Thousands of members of the Ethiopian community from across Israel gathered in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Wednesday in a massive protest against police brutality. Large numbers of police officers were attempting to keep more zealous members of the crowd in check.
Dozens of protesters acted out in wild fashion, some of them wore face masks to conceal their identity, and disturbed the public peace in an aggressive fashion that included blocking major thoroughfares in the city and throwing large objects at police and passersby. Some cases of vandalism and violence against police were reported.
Officers attempted to quell the vandalism and stop the disturbances. Some residents reported on social media that they were stuck in the resulting traffic throughout the city for numerous hours.
Three police officers were injured in the violence and a number of protesters were arrested.
A statement issued by the police said: “The police believe that every citizen has the freedom of speech and the right to protest peacefully if they choose to do so. Having said that, the police will continue to act in order to prevent vandalism and violence both physical and verbal. We will not allow harm to come to those who wear the uniform or to public or private property of law-abiding citizens. We have zero-tolerance towards those who attempt to disturb the peace while endangering commuters.”
הנאומים הופסקו לטובת תפילת ערבית עכשיו בכיכר רבין במחאת יוצאי אתיופיה, לאחר קדיש ואשכבה לזכר יהודה ביאדגה ז”ל pic.twitter.com/wfQNlVtnEV
— אלי ביתאן (@Eli_Bitan) January 30, 2019
אלפים במחאת יוצאי אתיופיה בכיכר רבין: “ראש הממשלה ושריו הם אלה שמחסלים אותנו”https://t.co/rar4EaUTEx pic.twitter.com/jmjp5oRXyt
— מעריב אונליין (@MaarivOnline) January 30, 2019
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
No comments expressing indignation about blocking traffic, wasting people’s time, preventing ambulances from getting through, assaulting law enforcement officers, etc.
What’s going on? Is everyone suddenly getting soft on extremists?
Great way to accuse the police of brutality, by demonstrating exactly why the police need to act so forcefully against them, and how the force they use are not brutal but reasonable and proportionate to the offense.
Israel is crazy for taking in these Christians. How in the world did they prove they were “Jewish” when most are actually practicing Christians? Only a small handful of Ethiopians actually converted to Judaism. These are very sincere and wonderful converts. The vast majority of Ethiopians are not Jews, what was the point of bringing them to Israel because they decided that they are Jewish?
Philosopher, I am sure you understand, Herzel l would have loved this. It takes the Jewishness out of being Jewish.
Philosopher I am sure you understand, Herzel would have loved this. It takes the Jewishness out of being Jewish.
From what I hear on the street it was a peaceful protest until the police started up with them. Also, later when I was on the bus last night, a whole bunch of them boarded the bus. I saw absolutely no signs of hostility in any way. They were all very pleasant. If they had been hostile at the protest then the affects of it would have been visible on their return home. What’s more, the videos that YWN provides shows no signs of hostility.
@Philosopher – you clearly haven’t studied Teshuvas from poskim about the status of the Ethiopians. There is a machlokes haposkim regarding them. Even those that paskin that they should convert is b’taam sufek. Others hold that they are vidai yidden and do not require any geirut.
Softwords, well there are different shittas regarding the Ethiopians, some saying they are not Jewish at all. The shittas however are not about practicing CHRISTIANS which most of the Ethiopians are. There are many churches and Christian institutions for Ethiopians all over Israel.
goilem123, sorry to inform you but Herzl is dead. You are busy with Herzl when in Israel today you have the most Jews since the time before the churban, studying Torah BECAUSE of the Zionist government. Of course plenty of people in the Israeli government are anti-religious, but today many of these people are not even Zionists.
To bring up Herzl is like saying the US government is such a moral government constantly coming up with one moral law after another these days…all because George Washington was such an upstanding first president and leader of the US and the founding fathers such moral men, constantly making reminders of God… This is of course not true. While Washington and the founding fathers were moral men, today between abortion laws, gay laws, assisted suicide, etc. more and more immorality is being legalized by the US government. What was years ago has no bearing to the situation today. So stop living in the past, it doesn’t change reality.
philosopher, We can substitute Netanyahu for Herzel