Ethiopian Jews deserve better

As Israel’s emergency delegation to Nepal prepared to leave Kathmandu over the weekend, the death toll from a massive earthquake was still mounting. The members of the 260-strong team surely had mixed feelings about going home, having witnessed such devastating human tragedy, but also knowing they had saved lives and represented Israel, and all Jews, with courage and honour. 

There are no shortage of stories about the heroic efforts of Israeli medical and rescue personnel deployed in Nepal, and a number of pro-Israel groups have ensured these acts of bravery were well-dispersed, especially on social media. But the truth is Israel’s Nepal mission wasn’t about chasing good PR. It ran much deeper.

The speed with which Israel offered and deployed assistance and expertise came from a natural impulse to ease the pain of the afflicted. And the extraordinary operation to find Or Asraf, the last remaining Israeli unaccounted for in Nepal, proved just how far Israel will go to retrieve its own, even if the 22-year-old ultimately could not be saved. All told, Israel’s mission in Nepal exemplified the Jewish nation’s genuine desire to lend a hand when disaster strikes, and propensity to punch above its weight when it comes to helping those who need it, wherever they may be. 

And yet, back in Israel those very qualities were being called into question by the country’s Ethiopian Jewish community after a video was released apparently showing two Israeli policemen attacking Damas Pakada. Pakada, 21, an Ethiopian immigrant who came to Israel seven years ago and was wearing his Israel Defence Forces uniform at the time of the incident, was pushed from his bicycle and then thrown to the ground. He was handcuffed and arrested for assault, but later released from custody. 

The troubling episode echoes another recent incident of alleged police brutality against an Ethiopian Jew. Walla Bayach claims Israeli immigration inspectors restrained him last week, believing the Be’er Sheva resident was an illegal migrant. Police say Bayach assaulted the officers when they inquired about his identity. He says they beat him with a crowbar.

Thousands of Ethiopian Jews have taken to the streets in the wake of these incidents. Some have clashed with police. Their protest reveals the deep anger and frustration that have been brewing in Israel’s Ethiopian community for years. More than half of the families in the community, which now numbers 135,000, live below the poverty line. The unemployment rate is higher among Ethiopian Jews than Israel’s national average, and they are disproportionately represented in the prison system. Many feel Israel has forgotten them. Others say they have effectively been rendered second-class citizens. Some accuse Israel of racism. 

That’s a hefty charge, one that Israeli authorities should investigate thoroughly. As the United States revisits the state of its race relations after the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray and Michael Brown, perhaps it’s time for Israel to do the same. The very same instinct that compelled Israel to send its largest-ever field hospital to Kathmandu, the very same courage that Or Asraf’s army buddies displayed while attempting to locate him in the Himalayas – those honourable qualities must be pursued with vigilance at home, too.  — YONI