Galia Sabar (, born 1963, Israel) is the president of Ruppin Academic Center, one of Israel leading public colleges. Prior, she was a professor of African Studies at Tel Aviv University and the Chair of African Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University, where she also served as the coordinator of African Studies at the S. Daniel Abraham Center for International and Regional Studies. Sabar has published seven books and dozens of articles in professional journals. In addition to her academic research, Sabar has been a leading social activist in Israel mainly in relation to Ethiopian immigrants as well as in partnership with various NGOs assisting African labor migrants and asylum seekers. In May 2009, in recognition of her work combining academic rigor with social activism, Sabar received the Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award, sponsored by the international organization Wisdom in Action and delivered by the 14th Dalai Lama.
Academic background
Sabar earned a bachelor's degree with distinction in Middle Eastern History and African History at Tel Aviv University in 1985. In 1982, while still an undergraduate, she traveled to Ethiopia to guide a group of American Jews who supported the clandestine Operation Moses (at the time not yet given that name). Between 1982 and 1984, she visited Ethiopia over 20 times, providing funds and information for Ethiopian Jews prior to their journey to Sudan. These two years in Ethiopia had a profound impact on her life, and since then she has continued to visit the continent, with the aim of conducting research as well as for purposes of social and public engagement. In 1987 she received a master's degree in African Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, which she completed summa cum laude. Her graduate dissertation, supervised by Professor Mordechai Abir, examined Ethiopia's post-revolution consolidation of national identity.
In 1989, Sabar moved with her family to Kenya, where she stayed for three years gathering data for her doctorate. Though the research commenced with the disciplines of history and political science in mind, it eventually shifted to anthropology. In 1993, Sabar received her doctorate in African Studies from Hebrew University. Her research focused on the complex relations between church, state, and society in Kenya, and was supervised by Professor Naomi Chazan and Professor Steven Kaplan. In 1994, she began lecturing at the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University. In 1996, she returned to Kenya, where she led an international research group that examined socio-political aspects of the AIDS epidemic in collaboration with Professor Sobbie Mulindi of Kenyatta National Hospital. Since 1998 Sabar has focused her research on African labor migrants and asylum seekers in Israel.
In May 2009, Sabar received the Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award, sponsored by the international organization Wisdom in Action and delivered by the Dalai Lama. The prize is awarded once in several years, and so far it has been given to 150 people worldwide. Sabar was awarded in appreciation of her long and dedicated involvement in both research and social activism in issues pertaining to Ethiopian Jewry as well as to African labor migrants in Israel, and for bringing these issues to the Israeli public eye. Sabar, together with Ms. Ibtisam Mahamid are the first Israelis to be awarded this prize. Sabar received the prize in a ceremony held in San Francisco in May 2009, along with 49 other activists worldwide.
Personal life
Together with her partner, Ofer Shechter, Sabar is raising five children: Matan, Noam, Yuval, Or and Bar.
Social Involvement
Sabar is a volunteer board member in four organizations: the Jerusalem AIDS Project (JAIP), IRAC - the Israel Religious Action Center of the Jewish Reform movement, the Hotline for Migrant Workers and NALA, an Israeli-based foundation providing consultation about and implementation of programs for infectious disease control in Africa. Since 2011, Sabar has co-organized, together with Dr. Shiri Tenenbaum, several different courses and workshops aimed at the promotion of health and human rights for African refugees and asylum seekers in Israel. Two of the courses addressed Israeli health workers and two addressed migrants and refugees themselves. All courses were held in collaboration with the "Social Clinic" at Sheba Hospital.