Erdan meets Ethiopian-Israeli leaders, promises new police anti-racism body

Leaders of the Ethiopian-Israeli community meet with Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Interim Police Commissioner Motti Cohen to call on protesters not to turn to violence.

Tuesday saw hundreds of protesters clashing with police, leaving over 110 officers hurt and at least 160 protesters arrested.

In the meeting, Erdan promises to establish an internal division in the police to oversee racism claims and track disciplinary action taken against racist incidents by officers, according to a statement from the police today.

The protests follow the Sunday killing by an off-duty cop of a 19-year-old Ethiopian Israeli man, Solomon Tekah.

“I share the pain and understand the outcry,” Erdan says.

“The Israel Police has courageously and honestly acknowledged that there was over-policing [in Ethiopian-Israeli communities], and we are tackling that, including through cooperation with you,” he tells the communal leaders. “Obviously there’s a great deal more that needs fixing, but there has also been a dramatic improvement in recent years, a decline in the number of arrests and indictments, cases closed for minors, and many more initiatives are now being implemented, such as body cameras for officers.”