NCJWA projects

Haifa University Ethiopian Women's Fund

In memory of Dr Geulah Solomon OAM z”l

About the Program

In February 2008 Shlomo Mula became the second Ethiopian ever elected to the Israeli Knesset. Click here to listen to him tell his story on this short film clip.

In 1984, 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in Operations Moses and Solomon. Integration has been a slow and difficult process. With a large percentage of the Ethiopian families in Israel living below the poverty line, higher education for many is dependent on scholarships since families cannot afford to pay for their children’s education.

The University of Haifa is the most pluralistic institution of higher education in the country, and services more Ethiopian students than any other institution in Israel. The University encourages students to give to the communities from which they came and specialises in pre-academic programs to adapt new immigrants to Israeli university life. The Ethiopian students would have little chance of completing a higher education without the special programs offered at the University including computer skills, writing research papers, additional tutorials and auxiliary courses.

An important element of National Council of Jewish Women of Australia’s platform is an affiliation with Israel. We concentrate our efforts on awareness-raising and fund raising for certain projects.

One such project under our National banner is the University of Haifa Ethiopian Women’s Scholarship Fund which was adopted at a National Conference in 1988. An annual quota plus extra funds which have been raised over and above the quota, is sent to the University of Haifa annually.

The purpose of the scholarship fund is to assist women of Ethiopian descent with academic counselling, private tutoring, special courses, transportation costs, books, as well as equipment and ancillary expenses incurred outside their tuition fees.

Without the scholarships, far fewer Ethiopian women would have the opportunity to study, for personal advancement or contribution to their community and society. Many of these students, upon completion of their studies, work within their own communities as a result of their sense of communal responsibility.

NCJWA has contributed to various projects providing assistance to Ethiopian students through Haifa University including Women and Cultures, Open Door Community Project, Women and Empowerment, and Encouragement Scholarships.

To find out more about the University of Haifa, watch their video on YouTube.