Hundreds of members of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel protested on Monday afternoon in the city of Haifa against the fatal shooting of an unarmed Ethiopian youth by an off-duty police officer a day earlier.

The policeman claimed that a group of young men had assaulted him and that he feared for his life, forcing him to use his weapon. The Haifa Magistrate’s Court later released the officer to house arrest.

Ethiopian activists have accused the Israeli police of racism.

Shelly Yachimovich MK of the Labour party said the young man, Solomon Tekah, 19 had been killed simply because he was Ethiopian, adding that the policeman would have never used his weapon if the quarrel had been with a group of white youths. </s> At least 47 police officers were injured and 60 people were arrested following protests across Israel after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed Ethiopian teen, Israeli authorities said Tuesday, reports Anadolu Agency.

Nineteen-year-old Solomon Tekah, a black Ethiopian Jew, was killed Sunday night when the off-duty officer fired at him in the Kiryat Haim neighborhood of Haifa. The incident triggered violent protests.

Protestors gathered in various cities and police intervened at times.

Protestors in the capital, Tel Aviv, the center of the demonstrations, blocked one of the main roads near Azrieli Tower, setting fire to the cars of drivers who wanted to pass through.

A kilometers-long traffic queue emerged in the capital following the protests.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the protestors to stop closing down roads and said he was saddened by Tekah’s death.

More than 140,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel. Between 1984 and 1991, some 80,000 Ethiopian Jews migrated to the country. Ethiopians – also called Falas – who lived isolated for years and were only recognized by Israeli religious authorities after a long while.

In previous years, Ethiopian Jews held demonstrations protesting against the racism and discrimination they allegedly faced in Israel. According to Israeli media outlets, 11 Ethiopians have died since 1997 during clashes with the police. </s> For young Ethiopian Israelis protesting on Tuesday against another police killing of a member of their community, this was not only an expression of anger against what they see as deep-rooted systematic police racism, but also a cry of frustration that repeated promises of change have come to nothing.

Across the country, thousands of demonstrators from the community and their supporters blocked roads to protest the fatal shooting of unarmed 19-year-old Solomon Tekah by an off-duty cop earlier this week. The protests continued through the night and frequently turned violent.

Police said 47 officers were injured on Tuesday and 60 demonstrators were arrested. It did not offer a tally on protester injuries. One demonstrator was moderately injured in a hit-and-run on Tuesday evening, medics said.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

At a busy Tel Aviv intersection where hundreds gathered to block traffic, the anger and mistrust of authority was palpable. Many people at the protest declined to be interviewed and those who agreed did so on condition that they not be identified.

Later Tuesday rioters smashed in the windshield of a car at this junction and set it on fire.

We are here to protest because “the racism and discrimination has been going on a long time,” A 30-something Ethiopian-Israeli from Tel Aviv told The Times of Israel. “The police can shoot a young man so easily and it’s because of their origin. If he hadn’t been Ethiopian it wouldn’t have ended the way it did.”

He expressed his frustration that there had been shootings of Ethiopians in the past and that nothing would likely change. “You feel like this can happen to you at any time. It’s a cycle that keeps turning infinitely.”

A 20-something woman in a sun dress from Nes Ziona in central Israel told the Times of Israel, “I am very emotionally distraught. You say to yourself–OK, it happened once but won’t happen again. The next time it happens you think, OK, maybe they’ll fix it, but when it becomes systematic, you think to yourself are our lives worth less?”

“”This boy,” she added, “his parents gave him everything they had. They raised him all these years and then some person gives himself permission to shoot him.”

Tekah was shot dead during an altercation in the Kiryat Haim neighborhood of Haifa on Sunday. An eyewitness to the shooting has reportedly told the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department that, contrary to the officer’s claims, he did not appear to have been in danger when he opened fire. The officer was briefly arrested before being released to house arrest, sparking further rage in the community.

While protests Monday against the police were primarily attended by Ethiopian-Israeli demonstrators, Tuesday saw a mobilization of members of the general Israeli public, who joined the chants against police brutality toward the minority community.

However, three Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers from Yafo sitting nearby said the racism was not just a police issue, but pervaded much of Israeli society.

“There’s discrimination against us,” one said. “We experience it every day, in school, in the neighborhood. At or school there are cliques and Ethiopians are separate, we hang out with each other.”

More than 140,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel, most are children of immigrants who came to Israel in the 1980s and 1990s. A large percentage of Ethiopian children grow up in poverty and have often struggled to integrate into Israeli society.

