers and inspires them to change their own lives for the better. The program includes personal, group and community projects, for the implementation of leadership tools provided within the program.
(3) Educational and Social Mediator Program: The mediators help Ethiopian youth cope with social and academic difficulties within the educational system. The mediators focus on decreasing dropout rates from school, improving academic achievements and parental involvement in the children’s educational process.
(4) The Yona Bogala School in Rehovot: In 2004 Fidel initiated the re-opening of this elementary school in Rehovot (Kiryat Moshe), together with the Moriah Fund and the Israeli Center for Educational Innovation. The school’s success has drawn both veterans and new immigrants to the school, and created an atmosphere of positive change and integration.
The ability and opportunity to support other immigrants from different backgrounds and cultures helps building a stronger and more united society, in which all the citizens reach out to one another and create a better tomorrow.
Become a supporter of Fidel today and allow the Ethiopian children to realize their full potential and become influential and contributing citizen of the Israeli society.
For more information, please contact us at: 972-72-2507400 (Ext. 2), development@fidel.org.il, or visit our website: www.fidel.org.il
