By Activestills
Ethiopian-Israelis' protest against police violence is met with police violence
Police use stun grenades, violence against protest in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, sparked by video of two officers beating a black Israeli soldier. Dozens reported injured, at least 26 arrested.
Photos by Oren Ziv, Yotam Ronen, Keren Manor / Activestills
Text by Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man
Text by Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man
Protesters scatter as police use stun grenades to disperse a protest by Israeli of Ethiopian descent demonstrating against police violence, May 3, 2015. (Activestills.org)
A protest by Israelis of Ethiopian descent against discriminatory police brutality was met with police violence for the second time in as many days, this time in central Tel Aviv.
Police used stun grenades, sponge-tipped bullets, riot officers and mounted officers to disperse several thousand protesters who arriving in Rabin Square some five hours after the demonstration began elsewhere in the city.
There were dozens of injuries reported by protesters and police. A police spokesperson later said that 26 people were arrested. Activists indicated that more protesters were in police custody.
The protest followed a similar demonstration in Jerusalem Saturday night, which was a response to video of Israeli police beating an Israeli soldier of Ethiopian descent.
Protesters flipped over a police car in Rabin square and were throwing plastic bottles at officers.
A number of members of Knesset joined the protest when it started. The protesters soon descended onto Tel Aviv’s main freeway, blocking traffic in both directions for hours.
Eventually police used force to clear the freeway and the protesters continued marching toward the city’s most famous square, Rabin Square.
A protest by Israeli of Ethiopian descent against police violence blocks Tel Aviv’s main freeway, May 3, 2015. (Activestills.org)
Mounted police ready to disperse protest by Israeli of Ethiopian descent against police in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, May 3, 2015. (Activestills.org)
Protesters set fire to trash in the street at a demonstration by Israeli of Ethiopian descent against police in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, May 3, 2015. (Activestills.org)
Protesters sit in the road at a demonstration by Israelis of Ethiopian descent against police in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, May 3, 2015. (Activestills.org)
A police horse reacts to a flurry of stun grenades thrown by police at a demonstration by Israelis of Ethiopian descent against police in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, May 3, 2015. (Activestills.org)
Police arrest a protester at a demonstration by Israelis of Ethiopian descent against police in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, May 3, 2015. (Activestills.org)
“I was in the Border Police and I’ve never seen stun grenades used at a protest [in Israel],” protester tells Channel 10. “We’re Israelis, we’re Jews.”
Even in the most tense and violent days of the social protests in 2011 and 2012, in nights when bank windows were broken and 90 people arrested, police did not use crowd control means generally reserved for the West Bank and Arab protesters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Sunday that he would hold meetings with representatives of Israelis of Ethiopian descent, including the soldier whose beating sparked the current round of protests.
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