Ethiopian Jews, some of whom passed through Sudan as refugees on their own
journeys to Israel in the early 1980s, expressed horror and regret Monday as
attacks – both physical and verbal – against African migrants from Sudan and
Eritrea have been on the rise in recent days.
“When I think how people
are treating the Sudanese and of how they treated us when we passed through as
refugees, I am ashamed,” Ziva Mekonen-Degu, executive director of the Israel
Association of Ethiopian Jews, told The Jerusalem Post.
“When we arrived
there, they brought us water and helped us find work so that we could make
enough money to live. [They were] difficult times,” said
Mekonen-Degu.
“It should not just be the Ethiopian Jews who remember what
happened to us in Sudan nearly 30 years ago – this whole country was created
because we were all once refugees. We should all be thinking about what happened
to those Jews who did not find shelter in other countries,” she
added.
Mekonen-Degu’s comments come less than a day after a serious arson
attack destroyed a Jerusalem apartment that was home to a group of foreign
workers from Africa, and in the wake of a barrage of verbal attacks by some of
the country’s key leaders against the growing community of illegal migrants or
“infiltrators,” as they are referred to by their opponents.
On Sunday
during a tour of Israel’s border with Egypt, National Union MK Arieh Eldad said
that IDF forces should now shoot anyone that crosses into Israeli territory. His
comment follows claims by Interior Minister Eli Yishai – who said Israeli women
are being raped en masse by African migrants but are too afraid to speak out for
fear of being stigmatized with having contracted AIDS, and Likud MK Miri Regev –
who referred to the refugees as a “cancer” on society.
“We [Ethiopian
Israelis] feel very uncomfortable about what is happening but the government is
refusing to listen to us,” commented Ethiopian MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima), who has
in recent weeks voiced disapproval of many of the attacks on the African
community.
“Jews talk about how we were slaves in Egypt and how we
suffered because of our religion and culture outside of Israel – but now we are
making others suffer,” Molla said, adding that the increased attacks support
claims by the Ethiopian Jewish community of inherent racism both within
mainstream society and from the state.
Molla said it is very clear that
the attacks against Africans, who are estimated to number up to 50,000, are
based solely on the color of their skin. He said that Ethiopian Israelis – who
have recently highlighted the large number of racial slurs made against them
originating from within mainstream Israeli society – identify strongly with the
migrants.
“We know that if these foreigners were Scandinavians, with blue
eyes and blond hair, then they would not be treated in this way,” said
Molla.
“These incidents not only prove what we have been saying about
racism in Israeli society, but also show that the racism is supported by the
government, the prime minister, mayors of various cities, celebrities and
ordinary people.”
Gadi Yavarkan, the director of the Center for Social
Equality for Ethiopian Jews and head of the union of young Ethiopian leaders,
said that until now many Ethiopian Israelis have been hesitant to condemn the
violence against migrants from Eritrea and Sudan. However, he said, now “we are
left with no choice but to respond; what is happening is disgusting.”
“As
Jews, it is clear that we want Israel to remain a Jewish country, but I am not
willing to allow the fight against these people to be based on the color of
their skin,” said Yavarkan “If we do not start speaking out about how these
comments and acts are based on skin color, then tomorrow – once they are gone –
people will start trying to get rid of Ethiopian Jews too.”
“The Jews
were refugees for many years before the State of Israel was created and on that
basis, we cannot let ourselves behave like parasites; it is anti-Jewish to call
people ‘cancer,’” he noted.
“Not too long ago, we Ethiopian Israelis,
marched through the streets of Kiryat Malachi to protest racism, so we cannot
allow racism against others to continue on like this,” Yavarkan
continued.
“What we are seeing is racism based on the color of their skin
and most people here cannot differentiate between Ethiopian Jews or foreigners
from Eritrea, Sudan and some even from Ethiopia,” pointed out Michal Avera
Samuel, director of FIDEL – Association for Education and Social Integration of
Ethiopian Jews.
“I know many young Ethiopians Jews who are now too scared
to go to places where there are African migrants because they don’t want to be
mistaken for them,” said Samuel, describing how last week an Ethiopian Jewish
man was attacked in Tel Aviv during an anti-African migrant protest after
demonstrators mistakenly believed him to be a foreigner.
“It is very sad
that we are teaching our children not to accept those who look different to us,”
Samuel said, adding that the message being sent to Israel’s younger generation
is that it is acceptable to judge people based on their skin color.