Israeli police locked arms to push back hundreds of ethnic Ethiopian anti-racism protesters on Wednesday in Tel Aviv where many tried to block a major traffic artery.

Police said two protesters of some 400 protesters at the scene were detained. Television photographers saw five demonstrators led away. There were no reported injuries in the confrontation that stretched into several hours.

Last month Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial city, saw its most violent demonstration in years when police on horseback charged at hundreds of protesters to disperse an angry outburst at a video showing policemen beating a soldier of Ethiopian descent.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The latest demonstration was held to press for speedier measures against police accused of involvement in that assault. “Violent police ought to be jailed,” some protesters chanted.

Ethiopian Jews, among thousands Israel airlifted in dramatic top-secret operations in the 1980s and 1990s, have long complained of discrimination in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to address the grievances of Israelis of Ethiopian descent who now number some 135,000, and has named a cabinet committee to improve their integration.

At the panel’s first session on Tuesday, Netanyahu denounced the notion of Israelis discriminating against others “because of the color of their skin, this is infuriating and we will fix it.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount