Can’t You Give Us a Chance?

T

hey’ve lived in Israel many years, at the margins of society. They walked on the fringes, enclosed within their own society. Then, with ferocious intensity, their pent-up feelings burst out in a coordinated wave of riots that shook the country to the core.

Over two days last week, thousands of young Ethiopian-Israelis blocked roads and clashed with police to protest the shooting death of 19-year-old Solomon Tekah. Over the course of last week’s protests, more than 100 Ethiopians were arrested and dozens of demonstrators and police were injured. The unrest picked up again this week after a lull over Shabbos.

Ethiopians see justice unserved. Tekah was killed when an off duty police officer happened upon a fight outside an Ethiopian youth center in Haifa. The officer fired at the ground when he felt threatened — police have confirmed his account — but the bullet struck Tekah in the chest, killing him. Tekah’s family and many of those in the streets are calling it murder. The police have floated the possibility of manslaughter or perhaps a mere disciplinary measure.

For the young Ethiopians, the circumstances of the case feel too familiar. An Israeli police officer sees an Ethiopian and fires his weapon. Since 1997, at least 12 Ethiopians have been killed by police officers in Israel. They say law enforcement is too quick on the trigger.