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Police Clearing Ethiopian Jews Who Blocked Major Highway

May 3, 2015

Over 1,000 Ethiopian Jews, mostly young, blocked the Begin Highway and the entrance to the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv near the Azrieli Towers Sunday afternoon. They later blocked the Ayalon Highway itself. Police began clearing them from the road at about 7:00 p.m., after allowing them to block the major thoroughfares for almost two hours during afternoon rush hour. The protesters refused to clear the roads. Reporters said they expect a violent confrontation.

At about 8:00 p.m., Ynet reported that Ayalon Highway had reopened to traffic after being blocked for three hours. Previously, the situation was described thus:

Ayalon Highway, southward bound, is blocked from the Halacha Interchange.

Ayalon Highway, northward bound, is blocked from the Ganot Interchange to the Halacha Interchange.

Highway 1 is blocked from Ganot to Yagel.

Highway 5 is blocked from Glilot to Morasha.

Highway 4 is blocked from Morasha to Mesubim and from Ganot to Givat Shmuel.

The youths are protesting police violence against dark-skinned Jews, in the wake of a video that showed police beating an Ethiopian soldier. One person has been arrested.

Three days, ago, a large scale protest by members of the Ethiopian community in Jerusalem resulted in a violent confrontation with police.

The protesters were chanting “a violent cop should be behind bars” and other slogans. They have also been crossing their arms up in the air, in a gesture that has been used in the Left-engineered “social protests” in Israel and elsewhere in the world in recent years.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will convene a discussion of the Ethiopian Jews’ complaints Monday, and meet the soldier who was beaten by police. Participants in the discussion will include representatives of the Ethiopian community, representatives of government ministries, the Police Commissioner and other top policemen.

MK Dr. Avraham Nagosa (Likud) demanded Sunday that the government establish a commission of inquiry to examine the treatment of Ethiopians in Israel.

“Anger is a justified and legitimate protest, I would like to do anything without violence and legally with restraint on both sides,” he stated to Arutz Sheva. “Violence is not our way.”

“We will not give up until the phenomenon of police violence against the Ethiopian community, and every citizen in Israel, is eradicated,” Nagosa stated. “Israel cannot be a country where every IDF soldier receives a brutal beating.”

“We will continue to fight to ensure that racism disappears,” he added. “I call on the police to ‘clean house’ and abide by the law.”

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