Family of captive Israeli says case bungled, brother blames racism
Relatives of Ethiopian-born Avraham Mengistu say authorities put little effort into securing his release from Hamas
Israeli authorities did not do enough to secure the release of an Ethiopian-born Israeli currently being held by Hamas in Gaza, because of his skin color, the brother of captive Avraham Mengistu said Thursday.
In September, Mengistu, 28, of Ashkelon, sneaked over the border fence and entered the coastal strip. He has been held by Hamas ever since, Israeli officials say.
A gag order on the case was lifted Thursday at the family’s urging, with some members saying there was not enough movement on the issue.
“We’re sick of it. We want to go public with the story,” Mengistu’s oldest brother Yalo Mengistu told the Israeli daily Haaretz, adding that during the first two weeks after Avraham’s disappearance, the family was not briefed by IDF or security officials.
Mengistu claimed that attempts by the family to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were rebuffed. Netanyahu spoke with the family on Wednesday over the phone, hours before the gag order was lifted. Israel Radio reported he was to meet with the family on Thursday.
“We’re extremely disappointed. This is more than racism — I call it ‘black-[anti]Semitism.’ I’m one million percent sure that if [Avraham] were white, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Yalo said.
“We don’t know anything at the moment. When we know his fate, we’ll be able to figure out what happened,” he said.
An Israeli security official said Thursday Israel was devoting substantial resources to gain the return of Mengistu and another Israeli also being held in Gaza.
According to the source, the family met with President Reuven Rivlin and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, and the Defense Ministry was handling the case.
While Jerusalem denied that racism played a role and said there were no failures in the handling of the case, some in the family disagreed.
Channel 10 broadcast an interview with a man it identified as Mengistu’s father, saying he had written to the army, which said it would handle the issue but then dropped the ball.
“They didn’t do anything,” Haili Mengistu was quoted as saying. “Where is my son?”
Members of the family were reportedly split over whether to push to have the information released or keep it under wraps. Some in the family apparently believed keeping it secret would help their bargaining position, though other pushed for it to be put out in the open after claiming there was no movement on the issue.
Hamas has denied holding Mengistu, saying he left Gaza for Ethiopia via Egypt, a claim Israel denies.
One of eight siblings, Mengistu was born in Ethiopia in 1986.
According to a report in Ynet News, he tended to leave his house for extended periods of time without informing his family and was reported lost at least three times. He was known to Ashkelon’s welfare officials.
The Israeli security source described him as having mental issues.
His parents, in their 50s and 60s, are divorced. The family already suffered the death of a son, who died of an illness. The father lives in central Israel, while the mother lives in low-income housing in Ashkelon.
One neighbor in Ashkelon noted that the Mengistus are “a quiet family, but they have problems with money and many kids [to care for].”
Mengistu’s mother, Mangaresh, said she ultimately holds Hamas responsible for the fate of her son, but she hopes that the Israeli government will do its utmost to bring him home.
“Hamas is responsible for my son’s destiny. They cannot shirk that responsibility. I hope that the state will not cease acting to bring him back,” Mangaresh said according to Ynet news.
“Since he disappeared, my life is no longer a life. Every day I wait for him to come through the front door and say hello. I pray for his return, and I ask anyone who can help us to make an effort to secure his release,” she said.
Ethiopian-born former Knesset member Pnina Tamano-Shata said that the family is beset by deep emotional woes compounded by financial troubles.
“The family is depressed; the mother is in a very poor emotional state that could endanger her life. We asked the welfare authorities and the [Ethiopian] community to assist them,” Tamano-Shata said.
“They are severely disappointed in the state. Ministers and Knesset members knew about [Avraham], but didn’t act to help the family. Six months on, there is no new information. I believe the state did not act correctly. This is a very sad case, which will have broad ramifications on Israel’s Ethiopian community, which [now] sees how the country behaves toward them,” she said.
In May, thousands of Ethiopian-Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest perceived racism and discrimination against them by Israeli society.
Ashkelon city council said in a statement that welfare authorities are providing the Mengistu family with monetary assistance, including renovating their apartment and purchasing new furniture, as well as assigning a social worker to the case.
Mayor Itamar Shimoni told a local radio station that Mengistu’s crossing into Gaza was the result of the socioeconomic plight of the Ethiopian-Israeli community.
