Leah Biteolin: The Living Bridge

Smart, outgoing, stunning and accomplished, Leah Biteolin has made the best of the opportunity the Israeli government granted her family in 1984 by absorbing them amongst 100,000+ other Ethiopians since the early 1980's. Currently, she works on her law degree from Ono College in Israel, but her vocation has her serving as the "living bridge", executing city to city partnerships with Toronto & Switzerland to provide overwhelming support to vulnerable Ethiopian communities in Israel, Kiryat Moshe & Bat Yam.

Leah speaking at the General Assembly in Washington (2009)

Leah with soon-to-be Ethiopian-Israelis at an absorption centre in Ethiopia (2008)

Hoops 4 Israel has been fortunate enough to have benefited from the dedicated work of Leah since 2007. She has been intimately involved in introducing Canadian Birthright Israel groups to the situation of Ethiopian Israeli at-risk youth, to mentoring Jewish Hillel students in long-term volunteer programs in such communities for more than 3 years now.

“My first toothbrush was a gift from Americans who came to visit the absorption center in Kiryat Gat where we were living. It was very exciting,” remembers Leah Biteolin.

Her family risked everything to realize their dream of making aliyah from Ethiopia in 1984. Leah was three years old. Leah integrated quickly into Israeli society. She did her national service as a medic with Magen David Adom and later received her degree in political science and public communications from Bar Ilan University.

Leah with colleague and mentor, Laura Kindler (Representative of Partnership Communities)

Leah carries herself with a Mediterranean flare and zest for life, living each day to its fullest. Her dedication to her services with the Jewish agency and her partnership communities is astounding. “My work is really meaningful. We are creating a living link between Jewish communities everywhere and Israel,” says Leah.

The Bat-Yam - Toronto Partnership is already making the city a national example of successful integration through intensive investment in educational programs for Ethiopian-Israeli elementary and high school students, and vocational and professional training programs for their parents. “One example is the Youth Futures program,” says Leah, “which is helping children bridge critical educational, social and extracurricular gaps.”

Leah has been instrumental in acting as this bridge, connecting Federations from other cities, volunteers, Birthright Israel Participants and the Hoops 4 Israel project with the communities of Kiryat Moshe & Bat Yam. This blog post is just a little tribute to the great work Leah does for Israel, but to learn more or to get in touch with her, please contact dave@hoops4israel.com.