As protesters blocked traffic, some motorists took the delay in stride. One even emerged from his car to join the protest. Others began to shout and argue with the demonstrators.

“What if it were your son?” a protester asked an angry driver.

“You should be grateful we brought you here,” he snapped back.

A group of young women shouted, “not black nor white we are all people,” and “Police who are you protecting?”

Avi, 30, an Ethiopian-Israel from Ashkelon pointed out that this was the second police killing of an Ethiopian in six months, with more than a dozen occurring in the last five years.

“It’s easier for police to draw their guns when they see black,” said Avi.

“That‘s what we feel and that’s the reality. We want police to clean up their act. This can’t continue. These kids are our brothers and cousins.”

Avi said that he grew up in the Ethiopian neighborhood in Ashkelon, which he described as “basically an Ethiopian ghetto. You have these ghettos in many cities throughout Israel.”

When he was a child it was not uncommon to walk down the street be stopped by police who would ask you to empty your pockets and search you.

“It could even happen that a cop would hit you and then accuse you of hitting them. Not all police are bad but there are some bad ones.”

Avi said he believes police shoot Ethiopians out of an unconscious feeling of superiority.

“They wouldn’t dare take out their guns in (upscale) North Tel Aviv,” he said.

Avi said that the older generation accepted police mistreatment as normal. “But we grew up here and we explained to them it’s not okay.” </s> Ethiopian-Israeli demonstrators block a road in Netanya in protest at the killing of Solomon Teka, 18, by an off-duty officer which drew claims of police racism Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

Hundreds of Jews of Ethiopian origin gathered in Tel Aviv last night as police braced for a third night of violence after clashes across the country.

Parts of Israel have been brought to a halt by the violence that began after the shooting of an 18-year-old Ethiopian Israeli by an off-duty officer, an incident that the community claims is symptomatic of the harassment and abuses that it faces.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, called for calm after clashes at some of 23 protest sites. Demonstrators overturned and set fire to cars and pelted the police with stones, who responded with stun grenades and tear gas. About 110 officers and 30 protesters have been injured, and more than 130 people have been arrested. </s> JERUSALEM, Israel - Israel's streets were set ablaze Tuesday evening as hundreds of Ethiopian Jews and activists rioted and protested the shooting death of 19-year-old Israeli teen Solomon Tekah who was killed by an off-duty police officer Sunday.

Demonstrators throughout the country blocked several major highways, set streets on fire, and confronted police officers. Others peacefully held up pictures of the slain Ethiopian teen, chanted phrases, and mourned his death.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he mourns the "tragic death" of the Tekah but said police would not tolerate violence or road blockages.

"I know that there are problems that need to be solved. We have worked hard and need to work more to solve them. But I ask of you one thing. Stop blocking the roads. We are a nation of law; we will not tolerate the blocking of roads," Netanyahu said in a statement to the Ethiopian community.

Police said Wednesday 136 people were arrested following violent confrontations with police.

Israel's emergency medical service said it treated 83 people, including police officers, protestors and onlookers.

Israeli police say at least 110 officers were injured by the protests.

The demonstrations are expected to continue Wednesday evening at locations across the nation. They could potentially result in another bout of violence and mayhem.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Wednesday morning that he supported the right to protest but police will use whatever means necessary to stop the violence.

"The police have taken the necessary steps and gradually built up their strength and ability to cope with such a protest, but today if we see such a level of violence, the police will have no choice but to use all means to disperse demonstrations," he said.

Hours before the protests began on Tuesday, the Ethiopian community buried Tekah.

The off-duty police officer who killed Tekah Sunday evening said he was trying to break up a street fight involving "a number of youths."

A police statement said that when the officer approached the brawlers and told him he was a police officer, they began throwing rocks at him.

The officer said he shot and killed Teka after "feeling that his life was in danger."

Israel's Channel 12 news reports that the officer claims he aimed downwards and a bullet ricocheted from the ground and hit and killed Tekah.

An eyewitness challenges the policeman's account and claims he was not attacked.

Police said the officer was arrested and placed under house arrest while Israel's Internal Investigations Department conducts an official investigation into the killing.

Tekah's father Worka says he wants justice.

"Give me back my son," Tekah's father Worka cried as he attended his son's funeral, as reported by The Times of Israel.

