Protests by Ethiopian Jews in Israel Turn Violent

As large protests by Ethiopian Jews in Israel against "racial discrimination" escalated into violence, the Israeli Prime Minister met with their leaders to calm the group of immigrants. Following the release of a video in Israeli media in recent days showing several Israeli police officers brutally beating an Ethiopian soldier in the street, tens of thousands of Ethiopian Israelis protested in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The beaten soldier, wearing his military uniform, was riding his bicycle and passing through a poor neighborhood when he was attacked. After the beating, other police forces arrived to intimidate him. While last Thursday's protest by Ethiopians in Jerusalem against "racist behaviors" ended violently, a second large protest on Sunday, May 2, in Tel Aviv was also met with violence when mounted police charged into the demonstrators. According to Israeli media reports, at least fifty Ethiopians were injured during the Tel Aviv protest, mostly due to encounters with police horses. The police also arrested about 25 young protesters and filed charges against them on Monday, May 3, in a Tel Aviv court for "rioting" and "assaulting police." Israeli media report that activists from the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel plan to continue their protests in the coming days despite the significant violence used by police against them. They have organized another demonstration this week in Jerusalem, and at the time when Benjamin Netanyahu met with a delegation of Ethiopian activists on Monday, May 3, police blocked streets around the Prime Minister's office to prevent any gatherings of Ethiopians. Netanyahu stated that he would meet with the soldier who was beaten by police, which sparked the new unrest among Ethiopians. Activists from the Ethiopian community claim that Israel still does not consider them equal citizens and has deprived them of equal privileges due to their skin color and heritage, particularly denying jobs to the youth of this community. Israel brought Ethiopian Jews, known as "Falashmura," to the country in two waves during the 1980s and 1990s. However, it took years for Israeli Jewish institutions to accept these immigrants as Jews. Even now, ultra-Orthodox Jewish institutions do not recognize Ethiopians as "Jewish." Israeli media previously reported that even in some schools, white students' parents have refused to allow their children to be in a class with Ethiopian immigrant students. Reports of "discrimination" against Ethiopians come at a time when Russian immigrants to Israel enjoy many privileges and have very low unemployment rates. Activists from the Ethiopian community say, "While the first generation of these immigrants endured every humiliation, the new generation is not willing to accept this racial discrimination and being treated as second-class citizens." According to Israel Radio, Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, acknowledged on Monday, May 3, that Israel has made "mistakes" in its treatment of Ethiopians, stating that the protests by Ethiopian Jews have "opened a festering sore that needs to be addressed." The rebellion of the new generation of Ethiopians in Israel coincided with the global headlines of protests by Black Americans in Baltimore, Maryland.