June 20- Collaboration Day/Speaker

On Thursday, June 20th we had the fantastic opportunity to hear Netanel, a current medical scholar at ENP and student at Hebrew University in Jerusalem Israel, speak about his life experiences through the hardships life had to offer him. He began by unpacking his family history when his parents came to Israel after traveling by foot in the desert for 3-4 weeks.

    Following his parents' story is his story. He shares with us how he grew up in Be’er Sheva where he would tag along with his mother to her workplace, a doctor's office. Netanel’s role was a translator for his mothers patients because she spoke Hamrat, the national language of Ethiopia and did not speak Hebrew. All of his experience at such a young age prompted him to follow his mothers footsteps. This was not all he shared about his childhood. He expressed that his mother was diabetic while simultaneously being pregnant with twins. This created a lot of stress on young Netanel. Following this stress, a few years later, his parents got divorced, just adding more and more stress. 

While these two events made me sympathize for the great deal of pain he went through, what stuck out the most to me was Netanel’s answer to the question “When was the first time you remember experiencing racism?” He responded with a detail that his family was the first Ethiopian family in their neighborhood. Then he continued with a story where at 5 years old he was outside in his front yard when a police officer approached him and asked him what he was doing there. He then explained the truth, that he lives there. The officer did not believe him so he took the unnecessary measures to have Netanel walk him to his home, where his mother answered the door very shocked. While there is no question this is a transparent instance of racism, which tends to bring someone down, this experience did the opposite. He learned a very tough lesson that shaped his whole perspective as a black Israeli; there are people that will try to make him feel weaker, but it is important to stay strong. 

After the disclosing of Netanel’s childhood, the conversation transitioned into his current stage in life. He is an extremely impressive young man. He is a full time medical student, is enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces, and still has time for his family, is a very relaxed individual and lives his life to the absolute fullest. Netanel is a very inspiring young man and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to hear his impressive story.

-Shari Spiegel