{Ethiopian Foreign Ministry expresses concern over ‘police brutality’ in Israel and ‘years of widespread discrimination’.}
The Ethiopian government has expressed concern over Israeli authorities’ treatment of Ethiopian-Israelis. It appears Addis Ababa has been following the violent clashes over the past few weeks between Israelis of Ethiopian origin and police, while several Ethiopian news outlets accused Israel of racism and brutality towards Ethiopian Israelis.
The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry issued a statement several days ago that, while cautious of openly criticizing the Israeli government, extensively quoted Israeli leaders admitting the mistakes made in the integration of Ethiopian Jews. Among others, President Reuven Rivlin is quoted as saying that “Israel has made mistakes in handling the Ethiopian Jewish community,” and described their suffering as an “open and bleeding wound in the heart of Israeli society.”
The ministry’s statement said that “President Rivlin’s statement comes after thousands of Israeli Ethiopians took to the streets to protest police brutality. Israeli Ethiopians claim that their community, which is estimated at more than 130,000 people, has been suffering from widespread discrimination for many years.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with representatives of the community and attempted to lower the tensions, after the police fired stun grenades and used water cannons to disperse crowds of protesters in Tel Aviv. Officers arrested 43 demonstrators.”
The message further stated: “The violence originally erupted in Jerusalem ten days ago, when a large crowd confronted the police at a protest over the beating of an Ethiopian-Israeli IDF soldier, Damas Pakada. The prime minister called for calm and said that he strongly condemned the beating and called for those responsible to be held accountable. Netanyahu also said that the Ethiopian immigrants are dear to everyone and that the State of Israel is taking many steps to ease their integration into society.”
{{Source: ynetnews.com}}
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