"We are asking for justice. My son has already gone but I hope he will be the last victim. Do not cry for my son. We demand that the murderer get what he deserves and find justice. Help me in this struggle," he said.

Many in the Ethiopian community believe Tekah's death is a symptom of the larger issue of deep-seated prejudice towards Ethiopian Jews in Israel.

"Enough, they should stop that, the youngsters are afraid, afraid about what happened, why should they be killed? Why do they (the police) feel that they are killing a terrorist. They are not killing a terrorist, they are killing a Jew. It's upsetting, we have to put an end to that, enough, this really needs to end, enough," Sisai Alrish, an Ethiopian Israeli from Kiryat Malachi told the Associated Press.

There are approximately 135,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Israel opened its doors and brought many Ethiopians to the land in 1984 and 1991.

Click to learn more about Ethiopian Jews in Israel

However, many have struggled to integrate.

President Reuven Rivlin acknowledged the Ethiopian community's concerns and urged the country to unite.

"The agitation comes from a deep rift and a great prayer for making things better. We are all partners, we must all be partners in this process. We have no other choice. We have no other home," he said. </s> According to the Israel Police, over one hundred people have been arrested across the country in connection with the wave of protests sparked by the shooting of a young Israeli-Ethiopian man by an off-duty police officer on Sunday.

The protests dissolved into violent riots Tuesday night, following the funeral earlier in the day of 19-year-old Solomon Tekah. Police reported 136 arrests and 111 officers wounded across the country.

According to police, though an effort was made to act with restraint in the early hours of Tuesday’s demonstrations, when things became violent they were forced to act. Those arrested are being held for assaulting police officers, vandalism and disturbing public order, said police.

Tekah was shot in Haifa’s Kiryat Haim neighborhood on Sunday when an off-duty police officer attempted to break up a street fight among some youths at a playground he was visiting with his wife and children.

According to police, the officer claims that after he identified himself to the youths they began throwing stones at him. The officer, believing he and his family were in danger, fired his weapon at the ground. The officer claims the bullet ricocheted and struck Tekah in the chest. The officer’s version of events has reportedly been refuted by an eyewitness to the shooting.

The officer was arrested on suspicion of unlawful killing, but later released to house arrest by the Haifa Magistrate’s Court. He was placed under police protection due to fears for his safety, and a gag order was placed on the publication of his name for the same reason.

Demonstrators continued to block major roads overnight Tuesday. Images of cars being torched and roads strewn with debris have been circulating on social media.

Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan expressed his remorse for “the great sorrow and suffering” of the Ethiopian community in the wake of the killing, but said Wednesday morning that “today, if we see such a level of violence, police will have no choice but to use all means to disperse demonstrations.”

Activist leaders have called for protesters to gather on Wednesday afternoon at major intersections throughout to country. </s> Thousands of Israelis protested Tuesday against alleged police brutality toward Ethiopian Israelis across the country after police shot dead an Ethiopian Israeli teen.

Demonstrators blocked highways around the country, including a major thoroughfare through central Tel Aviv and the main highway into Jerusalem, snarling traffic late into the night. Protesters burned tires and held signs calling for justice. In Tel Aviv, a protester set a car on fire and demonstrators clashed with police.

Police said officers arrested 60 people believed involved in disturbances and at least 47 officers were wounded in clashes with protesters.

The protesters, led by activists from the country’s Ethiopian minority, demonstrated against perceived systematic discrimination by police toward the community after an off-duty officer shot and killed Solomon Teka, an 18-year-old Ethiopian Israeli, in a Haifa suburb on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement expressing sympathy for the Ethiopian community and acknowledging that “there are problems that need to be solved,” but warning demonstrators that the authorities “will not tolerate the blocking of roads.”

Thousands attended Teka’s funeral Tuesday. Police said the officer was arrested and was placed in protective custody by court order.

Ethiopian Israeli lawmakers and protesters, and Teka’s family have demanded that the involved officer be held accountable.

“I hope that he will be the last victim,” David Teka, Solomon’s father, said at the funeral. “We demand that the murderer receive what he deserves and justice is done.”

Ethiopian Jews began arriving in large numbers in the 1970s and many were airlifted to Israel in clandestine operations in the 1980s and ’90s during periods of unrest. Today, the Ethiopian community is estimated at approximately 150,000, or around 2 percent of the country’s population, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

While some of its members have made strides in certain fields, many Ethiopian Israelis complain of racism, lack of opportunity, endemic poverty and routine police harassment.

