Alsheich: Members of Ethiopian community ambushed me on comments

Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich blames the backlash for his comments yesterday about crime rates among Ethiopian Israelis on some members of the community, Channel 2 reports.

Alsheich drew widespread condemnation yesterday after he appeared to say that it was “natural” for law enforcement officers to be more suspicious of Ethiopian Israelis than of other citizens.

“They ambushed me, I would not be surprised if this was one of those people who spent their whole lives agitating members of the community to hold protests,” the TV quotes the police chief as privately telling his associates today.

“Their ideology widens societal gaps in the country,” he says. “What primarily bothers me is the fact that this storm does damage to the great efforts the police are making in this community. It is frustrating but I have no intention of letting it get me down. It just inspires me to do more.”