Herut Takele
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Herut Takele Legese (Hebrew: חרות טקלה לגסה; born 1938) is an Israeli activist of Beta Israeli origin, who engaged in underground activities in the 1980s to promote the aliyah to Israel of the Ethiopian Jews. She was arrested by the regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam, imprisoned for about two years, and after she emigrated to Israel, she was recognized as a prisoner of Zion.
Takele was born in Qwara,[1][2] Ethiopia. Her father, Elka Takele, who was a Hebrew teacher, educated his children with a strong Jewish and community identity.[3][4] In 1942, her father was appointed secretary of the governor of the town of Azezo near Gondar, and the family moved there. At the age of 16, Takele moved to Gondar with her brother, so that she could acquire an education, a rare step in those days in Ethiopia.[5]
Activism
During the 1970s, Takele met with immigration activist Yamatu Negus Ezra. Ezra introduced her to other aliyah activists, including Gedaliah Eileen and David Shimon. In 1982, Takele was recruited by Henry Rosenberg of the American Association for Ethiopian Jews[2] to work for helping the aliyah of Ethiopian Jews.[3] Thus Takele began taking part in underground Zionist activities, at a time when this was considered illegal by the Derg.[6] Risking her life, she assisted in hiding Ethiopian Jews seeking to emigrate to Israel, providing medical care, issuing passports, transferring funds and locating hiding places. Among others, the methods used to help the emigration of Ethiopian Jews ranged from fictitious employment contracts with companies abroad, scholarships abroad and bribes in exchange for an exit permit.[7]