That frustration turned to public outcry and mass protests in 2015 after a police officer was filmed beating a uniformed Ethiopian Israeli soldier, and there have been sporadic demonstrations since.

Protesters say that in multiple instances of perceived police brutality, officers were not properly held accountable.

“What you see here is the frustration of an entire community that for 40 years is suffering discrimination,” a protester who identified himself only as Hanan told Kan, Israel’s public television. </s> The annual memorial ceremony for Jewish immigrants who died on the way to Israel from Ethiopia, June 5, 2016. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

As one of our loyal readers, we ask you to be our partner.

Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

It's only a matter of time before Israel's detractors, and they are legion, will jump on the truly heartrending killing of Ethiopian-born Israeli Solomon Tekah to prove “the rot in Israel's soul.”

“Israel is a racist country,” they will intone with sanctimonious self-righteousness. “It oppresses the Palestinians and treats the Ethiopians with equal disdain. Look how it kills Ethiopian youth.”

What happened at the playground in Kiryat Haim when an off-duty police officer shot and killed the 19-year-old Tekah is indeed a tragedy that needs to be fully investigated, and – if necessary – prosecuted. If indeed the off-duty police officer was trigger-happy and shot Tekah without justification than the book should be thrown at him.

The incident is first and foremost a tragedy for the Tekah family, who immigrated here from Ethiopia in 2013.

It is also a point of great concern for the Ethiopian community, still reeling from a similar incident just six months ago when Yehuda Biadga was killed by another police officer.

The tales of police profiling and harassment of Ethiopian youth are well known. I would not want to trade places with Ethiopian parents who, in addition to all the other regular worries they have regarding the upbringing of their children, also have to be concerned that their kids will be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and wrongly treated by the police.

The incident is also secondarily a public diplomacy nightmare for Israel, a country that prides itself – and presents itself abroad – as a land of great diversity; a land where Jews and Muslims and Christians – and people from all across the globe – enjoy the same rights and opportunities ... at least inside the Green Line.

And then this happens, and the refrain suddenly becomes, “Look how Israel treats the Ethiopians.”

Well, yes, let’s look.

It is difficult to find instances in history where one country spirited Africans out of their native continent not to sell them into slavery, but rather to bring them to freedom. Yet that is precisely what Israel did with the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry via Operation Moses and Operation Solomon in the last century.

In the process it has spent hundreds of billions of shekels to house, educate and train the immigrants. The amount of money the social welfare departments in local municipalities spend each year on Ethiopian immigrants is tremendous.

And it has had an effect.

At the end of 2016, according to a Myers-JDC-Brookdale study, there were 144,100 Ethiopian-Israelis in the country, 59% of whom were born in Ethiopia. In 2100/01 only 38% of Ethiopian high school students passed the matriculation exam, in 2015/2016 that number rose to 55%. In 2001 there were 747 Ethiopian students in institutions of higher education, in 2016 there were 3,194. The employment rate for Ethiopian men in 2016 was nearly equivalent to that of all Jewish men (80% to 81%), and for women it was 74%, compared to 80% for all Jewish women.

Which does not mean that the absorption process has been perfect, or that there is no racism in the society. It hasn't, and there is.

Every few months there are stories in the press of Ethiopians having trouble renting apartments or getting into a nightclub. More numerous, however, are the tales of kindness directed toward the community – both on an organizational and individual basis -- but those stories do not make news, because as the old aphorism goes, “dog bites man” is not a story.

Has the absorption of the Ethiopian community into mainstream Israeli society been without flaw? Obviously not. Were mistakes made? Myriad. Just as mistakes were made – huge mistakes – in bringing immigrants here in the 1940 and 1950s from North Africa and Yemen, and in the 1990s from the former Soviet Union.

Yet, if you ask those immigrants whether they would have been better off staying in the lands of their birth, or immigrating to Israel – with all the problems that they faced – most would probably say they are better off here.

Which also explains why years after Israel reportedly flew the last Jew out of Ethiopia, every year more and more people line up in Addis Ababa clamoring to come to this country – with all the problems and challenges facing the Ethiopian immigrants.

Israel is an imperfect society. There is discrimination, and there is racism, as there is in every other society. No more, unfortunately probably not that much less. But those who will now take this incident – as horrible as it is – to tarnish Israel as an inherently racist society are doing both Israel, and truth, a disservice.

