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.

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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> 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> 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> 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> GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli aircraft struck dozens of militant sites across the Gaza Strip early Saturday as militants fired some 30 rockets into Israel, in the heaviest exchange of fire between the bitter enemies in several weeks.

The fighting followed a bloody day of border protests, in which Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinians protesting along the perimeter fence dividing Hamas-ruled Gaza and Israel. The sudden burst of fighting and bloodshed complicated the mission of Egyptian mediators, who have intensified shuttle diplomacy to achieve calm and prevent a full-blown conflict between the militant Hamas group and Israel.

The Israeli military said it had struck some 80 sites across Gaza by early Saturday morning, including a security headquarters building. Air raid sirens sounded throughout the night in southern Israel, with militants firing some 30 rockets, the military said.

It said about 10 rockets were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket defense system, two landed prematurely in Gaza and the rest fell in open areas. Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, convened an emergency meeting of top security officials, the army added, without elaborating.

There was no word on injuries as a result of the rockets and airstrikes.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group, implicitly claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. It issued a statement saying that it normally exercises restraint, but it "can no longer stand idle before the continued killing of innocents and bloodshed by the Israeli occupation."

It was not immediately clear whether Islamic Jihad, which sometimes acts independently of Hamas, had coordinated the rocket fire with Hamas. But Israel holds Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007, responsible for all fire emanating from the territory.

The sides have fought three wars over the past decade, and Israel and Egypt have maintained a stifling blockade on the territory to weaken Hamas. The Hamas-led weekly protests along the Israeli border have been aimed in large part at breaking the blockade, which has devastated the Gaza economy.

On Friday, thousands of Palestinians gathered at five locations along the boundary, burning tires and throwing rocks, grenades and firebombs at Israeli troops who responded with tear gas and occasional live fire.

The Israeli army said some suspects briefly crossed the fence.

Three of the dead were reported in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Witnesses said that dozens of protesters approached the fence there.

In northern Gaza, a 27-year-old man died after being shot in the head, the ministry said. It added that 170 other protesters sustained various injuries.

Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to Israel's destruction, had previously scaled down the protests as Egypt stepped up its efforts to secure calm.

On Wednesday, Egyptian intelligence officials met representatives of Palestinian factions in Gaza. Loay Qarouti of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command said the mediators asked them "to protect the lives of protesters and minimize losses among them."

Egypt wants to restore calm in order to pursue the broader goal of Palestinian reconciliation between Hamas and the West Bank-based administration of President Mahmoud Abbas. The internationally recognized Abbas lost control of Gaza in the 2007 takeover.

But Hamas maintains it wants a full lifting of a crippling blockade Israel and Egypt imposed on Gaza to isolate the Islamic movement.

The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. Widespread desperation among Gaza's 2 million residents - who get only a few hours of electricity a day and undrinkable tap water, in addition to suffering from soaring joblessness and limited freedom of travel - fuels their participation in the Hamas-orchestrated protests.

Since the marches began six months ago, at least 160 Palestinians present or taking part in the protests have been killed. A Gaza militant fatally shot an Israeli soldier in July.

Israel accuses Hamas of using the large protests as cover to stage border infiltrations and attacks. It says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of exploiting young protesters and encouraging them to risk their lives in order to increase pressure to ease the blockade.

Israel has come under heavy international criticism for what many see as excessive use of force and the large number of unarmed people who have been shot.

In the West Bank, a 33-year-old Palestinian man was killed and nine others wounded by live rounds, one in critical conditions, as the Israeli forces confronted stone throwers in a village near Ramallah city, doctors said. </s> 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.

An 18 year-old Ethiopian-Israeli was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer in the northern community of Kiryat Haim Sunday night, prompting outraged community members to unite in protest.



The young man was identified as Solomon Tekah, who was found in critical condition at around 8 p.m., according to the Magen David Adom. He was pronounced dead shortly after.

Tekah’s parents, who joined the community in protests, were weeping and chanting, “we want justice for the child we lost. My child, a precious child of God. He did nothing wrong, he did not deserve this.”The city of Haifa appeared to have shut down on Monday. Cars stood in standstill traffic for hours. Whispers of the shooting filled the crowded buses. Streets that were blockaded were barren, except for the cries of the Ethiopian community who had lost one of their own.This incident has sparked renewed accusations of police brutality and racism towards the Israeli-Ethiopian community."Our blood is good for more than just wars, army, and every other office this country represents,” said Roy Eyov, who helped lead a march from the Zvulun Police Station to a major intersection on HaHistadrut Street, the street where Tekah was murdered.During the march protestors chanted, “this is a police state, our blood won’t be wasted for nothing, we get killed for nothing.”Eyov, 23, explained he was a combat soldier in the Givati Brigade.“All we want to do is give back, but we have lost our impact as people,” he said. “I miss when I could be out with my little brother and not fear the cops.”He went on to explain the strategy of the protest.“We want people to wake up. We won’t let cars go by because when [traffic jams] happen people get mad,” he explained. “They see a lot of black people, and they’re about to curse us, but then they think about it [the reason we’re here] and realize that our man got killed out here on our streets. On our streets, it’s dangerous for us.”A police statement revealed that the off-duty police officer who shot Tekah was with his wife and three children at a nearby playground when he noticed a fight in the street and tried to break it up.The youth hurled stones at the officer, according to the release, prompting him to claim he was in mortal danger when he fired the shot.Members of Knesset have also began to express outrage about the incident and police brutality."No cover-up will help you this time, Israeli police," said Blue and White MK Pnina Tamano-Shata over Facebook. "The blood of young Ethiopian immigrants is not unclaimed property."Despite repeated promises, many claim the government has not taken concrete action to prevent the growth of racist sentiment in Israel.“A young man was shot by the police because he was out playing with his friends, no justice was served for this young man,” continued Eyov. “This is not the first time, that’s why we must protest.”A similar incident occurred in January when police shot and killed Ethiopian-Israeli 24 year-old, Yehuda Biadga, in Bat Yam. This incident led to mass protests throughout the country.The march grew larger as it approached the main intersection. The community of Kiryat Haim huddled around Tekah’s parents in a close-knit circle as they publicly mourned the loss of their son. Many weeped uncontrollably alongside the couple. Tekah’s mother repeatedly refused water, even as her voice grew coarse.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>> </s> Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian teenager early Sunday in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said.

Security officials said that troops entered the village of Beit Rima, near Ramallah, after midnight and were confronted by stone-throwing youths.

The Palestinian health ministry said that Ahmed Hazem Atta, 19, was killed in the ensuing army fire.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said that there was a "violent riot" at Beit Rima but could not confirm the death.

"Dozens of rioters hurled rocks at security forces injuring a border police soldier," she said.

"In order to prevent an escalation of violence forces responded with riot dispersal means, and fired toward main instigators," she added.

"We have reports of a rioter killed and another injured and they're being looked into," but were so far unverified, the spokeswoman told AFP.

Israeli army have killed 244 Palestinians since October 2015 while 36 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese national were also killed as a result of the tension.

The West Bank city of Hebron has seen the highest number of fatalities, with 80 Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces. This was followed by Jerusalem (Al-Quds in Arabic), where 51 Palestinians have been killed within the past year.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the unified capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state - a move never recognized by the international community.

International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as "occupied territories," considering all Jewish settlement building on the land to be illegal. </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> The annual memorial ceremony for Jewish immigrants who died on the way to Israel from Ethiopia, June 5, 2016. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

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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.

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Following the fatal shooting of a young Ethiopian–Israeli man on June 30, countrywide riots in Israel result in more than 80 injuries.