Shlomo Molla

Shlomo Molla was born in 1965 in Begemder

Molla was born in 1965 in a small Jewish village in Gondar Province, Ethiopia, into a family of 9 brothers and 2 sisters. He set out for Israel on foot through Sudan, where local authorities caught and jailed him. He later reached Israel and began learning Hebrew while in the hospital with malaria.

After his service in the IDF, he studied social work at Bar-Ilan University, where he co-chaired the Organization of Ethiopian Students. He later earned a law degree from Ono Academic College.

In 1991 he became head of an immigrant absorption center in Tiberias, and later supervised absorption centers and ulpans in northern kibbutzim. In 1999 he became head of the Jewish Agency's Ethiopian Division. In 2006 he headed a department at the World Zionist Organization.

Molla entered the Knesset for Kadima in February 2008 and was reelected in 2009. He supported a two-state solution and became Deputy Speaker in 2011. In 2012 he moved to Hatnuah and lost his seat in the 2013 elections.

In 2015 he called on Ethiopian-Israelis to refuse taxes and army service in protest of racist acts against the community. In 2019 he joined Meretz. He is married and lives in Rishon LeZion.