On the whole, the Ethiopian immigration story has been a huge boon, both for Israel, and for the Ethiopian immigrants. Which does not mean that tragedies do not occur. And when these tragedies do take place, they should not be swept under the rug, but dealt with face on. At the same time, they should also not be used to unfairly paint the whole country – or the government – as being rotten to its core.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>> </s> The family of 19-year-old Solomon Tekah, who was killed by an off-duty police officer, called on protesters yesterday to refrain from violence after Tuesday’s demonstrations left more than 110 police officers wounded and 136 protesters arrested.



“We have lost a child, and we ask the public not to protest until the end of the shiva (mourning period) and to act with restraint and patience,” the family was quoted by Ynet as saying. “At the end of the shiva we will hold legitimate protests in an organized manner and in coordination with the relevant parties.

מפגינים שהגיעו להזדהות עם מחאת יוצאי אתיופיה, חוסמים את צומת עזריאלי תוך קריאות "מדינת משטרה" pic.twitter.com/DVI3EUPWlS — חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) July 3, 2019

“We call on all the youth and their parents to refrain from provocation and unnecessary violence,” the family continued, adding that the anger expressed in recent days “is anger that has accumulated over years of ongoing neglect, racism and especially the over-policing and unnecessary killing of our children.”Protests by the Ethiopian-Israeli community took place for a third day on Wednesday evening across the country as the family and authorities called for calm.Tekah was the second Ethiopian youth to be killed by police in the past six months.Close to 140,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel, most having flown to Israel in three covert military operations called Moses, Joshua, and Solomon, from 1984-1991. But Ethiopian-Israelis have struggled to integrate into Israeli society, and the community has long accused the state, including the military, of racism, neglect, brutality and abuse.Tekah’s father, Varkah, was quoted as saying that while the protesters have given him strength, he called on community members to refrain from violence. Varkah said that his son had plans to enlist in the police as part of his army service.“There are police officers who came to protect the people and do their work faithfully,” he said, adding nonetheless that there are a “few who enlisted in the police and use their weapons and their power.”Israeli police officers braced for violence on Wednesday and worked to prevent the blocking of central highways and junctions by protesters. They prepared with riot gear, along with vehicles which spray skunk water.Five protesters were arrested in Tel Aviv as some 200 protesters tried to block the Azrieli junction; five were arrested in Yavne after demonstrators threw stones at police officers; and two more were arrested in Rishon Lezion for using Molotov cocktails.Police urged protesters to refrain from using violence, and said they will move against anyone who acts in a dangerous or inappropriate manner. Bystanders were also urged by police to stay away from the areas where protests are taking place.Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the leaders of the Ethiopian-Israeli community to use their influence to stop violent protests.“The death of Solomon Tekah is a great tragedy,” the prime minister said. ”Our hearts are with the family and lessons will be learned, but one thing is clear: we cannot tolerate the violence we saw yesterday, we cannot see the blocking of roads, Molotov cocktails, attacks on police and citizens and private property. This is something that cannot be tolerated, and the police are preparing accordingly to prevent it.”Netanyahu’s words came at the start of a meeting that he convened of an inter-ministerial committee established to advance the integration of the Ethiopian immigrants into Israeli society. A number of community representatives are on that committee and were at the meeting.“We worked together and achieved important things for the Ethiopian community in Israel and we have more work to do,” Netanyahu said. “But the first thing I ask and expect is that you mobilize your influence to help stop this violence. It must stop immediately.”Netanyahu said that the Ethiopian-Israeli community “is dear to us,” but that Israel is a state of law, and demands that “everyone respect the law.”He said that the interministerial committee has previously discussed the need to change the pattern of the police toward the Ethiopian-Israeli community, and that while there has been improvements, more improvements are necessary.“One thing is certain,” Netanyahu continued. “This cannot be dealt with by blocking roads, and it cannot be dealt with violently.”Acting Police Commissioner Moti Cohen also warned protesters that violence would not be tolerated, saying that “there is no place for attacks on public officials, on institutions and property.”Cohen warned that “the incidents that took place yesterday will not be repeated... We will continue to respond proportionately, to distinguish between those exercising their right to protest in a democratic country, and those who incite and assault.”

var cont = `Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>



`; document.getElementById("linkPremium").innerHTML = cont; (function (v, i){ });
Following the fatal shooting of a young Ethiopian–Israeli man on June 30, countrywide riots in Israel result in more than 80 injuries.