Fighting Fire with Fire

After an off-duty police officer shot and killed Solomon Tekah, an Ethiopian-Israeli teenager, in Haifa on June 30th, mass protests and riots erupted across Israel. Tekah’s killing is only the most recent incident of police violence against Ethiopian-Israelis. Less than a year ago, Yehuda Bigada was shot to death by a police officer in Bat Yam. After Tekah’s killing, activists published a list of 12 names of Ethiopian-Israelis who were killed or committed suicide after suffering from police violence in the last 20 years. Young Ethiopian-Israelis I spoke with this week say that they feel endangered every time they go out into the streets because of over-policing in their neighborhoods. They promised that this time, the protests will continue until the police violence ends and Ethiopian-Israelis receive full equality.