Ethiopian soldier sues over attack by cops

Damas Pakada, an IDF soldier of Ethiopian descent who was beaten up by police officers in Tel Aviv last month, files a lawsuit against Israel Police “and its institutionalized racism and violence” at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s court. Pakada seeks NIS 390,000 (c. $100,000) in compensation plus expenses and lawyer fees, Ynet reports.

A clip showing Pakada being assaulted by the cops brought to the surface alleged maltreatment of Israelis of Ethiopian descent across all strata of society. Several days after the clip was shown on TV news, a series of protests – some deteriorating into violence – took place in cities across the country.

The attack against Pakada “is an incidence of racism-motivated police violence among the most shocking seen in Israel and recent times, and which only by happenstance was captured by security cameras,” reads the lawsuit. The clip was shot by neighbors, according to media reports, and not by security cameras.

According to Pakada’s attorney Eyal Abulafia, the attack gives a “rare view of a persistent and immeasurably wrong code of conduct which repeats again and again in the Israel Police, which behaves violently toward civilians, then invents felonies it accuses them of having perpetrated and more.”

Abulafia stressed the assault targeted a symbol of the state – a soldier in full uniform – “yet this fact did not make [officers] hesitate even for a short time before the complainant was brutally attacked.”

Following the assault, Pakada met with prime minister Netanyahu and police chief Danino, who apologized on behalf of the police for the attack against him.