Ethel Melka

Shalom! My name is Ethel, and here is a little bit about myself: I live in Jerusalem with my spouse Adyel and our beloved daughter Toam Simha (in Hebrew, toam means “harmony” and simha means “happiness”).

‏I was born in France, and made aliyah (moved to Israel) with my family at the age of 3 to realize our Zionist aspirations. I grew up in Tel Aviv, in a family that taught me to love others. I served in the army as the IDF spokesperson of the Samaria area. When I finished my service, I went on a long journey, in Israel and abroad, in search of meaning through simplicity: walking and meeting other People. Those journeys brought me a lot of light and spirit.

I graduated from Shalem College with a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, where I also learnt Arabic. For the past few years, I have been active in Roots as well as other initiatives that I find deeply fulfilling.

At Roots, I serve as the Israeli co-Director of both the Alumni Program and the Women’s Group, and coordinate various additional programs and groups, including a group of yeshiva students and their Palestinian peers.

I also give lectures about the conflict through the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute’s “Forum for Regional Thinking,” and participate in a variety of peace seminars and meetings through several other organizations.

I dedicate so much time and energy to these activities in order to preserve and expand the peace movement in the hearts and lives of the people in our region.