Rivlin at Sigd celebration: We will not allow race-based discrimination

President Reuven Rivlin condemns race-based discrimination while speaking at a Sigd holiday celebration in Jerusalem.

“Citizens of Israel will not be party to discrimination on the basis of skin color. We are brothers and sisters, and anyone who tries to undermine that has no place among the tribes of Israel,” he says.

The president also condemns the episode at the Barkan Wineries factory in which Ethiopian employees were prevented from coming in contact with its wine due to alleged doubts about their Jewishness.

Rivlin emphasizes the efforts being made to secure the release of Avera Mengistu, who is currently in Hamas captivity in Gaza. “At this time, I would like to speak about Avera. Fate has made him everyone’s son, and his absence and our concern for his safety have already cast a shadow over the celebration of this holiday for four long years,” the president says.

“This year, I had the privilege to be the first Israeli president to visit Ethiopia. On my visit, I asked the president and the prime minister to work for Avera’s release, and said I was hopeful that because of the Ethiopian-Israeli community here, the relations between the two countries will become stronger,” he concludes.