Institutionalized racism in Isreal against Black Jews (Ethiopians)

[Holac]

 

Police on horseback charged at hundreds of ethnic Ethiopian citizens in central Tel Aviv on Sunday as an anti-racism protest descended into one of the most violent demonstrations in Israel’s commercial capital in years.

 

The protesters, who included several thousand people from Israel’s Jewish Ethiopian minority, were demonstrating against what they say is police brutality after the emergence last week of a video clip that showed policemen shoving and punching a black soldier.

 

Demonstrators overturned a police car, smashed shop windows, destroyed property and threw bottles and stones at officers in riot gear at Rabin Square in the heart of the city.

 

Tensions subsided after midnight and police said they would be far less accommodating of similar demonstrations.

 

At least 56 officers and 12 protesters were injured, some requiring hospital treatment, police and an ambulance service official said. Forty-three people were arrested.

 

Police used water cannons and stun grenades to try to clear the crowds. Israeli television stations said teargas was also used, something the police declined to confirm.

[Holac]

Does anyone care about Israel's institutionalized racism?

 

The attack on an Israeli Ethiopian by a police officer left everyone shocked because demeaning the IDF uniform was more painful than demeaning a young man.

 

Incidents like the recent brutal assault on an IDF soldier by police officers no longer shock Israel's Ethiopian community; they've become a matter of routine for citizens who feel like the Israel Police's punch bag.

 

Yes, that's the reality in the neighborhoods in which the community resides. Police brutality is a daily occurrence. Not a day goes by without me getting a call from a mother whose son has been beaten for no reason, from a youth who is facing criminal charges, from a pedestrian who was stopped by police and slapped around a little. It's become the way of life – and it's all down to the color of our skin.

 

Police officers attacking an Israeli soldier of Ethiopian origin

Police officers attacking an Israeli soldier of Ethiopian origin

 

Something here just doesn't make any sense. Why is it that a significant number of Ethiopian youths are walking around with criminal records? What makes an Ethiopian youth cross to the other side of the street when he sees a policeman on the sidewalk? How come those who, as Mizrahim, once cried discrimination are now the ones who are racist and violent?

 

Integration Struggles

Challenging journey of integration for Ethiopians in Israel / Yotam Rozenwald, Tazpit

Cultural differences, language barrier, relative older age of Ethiopians who immigrated to Israel, creates hardships for members of Ethiopian-Jewish community.

Click here for full article

Yes, it needs to be said loud and clear: The police force – from the commissioner and down to the very last officer – is comprised primarily of members of the Mizrahi ethnic groups.

 

The latest incident left everyone shocked because the victim of the police brutality was a soldier. The demeaning of the uniform was more painful than the demeaning of the young man. So how come racism directed against Ethiopian immigrants no longer moves anyone? Why do we no longer get excited when police officers beat Ethiopian youths and the case against them is closed? How come no one speaks up? How can it be that no one cares about racism?

 

Now is the time to issue a warning: Failure on the part of the police leadership to put a stop to the unrestrained brutality against immigrants of Ethiopian descent will lead to a black intifada, with harsh acts of violence – and you, too, will pay the price. Many members of the Ethiopian community feel they have been paying the price for three decades now – and the despair is mounting.

 

The prime minister condemned the attack on the Israel Defense Forces officer in Mea She'arim – and rightly so. But he chose not to condemn an attack on a soldier by a policeman. Perhaps because the victim isn't an officer. Perhaps because he's black. Or perhaps Benjamin Netanyahu, like many Israeli citizens, tends to turn a blind eye to the rising violence against Ethiopians.

 

Beware; a battered woman can be pushed too far too. One day, she will fight back or walk out to save her life. And we, members of the Ethiopian community, like that battered woman, are at that point in time.

 

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4651555,00.html

[Holac]

This is the video that sparked the recent demos. An Isreali soldier wearing IDF uniform who happens to be Ethiopian Isreali is attacked by police and it was caught on camera.

 

[Holac]

Video of yesterday's police violence against demonstrators.

 

[Safferz]

An apartheid state founded on settler-colonialism is racist to non-white Jews too, shocking