Approximately 1,000 Ethiopian Israelis protested across Jerusalem, Thursday night, to demonstrate against the Israeli police. The protests turned violent as bottles, rocks and other debris was thrown at Israeli Security Forces.
Water cannons, tear gas, horses, and other riot gear was brought in after all efforts to defuse the situation failed.
A video surfaced earlier this week that showed two policemen assaulting an Ethiopian IDF soldier in an apparently unprovoked attack.
The soldier is a member of Israel’s Ethiopian community and community leaders lament what they call police brutality against members of the community of a regular basis. It is pointed out that the Ethiopian community in Israel has protested against police brutality on numerous occasions. Community officials tell the media that too often when police arrest a member of the community, too often they do not hesitate to use unjustifiable force.
Israel Police Chief Yochanan Danino announced this week that the policeman caught on video beating a uniformed IDF soldier has been suspended and he will be dismissed from the force following a department hearing. Danino, who has been committed to weeding out corruption in his department stated “there is no room for officers like this in the department”.
Despite Danino making this statement, protesters took to the streets on Thursday night.
We’ve had enough! No to racism, no to discrimination. Our democracy is at risk. Enough to police violence,” protesters said, blocking the entrance to Jerusalem and its main artery.
“Apparently the streets of Israel must burn like they do in Baltimore, in order for someone to finally wake up. The apartheid regime is back, this time in 21st century Israel,” Gadi Yevarkan, head of the Campaign for Equality for Ethiopian Jews, told Ynet.
