Police said to shelve recommendations for curbing brutality against Ethiopians

Police have reportedly rejected over a quarter of the suggestions put forward by a special committee tasked with finding ways to eliminate brutality and discrimination against the Ethiopian-Israeli community, and explained that they had already adopted many of the ideas on their own.

During a ministerial committee meeting for the advancement of Ethiopian integration into Israel society, all ministries accepted the recommendations of a report on the matter, but police and the Public Security Ministry turned down 15 of 53 sections in the document, Channel 2 reported Monday.

Among the sections police rejected were a review on the use of tasers against Ethiopian-Israelis and increasing the severity of punishments against police who act in a racist manner, the report said.

The subject of racism and violence directed at Ethiopians in Israel has received greater attention over the last year, after police violence against an Ethiopian soldier in 2015 sparked demonstrations throughout the country.

Police and the Public Security Ministry officials clashed with representatives of other ministries at the ministerial gathering, and when Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked asked why the suggestions were not adopted, the police responded that “all the suggestions have already been implemented.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then demanded that the Public Security Ministry formallly explain within a week why it rejected the 15 sections.

The report was prepared by a team set up earlier this year comprising leaders of the Ethiopian-Israeli community in addition to senior representatives from various ministries. It was tasked with looking at ways to eradicate what is claimed to be institutional racism against the community.

Recommendations put forward by the committee called for police and Justice Ministry officials to reexamine procedures for using tasers, as well as the appointment of a national officer to review all cases in which cops use tasers. Cases where officers use a taser against procedures and didn’t properly report the incident would then be sent to the police investigations unit, the committee proposed.

The Israel Police said in a statement Sunday that it “welcomes all pan-government activities that will further advance dealing with this important matter.

“Police were glad to see that the report adopted some of the work done by the police steering team that has already been working for a year,” the statement continued. “A significant portion of the suggestions given in the report are based on the action plans that police conceived and have already implemented in practice on the ground in 26 police stations that serve the residential areas of ethnic Ethiopian community.

“Among other things, the suggestion to equip police with body cameras, a project led by [Public Security] Minister [Gilad] Erdan, is already in its advanced stages, as are the suggestions for working with community leaders, police officer training, dealing with over-enforcement — including the closing of files, and other subjects have already been implemented for a while.”

Ethiopian-Israelis have long accused the police of brutality and abuse against members of the community. Last year, the community staged a series of demonstrations across the country, triggered by video footage showing a seemingly unprovoked police assault on an Ethiopian-Israeli soldier in April.

Thousands took to the streets demanding the government address alleged systematic and institutionalized racism. Activists also expressed their frustration with what they said was the state’s shortcomings in addressing the quality of life of their community.

At a May 2015 protest in Tel Aviv’s Rabin square, at least 41 people were injured in what devolved into an hours-long melee, which saw protesters hurl rocks at police and officers respond with stun grenades and water cannons.

There have been several demonstrations and clashes with police since then against the backdrop of other incidents of alleged discrimination and brutality by police toward Ethiopian-Israelis.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.