LA Black Pastor Mission Visits Ono

On November 12, 2025, a delegation of 25 prominent Black civic, cultural, and political leaders—many with millions of social-media followers—visited the International Center for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry at Ono Academic College as part of the “Let There Be Light” Los Angeles Pastors Mission to Israel. Organized by the Zioness Movement and the Greater Zion Church Family, and sponsored by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the delegation was led by Zioness CEO Amanda Berman, Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback of Los Angeles’ Steven S. Wise Temple, and Bishop Michael J. T. Fisher, founder of the Greater Zion Church Family.

Dr. Samuel Schwartz, Director of International Programs and Resource Development at Ono, introduced the group to the college and its pioneering work on Ethiopian Jewry. He presented the delegation with Center publications, including an English-language curriculum on Beta Israel, a book of poems and stories reflecting the trauma of immigration, and a volume of essays by young Ethiopian Jewish leaders on sacred Ethiopian Jewish texts.

Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom, founder of the Center, delivered a moving lecture on the history of Beta Israel and his own Aliyah story, including two years in a boarding school believing he was orphaned until his family was located. He described the pain of initial rejection as a Jew, but also the progress he has seen—today serving as a professor, director of an academic center, and rabbi of an Ashkenazi congregation of Holocaust survivors. His lifelong mission is to shift Israeli consciousness from external identification toward intrinsic identity.

Ono President Professor Shlomo Noy spoke of the college’s 25-year commitment to integrating marginalized Israeli populations—including Ethiopians, Haredim, and Arabic speakers—into higher education and meaningful careers. The session concluded with joint Beit Midrash learning, demonstration of traditional Ethiopian Jewish prayer movements, and a lively Q&A on identity, recognition, and the evolving religious life of Beta Israel in Israel.