Israel has just appointed its first black minister, Pnina Tamano-Shata, from the Ethiopian Jewish community. Despite this encouraging gesture, the community still faces discrimination and racism in Israel. It has been a remarkable journey for Tamano-Shata, who was appointed minister of immigration and integration on May 1, 2020. Born in Ethiopia, in what's known as the Falasha or Beta Israel community, she spent her first few years in a refugee camp in Sudan. At the age of three, she was repatriated to Israel as part of a clandestine transfer operation organized by Tel Aviv with the support of Washington, known as Operation Moses. She was among 7,000 Ethiopian Jews who arrived in Israel between November 20, 1984, and January 6, 1985. Once settled in Israel, she integrated well into society, studied law and worked as a journalist and lawyer. She also became involved in civil society groups, becoming vice-president of the National Association of Ethiopian Students in 2004, and a member of the executive committee of Transparency International from 2015 to 2018. She then started a political career and was elected to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, where she served as a representative of the secular party, Yesh Atid, from 2013 to 2015. Her social and political commitment earned her recognition in Israel as well as abroad. In 2016 she won the Unsung Award prize, awarded by the Drum Major Institute, an American nongovernmental organization that fights for human rights and racial equality. The ultimate recognition came in May 2020 after she was reelected to Knesset on March 2, then appointed minister of immigration and integration. When asked about her appointment, she said: Je suis ravie et fière d’assumer le poste de ministre de l’immigration et de l’intégration. Pour moi, c’est un point de repère et la fermeture d’un cercle pour cette fillette de trois ans qui a immigré en Israël sans mère, lors d’un voyage à pied dans le désert; en grandissant en Israël et dans les luttes que j’ai menées et que je mène toujours pour la communauté, l’intégration, l’acceptation de l’autre et contre la discrimination et le racisme; jusqu’à ma mission publique à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur des murs de la Knesset et aujourd’hui au statut de ministre de l’immigration et de l’intégration. L’immigration est l’âme et le cœur battant de l’État d’Israël. Je travaillerai avec diligence pour encourager l’immigration de tous les pays du monde et pour diriger la réforme du processus d’absorption des immigrants en Israël. I am delighted and proud to take on the role of minister of immigration and integration. For me, it is a landmark and the closing of a circle for this 3-year-old girl who immigrated to Israel without a mother, crossing the desert on foot; growing up in Israel, and in the struggles that I have led and that I still lead for the community, integration, acceptance of others and against discrimination and racism; up to my public mission inside and outside the walls of the Knesset and today to the role of minister of immigration and integration. Immigration is the beating heart and soul of the State of Israel. I will work diligently to encourage immigration from countries all over world and to lead the reform of the immigrant absorption process in Israel. Even though Tamano-Shata is optimistic, the situation of black people in Israel remains difficult, given that the Ethiopian Jewish community, estimated to have more than 130,000 members or 2 percent of the population, is still subjected to racism. As this article recalls, numerous scandals bear witness to widespread racism against black people, of which Tamano-Shata herself was a victim: En 1996, lors d’une opération nationale de collecte, le centre israélien de transfusion sanguine fait jeter tous les dons des immigrants d’Éthiopie de crainte qu’ils ne soient porteurs du sida. Humiliée, en colère, la communauté falasha [Juifs éthiopiens] organise un immense rassemblement à Jérusalem, devant les bureaux du Premier ministre, qui dégénère en heurts avec la police. Ces heurts ne font cependant pas changer les choses puisqu’en 2013, alors qu’elle [Tamano-Shata] est députée et décide de faire un don de sang lors d’une opération de don organisée par le Magen David Adom dans l’enceinte du Parlement à Jérusalem, une responsable de cet organisme, filmée et enregistrée par une caméra vidéo, lui explique que « selon les directives du ministère de la Santé, il n’est pas possible d’accepter le sang spécial d’origine juive éthiopienne ». La députée s’insurge lors d’une interview sur la chaîne de télévision privée « 10 », contre « cet affront fait à toute une communauté en raison de la couleur de sa peau ».