Politicsאדיסו מאסלה

Adisu Massala

Adisu Massala is an Israeli politician who served in the Knesset from 1996 to 1999 and was the first Knesset member born in Ethiopia.

born 1961First Ethiopian-born Knesset memberActivism for Ethiopian Jewish immigrationCo-founding the One Nation party

Born: 16 June 1961, Gondar
Occupation: politician
Party: Israeli Labor Party
Education: Bar-Ilan University

Adisu Massala was born in 1961 in Gondar

Adisu Massala was born on 16 June 1961 in Gondar province, Ethiopia. During the Ethiopian Civil War he belonged to a Marxist rebel group. When the ruling regime began persecuting its members, he fled to Sudan and reached Israel in 1980.

He studied at Bar-Ilan University and earned a BA. He worked as a community social worker and worked with his community through the Jewish Agency. He chaired the umbrella organization of Ethiopian immigrants and sat on the boards of several public bodies.

In 1996 he was among the leaders of the protest against Magen David Adom over the destruction of blood donated by Ethiopian immigrants. That year he entered the Knesset on the Labor Party list. In 1997 he petitioned the High Court against awarding the Israel Prize to Shmuel Schnitzer, and the prize committee later decided not to grant it.

After he was not chosen in Labor's 1999 primaries, he claimed the vote was rigged and left the party. With Amir Peretz and Rafiq Haj Yahia he formed One Nation. He was fourth on its list in 1999 and 2003 but was not elected either time.