For the first time, the President's Residence hosted the central celebration of the Ethiopian community's holiday of Sigd in Jerusalem Monday morning. President Shimon Peres opened a series of holiday events by hosting a number of successful members of the community.

At the start of the ceremony, the president said, "In your name and mine, I want to declare the opening of the holiday of Sigd. The festival enriches and diversifies our lives. It is full of Jewish values: the love of G-d, the love of humanity, the love of one for one's neighbor and one's love for the Creator."