Ethiopian Refugee
My Journey: Ethiopia to Israel
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium, 7 p.m.
Jackson walked for three weeks from Ethiopia to Sudan together with her mother and baby sister as a seven-year-old fleeing Ethiopia and the religious and political strife that threatened the lives of the Ethiopian Jews. Jackson’s story takes us on her arduous journey and reveals the essence of Exodus as she, her family and friends fled Sudan on an Israeli Air Force commissioned-airplane which landed in Israel in December 1984.
This event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the Departments of Judaic Studies, Religion and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies and also the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life. The event was organized by the Clarke Forum student project managers.
Biography (provided by the speaker)
Maly G. Jackson, now 39, walked for three weeks from Ethiopia to Sudan together with her mother and baby sister as a seven-year-old fleeing Ethiopia and the religious and political strife that threatened the lives of the Ethiopian Jews. Maly’s father remained in Ethiopia. She and her mother and little sister, age 2, trekked across the desert and forest into Sudan where the risks of life in a refugee camp loomed before them. Maly’s story takes us on her arduous journey and reveals the essence of Exodus as she, her family and friends fled Sudan on an Israeli Air Force commissioned-airplane which landed in Israel in December 1984.
Maly met her husband William, who was serving in the United States Navy, while his ship was deployed to Israel. They now live in Harrisburg with their two children Ariella and Josh, who attend the Silver Academy of Harrisburg. During her free time she travels across the country speaking to Jewish communities, colleges and private organizations about her amazing journey. Maly’s sister P’nina, who made the journey through the Sudan on the back of her mother as a toddler, was the first Ethiopian Israeli on Israel’s Higher Education Council and is the Senior Shlicha (Emissary) of the Jewish Agency for Israel at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington: Maly has two younger siblings: Shlomo studying BA Gov’t at IDC Herzliya and Rina, who has recently completed her law degree and his completing her internship. Her mother still lives in Haifa, where Maly grew up upon arriving to Israel.