Hadas Malada-Matsree’s early life plays like an action-packed TV drama. Her father, an Ethiopian-born Mossad agent, clandestinely helped orchestrate the rescue and immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel through Sudan from 1976.
In 1988, he led his last operation when he brought his young family to Israel. Malada-Matsree was three years old when she began the long trek to Sudan with her parents and four siblings.
“We walked for six weeks by foot, across the desert, careful to hide our identity as Jews,” she recounts. “My father hired a guide to walk with us and to protect us. In the end, our guide sold us out and told the Sudanese soldiers at the border that we were Jews.”
The family was sent to a Sudanese refugee camp, where disease was rampant – malaria, hepatitis, and dysentery. For 10 months, they languished in the camp, receiving little more than flour and water to make pitas.
Malada-Matsree became very ill, suffering from severe malnutrition and malaria. Her parents did not think that their little girl would survive until they were brought to Israel.
“At the last minute, just when my parents gave up hope, they were woken in the middle of the night and told to walk to a place where a truck was waiting for us,” she says. “The truck took us to a plane, where Mossad agents and IDF soldiers awaited, and they airlifted us to Israel. As trite as this sounds, it was truly a miracle.”
The family was brought to an absorption center in the southern desert city of Arad, and she was hospitalized at Soroka Medical Center. “The doctors and staff there saved my life, and as young as I was, I remember thinking that when I grow up I will become a doctor and also save lives.”
Working as a doctor to save lives
This has guided Malada-Matsree’s incredible journey as an Israeli.
She attributes her family’s acclimation to the fact that the absorption center was home to new immigrants from all over the world, not just those from the Ethiopian community. The volunteers at the center were also from all walks of life.
“This enriched our lives, opened our eyes to new people, different cultures, and entire new worlds than what we had left behind in Ethiopia,” she says.
The family spent five years at the absorption center, and then moved to Beersheba. Her father worked at jobs that required physical labor, and her mother took care of the growing family of 11 children. “We might have been financially poor, but we had such a rich family life and upbringing,” she says.
MALADA-MATSREE was a bright, determined child. She quickly learned Hebrew and integrated into life in Israel. She was an outstanding student from elementary through high school, and she set her sights on doing meaningful military service and going to medical school.
By chance, she was introduced to the Atidim program, which changed her life. She was accepted to Atidim’s Academic Reserves program, where she attended medical school before the army, and then joined the professional army as a doctor. She was the first Ethiopian female IDF doctor.
“During this time, the people at Atidim were like family to me,” she recalls. “They helped me to navigate many challenges and were so invested in my success. I was invited, along with my family, to Passover Seders, where I met amazing people, including former defense minister and Atidim founder Shaul Mofaz.”
At the end of her military service, Malada-Matsree chose to specialize in family medicine, attracted to the idea of working with patients long term.
In 2008, she married Yonathan, an architect, and they settled on Kibbutz Kramim in the northern Negev. They have five children, ranging in age from four to 13.
Malada-Matsree now sits on the management board of Clalit Health Services’ Southern District. Clalit is the largest healthcare provider in Israel. She participated in a prestigious program for leaders in the health sector and is now studying for her master’s degree in health systems management.
Alongside her job as a physician and regional manager, she is a vocal health activist. In 2016, she founded the Forum for the Advancement of Health for Ethiopian-Israelis, to close critical health gaps for this community.
“We are now a group of 400 Ethiopian health professionals who are working with the Health Ministry to change access to healthcare for the Ethiopian community,” she explains.
WITH THE outbreak of war following Oct. 7, both Malada-Matsree and her husband, who serves in the Home Front Command, were called up for emergency reserve duty.
At first, her husband went, but as he was driving to his base the enormity of the situation set in, and the army told him to turn around and for Malada-Matsree to report immediately to a southern base. The need for medical doctors in the field was critical.
She spent a total of 250 days in reserve duty, and the horrific images she saw remain with her. She was a commander of a medical field unit and was promoted to the rank of major. With all that she experienced, one incident on Oct. 7 stands out starkly for her.
“My unit was called to the field on Oct. 7. There were five Golani soldiers who were seriously wounded. Amid the ongoing terrorist attacks and missiles falling, we gave the soldiers first aid in the field. When a helicopter finally arrived, it ran out of gas, and although we saved three of the soldiers, we lost two. It was heartbreaking,” she says.
Returning to civilian life was very difficult. She is grateful to her husband and children, who she said understood the situation and were always by her side. “My children were proud of their mother who was helping the country and giving back. These are the values we are raising them with,” she asserts.
Malada-Matsree has been the recipient of many awards for her work in the health sector and her ardent social activism, especially for the Ethiopian-Israeli community. In 2019, she was featured on The Jerusalem Post’s list of 50 Most Influential Jews.
“Israel is a great nation,” she says. “We need to do all that we can to come together in unity, respect each other, and find common ground to continue to build a Jewish and democratic country that we can all be proud of.” ■
Hadas Malada-Matsree, 40: From Ethiopia to Beersheba, 1988