Quick Facts
Biography
Dr. Hadas Malada-Matzri (born 1984) is the first Ethiopian Israeli female doctor in the Israel Defense Forces. She earned a medical degree from Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba and served as a medical officer with the rank of Captain in the Israel Defense Forces.
Malada-Matzri was born in Ethiopia and emigrated to Israel in 1988 in Operation Solomon. At that time, she suffered from malnutrition and malaria that she had contracted in a Sudan refugee camp. She spent her first six months in Israel in rehabilitation and has said in interviews that this experience is what led her to become a doctor.
She is a vocal activist against racism and works to promote the full inclusion of Ethiopian children in educational and social opportunities. Malada-Matzri helped found the Ethiopian Israeli Health Promotion Forum, a group of over 400 doctors, nurses, and other health professionals from Ethiopian-Israeli backgrounds.