Tsega Melaku

Tsega Melaku was born in 1968 in Gondar

Melaku was born in Gondar, Ethiopia. She moved to Israel alone in 1984, and after arriving she worked to reunite with her family until her parents also came to Israel. She chose to keep her first name rather than take the Hebrew name she was given.

She earned a BA in political science and sociology at Bar-Ilan University and an MA in business at Touro College in Jerusalem. She later received a doctorate in political science and journalism from Adam Mickiewicz University, with research on radio and the education of Ethiopian Jews in Israel.

Melaku worked for years in Amharic broadcasting, including as editor in chief of the newspaper Fana and as head of Amharic and Tigrinya at Reka. From 2008 to 2017 she directed Reshet Aleph, the first woman and first Ethiopian immigrant in the role. In 2014 she published an autobiography about her immigration and about racism in Israeli society.

She was active in the 1996 protest over the disposal of blood donated by Ethiopian immigrants, and from 2011 to 2023 she chaired the Keren Hanan Aynor scholarship fund. In 2016 she joined a government team against racism toward Ethiopian Israelis.

In 2015 she was placed on the Kulanu list, but the Central Elections Committee disqualified her because she had not completed the cooling-off period. She entered the Knesset for Likud in February 2023, replacing Ofir Akunis under the Norwegian Law. In August 2026 she said she would not run in the Likud primary.