Avera Mengistu
Avera Mengistu
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Abraham "Avera" Mengisto was born in Ethiopia, and when he was five years old he made Aliyah with his parents and siblings during Operation Shlomo. He grew up in Ashkelon alongside nine siblings.
Avera is an Israeli citizen who has been missing since 2014, after entering Gaza. Mentally ill, Avera crossed the perimeter fence into the Gaza Strip in the Zikim Beach area and has been held by Hamas ever since.
In 2015, the Mengistu family visited Geneva to urge human rights groups, including the Red Cross and Amnesty International, to help secure Avera’s return from Hamas captivity in Israel. The family provided medical documentation of his mental health condition and proved that he never served in the military, nor did he carry any weapons. Israel sought the Red Cross's aid in Gaza for his release. In 2017, they toured the U.S. for the same cause, documented by media, engaging with UN officials in New York, Jewish and diplomatic representatives from the U.S., Ethiopia, the EU, and the Red Cross, and visited the White House to meet the President's Middle East envoy.
Avera Mengistu has been held in Gaza for over a decade. His family and the community anxiously await Avera’s safe return home.
Singer-song writer Shlomi Shabbat wrote, composed and sings with Eden Elena this song for Avera, מה אתה עובר:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2uD1IBdLng
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