Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata was awarded the Magen Begin Prize for Leadership from the Begin Heritage Center for her outstanding work and achievements in Aliyah, absorption and integration on Sunday, a press statement said.The prize, in memory of Israel's sixth prime minister, Menachem Begin, strives to highlight leadership and accomplishments in line with Begin's values and commitment to the State of Israel.
"As part of the first Begin symposium, we chose to focus on leadership," explained Herzi Makov, head of the Begin Center in Jerusalem, where Tamano-Shata was awarded the prize.
"Begin knew even then that the most important task is not only to build a state but also to build a strong, cohesive and united society," she said.Born in Wuzaba, a village in the Gondar region of Ethiopia, Tamano-Shata came to Israel at the age of three, barefoot, having survived the treacherous journey from Ethiopia to Israel via Sudan in Operation Moses.
Despite the difficulties she and her community faced in their absorption and integration into Israeli society, Tamano-Shata went on to serve in the IDF, obtain a degree in law, qualify as a lawyer, become a well-known broadcast journalist, and in 2013 become the first Ethiopian woman to be elected to the Knesset and the first person of Ethiopian decent to serve as a minister.
"For me, to stand here today and receive the Begin Award for Israeli leadership, as a granddaughter and descendant of the spiritual leaders of the Beta Israel community, is a great honor," Tamano-Shata expressed her gratitude.
"Menachem Begin, the only leader of his generation whose leadership was based on a set of values and principles that he translated into action on a daily basis, worked hard for principles such as justice, social equality and human freedom," Makov said.
During her year-long role as Aliyah and Integration Minister, she fought to keep Israel's borders open to immigration during the coronavirus pandemic and has advocated for social equality and justice for underprivileged populations in the country.
"Most of the struggles I fought against discrimination and racism are because I believe in Israeli society. I believe that only when we learn to create a space of belonging and equal opportunity for all, only then will we become an exemplary society," Tamano-Shata said.
In 2015, Tamano-Shata notably took part in Ethiopian-Israeli protests, sparked by the beating of an Ethiopian IDF soldier by police forces caught on video. Her work led to a government committee to combat racism.
As Tamano-Shata, Begin had also led operations to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel. One such project, the covert Operation Brothers, rescued Ethiopian Jews from Sudan through a cover-up, Mossad-run Red Sea Diving Resort, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
"Menachem Begin was the first prime minister to see us as brothers and sisters who must be part of the 12 tribes returning to Israel and thus broke through the barriers among decision-makers that hindered immigration," Tamano-Shata said.
She spoke about her admiration for Begin in the new documentary about his life, "Upheaval," which was screened at the symposium.