ethiopian israelis

Israeli police surround an Ethiopian Israeli woman at a protest following the police killing of a young black man a few days earlier, Jerusalem, July 15, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

How ‘cultural racism’ helps Israelis rationalize inequality, discrimination

‘Cultural racism’ blames minorities for their inequality by suggesting that their low social position is due to a lack of effort or failure to adjust to a Western way of life. But active and institutional racism is the real culprit. By Rachel Shenhav-Goldberg It has been 35 years since Ethiopians immigrated to Israel, after leaving…

By +972 Magazine July 29, 2019

Israeli police officers arrest an Ethiopian Israeli demonstrator during a protest against police brutality and racism in central Tel Aviv, July 3, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

As a Palestinian woman, it is my duty to support the Ethiopian struggle

As the most oppressed group in Israeli society, Palestinian citizens of Israel have an obligation to stand with the Ethiopian Israelis protesting against racism and police brutality. The “Black Intifada” erupted just as I was in the middle of a trip to Morocco with my mother. Yet even there, in that quiet kingdom, thousands of kilometers from home, it…

By Samah Salaime July 15, 2019

Israeli police remove an Ethiopian-Israeli from a demonstration on Ayalon Highway following the police shooting of Solomon Tekah, July 2, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Ethiopians have an opportunity at solidarity with Palestinians. Will they take it?

Solomon Tekah was shot and killed by an Israeli police officer because he was black. As a Palestinian I know exactly what that feels like. By Ashraf Ghandour For over a week I have watched Ethiopian Israelis conduct a loud and righteous struggle against the systematic racism that has held them down for 35 years.…

By +972 Magazine July 9, 2019

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Police arrest a demonstrator taking part a protest attended by thousands of Israeli-Ethiopians against police violence and racism, Tel Aviv. May 3, 2015. (Ben Kelmer/Flash90)

In Israel just as NY, racial profiling harms more than just victims of police killings

The judge who oversaw New York City’s stop and frisk case for nearly a decade responds to the shooting of an unarmed black man in northern Israel. By Shira Scheindlin I have been reading, with a troubling sense of déjà vu, about the police shooting of Solomon Tekah, an unarmed Ethiopian-Israeli man, in Haifa last week. As the judge…

By +972 Magazine July 7, 2019

An Ethiopian Israeli woman confronts police officers during a protest by the Ethiopian community against police brutality, following the killing of Solomon Tekah, July 3, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

‘They’re killing our brothers’: Why Ethiopians shut down Israel for a day

They’re angry at the media, have lost faith in the establishment, and know that just like other Ethiopian Israelis before them, they too may pay a price for the color of their skin. The demonstrators who protested in Tel Aviv yesterday were not ‘anarchists’ — they were frightened young women and men who want to show they haven’t lost their…

By +972 Magazine July 3, 2019

Ethiopian-Israelis demonstrate against police brutality and racism, Rabin square, Tel Aviv, May 3, 2015. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

14 Israeli citizens killed by police in five years, not a single indictment

Over the past five years, police have shot dead 14 Israeli citizens. The department tasked with investigating the killings has closed all but two of the cases. Almost all the suspects were people of color. The police killing of 24-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli Yehuda Biadga last month sparked outrage among the Ethiopian community in Israel. Many believe…

By Oren Ziv February 4, 2019

Thousands of Ethiopian Israelis and their supporters marched against police violence in Tel Aviv on Jan. 30, 2018, weeks following the fatal police shooting of Yehuda Biadga. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

‘To be Ethiopian in Israel is to be constantly struggling for something’

The shooting of Yehuda Biadga reignited tensions between Israel’s Ethiopian community and police, who have long been accused of using a heavy hand against the country’s minorities. ‘Police brutality is a result of racism against black people in this country,’ Ziva Mekonen-Degu says. For the third time in as many years, thousands of Ethiopian citizens…

By Edo Konrad February 1, 2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Marc Israel Sellem/GPO)

Benjamin Netanyahu is a fake supporter of democracy

Israel’s prime minister wants Iranian protesters to know they have his full support in their struggle against their government. The same can’t be said about millions of people under his own government’s rule. Benjamin Netanyahu likes to present himself as a fervent supporter of democracy and pro-democracy protests. In fact he is a very selective…

By Edo Konrad June 29, 2018

Ta-Nehisi Coates at the University of Virginia, January 22, 2015. (Eduardo Montes-Bradley/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Between Ramle and Me: Reading Ta-Nehisi Coates in Hebrew

Three activists, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, an Ethiopian Israeli, and a veteran Mizrahi organizer discuss the applicability of Ta-Nehesi Coates’s ‘Between the World and Me’ to their struggles in Israel. The killing of black men by police in the United States has, over much of the past half-decade, thrust the issue of American racism back into the…

By Edo Konrad January 15, 2018

Police arrest a demonstrator during a protest by thousands of Israeli-Ethiopians in Tel Aviv against violence and racism, May 3, 2015. (Ben Kelmer/Flash90)

WATCH: Ethiopian-Israelis take struggle to the corridors of power

Two years have passed since Ethiopian-Israelis took the streets to protest police brutality and widespread inequality. Now they are bringing their struggle to the Knesset, which recently marked a ‘Day for Equality for Ethiopian Immigrants.’ Members of Knesset, government officials, and social activists joined together to discuss discrimination in housing, budget allocation, higher education, and more.…

By Social TV June 15, 2017

Hundreds demonstrate to call for the release of Averu Mengistu, missing in Gaza for nearly three years, Tel Aviv, June 3, 2017. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Hundreds call for release of Ethiopian-Israeli held in Gaza

Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to call for the release of Avera Mengistu, who has been missing in Gaza for 1,000 days. In nearby Petah Tikva, hundreds demonstrated against police brutality and threats to freedom of expression. Photos: Oren Ziv / Activestills (Tel Aviv), Orly Noy (Petah Tikva) Hundreds of people marched down…

By Activestills June 3, 2017

Demonstrators confront police during a protest against police brutality targeting Israelis of Ethiopian descent, July 3, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israeli police have a taser problem

Out of over 180 complaints filed over taser use by police between 2014-2016, only 12 cases were actually investigated. Not a single officer was indicted. By Sapir Sluzker-Amran Yosef Salamsa was supposed to celebrate his 25th birthday last month. His tragic death, which took place several months after Israeli police tasseled him without any justification,…

By +972 Magazine January 17, 2017

Thousands of left-wing activists call for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to the increase in violent Palestinian attacks, Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, October 25, 2015. (photo: Gili Yaari/Flash90)

The guide for leftists who want to stop preaching to the choir

For years the Israeli Left has excluded the vast majority of the country from its ranks. Here are eight steps on how to broaden the tent. By Noam Shuster-Eliassi Over the past several years, various writers and NGOs have finally come to the conclusion that the Israeli peace camp is on its death bed, and…

By +972 Magazine January 7, 2017