Ethiopian-Israelis Protest in Tel Aviv Over Police Treatment
“Ethiopian-Israeli citizens strongly believe that they are discriminated against and harassed,” Mr. Ben-Porat said. “Young Ethiopian males in particular feel the police are out to get them and that they won’t get justice,” he added.
The Israeli correction authorities do not provide ethnic or racial breakdowns of prisoners, but Ethiopian activists recently told a parliamentary committee that about 30 percent of the juveniles in Israeli prisons were of Ethiopian descent. A government official who asked not to be named to discuss a politically sensitive topic said the figure was actually about 15 percent to 20 percent. Yet that is still disproportionately high considering that Ethiopian-Israelis make up less than 2 percent of the country’s population of about 8 million.