I am a historian by training, with more than fifteen years of experience in teaching, research and providing community services in Ethiopian higher education. As a person with a very close association with Ethiopian Jews (I was born and raised in Dembia district of northwest Ethiopia that boasted a large Beta Israel community until the 1990s), I showed a keen interest to study and conduct research on this community from a very early age. I have presented research papers in connection with the Ethiopian Jews at national and international conferences. I have served in different administrative positions including as Head of the Department of History and Heritage Management at the University of Gondar. I am currently a PhD candidate in History at the Queen's University, Canada and part of my research lies in exploring the various ways Ethiopian Jews had interacted with both the state and other societies in Ethiopia over the longue durée.