A new party representing Jewish-Ethiopian immigrants has officially entered the race for the upcoming national elections in April. The new party is called Kol Yisrael Achim Leshivion Hevrati -- "All Israel are Brothers for Social Equality." The party is headed by former Member of Knesset Alali Adamso, a veteran of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. Adamso immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in 1983 and earned degrees in Economics and Political Science and Public Policy at Tel Aviv University before serving as an MK with Likud from 2012-2013. He also served as the Prime Minister's advisor on Ethiopian affairsMichael Corinaldi, a professor at the University of Haifa and Bar-Ilan University is on the number two slot on the list.Prof. Corinaldi was an advocate in the late 1970s and early 1980s for bringing the Jewish community of Ethiopia to Israel and is the author of Jewish Identity: The Case of Ethiopian Jewry and an expert on the Law of Return. He also serves as chairman of the International Institute for Secret Jews (Anusim) Studies at Netanya Academic College.if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";}else if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("/israel-news/") != -1){ document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none"; var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js'; script.setAttribute('pubname','jpostcom'); script.setAttribute('widgetname','0011r00001lcD1i_12258'); document.getElementsByClassName('divAnyClip')[0].appendChild(script);}The party intends to focuses on eradicating racism and promoting equal rights for new immigrants.Current MKs of Ethiopian origin include Dr. Avraham Neguise of Likud and Pnina Tamano-Shata of Yesh Atid. There are over 130,000 Israelis of Ethiopian origin in Israel, the majority arriving in airlifts in the mid 1980s and in Operation Solomon in 1991. Every year, 50 days after Yom Kippur, the Ethiopian community celebrate Sigd, a traditional day of fasting and prayer for the return to the Land of Israel. Sigd was officially recognized as a holiday in 2008.
