ADL brings Israelis to the United States to expose Americans to Israel’s diversity and vibrancy.  From 1992 to 2004, the Anti-Defamation League’s Children of the Dream program took over 140 Ethiopian immigrants to Israel to the United States with the aim of challenging perceptions and stereotypes about Jews and Israel, and to engage in peer-to-peer dialogue with American youth on race, discrimination, persecution and immigration. They shared their experiences as Ethiopian-born Israeli teenagers who accepted Israel as their “land of the dream.”  Although originally designed as a program to educate Americans about Ethiopian Jews and Israel, the program also enriched the lives of the Ethiopian students themselves.

Danny Sahalo

1998 Children of the Dream Participant, visited San Francisco

“It wasn’t until I had immigrated to Israel when I was four years old that I realized that not all Jews were black. Years later, the ADL gave me another epiphany when it accepted me to their Children of the Dream program. It opened my eyes. Traveling to the United States and meeting with American youth made me see things differently, about my country and about myself. As much as I had thought that Israel was huge and gigantic, I learned that Israel was not. For me, participating in the program gave me direction and set me on the path to reaching my dream to be an Israeli diplomat. I saw how small we are and how much our country needs help from the outside.

“The contact with the Anti-Defamation League in Israel was very instrumental in helping me develop skills I have today. In their preparatory meetings before we set out on our mission, we were taught how to speak before a crowd, convey our feelings, and be proud of who we are. And that is something I truly appreciate to this day. Being a participant in Children of the Dream, I believe, also opened my eyes to many things that I only realized later.

“When I first heard of the ADL I thought it was only an organization fighting anti-Semitism. But I learned that it was much more than that. It is against the defamation of all minorities and as a minority I found that very impressive. I know it sounds kind of corny, but the issue of equality at all times, no matter our skin color or what have you, is what the ADL is all about. I have remained in touch with the ADL until this day. I help out the Israel Office whenever I can by sharing with groups my experience as a minority and an immigrant.”