Promising nonviolence, Ethiopian-Israelis rally in Tel Aviv

A Ethiopian-Israeli protest against police brutality and discrimination was taking place in Tel Aviv on Monday evening with police expecting crowds of several thousand and with activists pledging that it would not turn violent.

The rally got off to a slow start with some several dozen protesters in attendance. It slowly grew to several hundred over the first hour. It was being held on one of the hottest days of the year so far.

“This is a national protest, not just an Ethiopian one. We are saying ‘enough,’” one of the organizers, Eyayae Avraham, from a group called Dor Amitz (Brave Generation), told The Times of Israel.

“I hope the police don’t shoot us, don’t use [tear] gas, don’t use stun grenades. This is a national problem… If the law doesn’t protect us, what’s it good for?”

Police were expecting the crowds to swell.

“Police have given a permit for the demonstration this evening in central Tel Aviv. Several thousands are expected. Police units will respond if necessary to any public disorder,” Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Police officials held talks on Monday with Ethiopian Israeli community activists, who planned the rally in protest over what they see as a history of institutionalized racism against them. The talks were part of an effort to prevent the demonstration from spiraling into violence, as did a previous demonstration in Tel Aviv.

Israel Police Chief Yohanan Danino described the talks taking place between police officials and demonstration organizers as “fruitful and productive,” according to the Hebrew-language news site Ynet.

Dor Amitz leader Inbar Bugale, 23, who will be leading the demonstration in Tel Aviv, told Channel 10 that the event would not be violent.

“That is not the goal,” she said. “We want to show the state that we are not keeping quiet even though they are asking us to wait. That’s inconceivable. The struggle is continuing, and we must say so,” she said.

Bugale added that the demonstration’s organizers told police officials that they had no desire to turn the event into a violent one, and have asked them to act with restraint. “We are people too, and we have no reason or desire to get into conflict with the police. But we intend to block the road and disrupt routine because racism is a routine matter,” she said.

The demonstration was set to begin with a march to the plaza in front of the Habima Theater from Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard, which was the venue of the social justice protests that swept Israel in the summer of 2011. From there the demonstrators were to proceed along Ibn Gabirol Street to Rabin Square.

Among the preparations for the demonstration, Dor Amitz’s representatives sent a letter to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, asking him to prosecute the police officer who attacked soldier Damas Pakada. The beating of Pakada was among the catalysts for protest demonstrations that turned violent in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv earlier this month.

The police officer who was caught on video as he beat Pakada was fired last week and faces a criminal investigation. The volunteer officer who joined him in the attack has been banned from serving on the police force.

Speaking at an annual memorial ceremony on Sunday for members of the Ethiopian-Israeli community who died trying to reach Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would form a special committee this week to address all issues of discrimination and racism. Netanyahu’s cabinet is set to discuss the formation of the committee on Tuesday.

“We will bring a comprehensive plan to the government to assist you in every way,” the prime minister said. “There is no room for racism and discrimination in our society, none.”

The wives of police officers and prison guards were planning to hold a rally of their own at 6:30 p.m. on Monday in the Rose Garden near the Knesset building in Jerusalem in support of the police officers.

“An absurd situation has been created in which law-abiding people who put their lives on the line for the public welfare are being smeared,” Avigail Sharara, chairwoman of the Police and Prison Guards’ Spouses Association, told Walla. “I expect the Knesset members to join us, and together we will embrace the officers in blue and give them our thanks. The members of the Ethiopian community need to realize that a situation where police officers are attacked leads to a dead end, and does not solve the problem.”