Ethiopian-Israeli MP says seeking equality
HADERA: The first Ethiopian-born Jewish woman elected to Israel’s parliament, who said she is fighting for racial equality, has become a key player in the effort to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Pnina Tamano-Shata, a former television journalist first elected to the Knesset (parliament) in 2013, represents an Ethiopian-Israeli community that experts say could be pivotal in the country’s March 2 vote.
The election is Israel’s third in less than a year and polls show another tight race between Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud and the centrist Blue and White party, of which Tamano-Shata is a member. Sitting in a cafe in Hadera, a city north of Tel Aviv that is home to thousands of Ethiopian Israelis, Tamano-Shata argued that racial inequality remained rampant after Netanyahu’s 14 years in office.
“There are more Ethiopians in prison, more police brutality against us, higher poverty and a higher suicide rate,” she told AFP in an interview. The killing last year of 19-year-old Solomon Teka by an off-duty police officer inflamed long-standing grievances among Ethiopian-Israelis, who claim they have repeatedly been targeted by police due to the color of their skin. Tamano-Shata said her generation of Ethiopian-Israelis had a duty “to fight tirelessly for our acceptance”. “We must assert that we are no different, that we are equal,” she added.
Operation Moses
Israelis of Ethiopian descent have historically backed Likud as a legacy of gratitude for the 1984-1985 “Operation Moses” that brought an initial 8,000 Ethiopians to the Jewish state. That seven-week clandestine extraction after a devastating Ethiopian famine was carried out under the premiership of former Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir.
Tamano-Shata’s family was part of that operation. She recalls travelling with her pregnant mother and sisters to a camp for the displaced in Sudan from where she and thousands of others were exfiltrated to Israel. “We dreamed of Jerusalem for generations,” she said. “I was born in a village without electricity.” The Ethiopian-Israeli community has since grown to 140,000-strong, including 50,000 born in Israel. famine was carried out under the premiership of former Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir.
Tamano-Shata’s family was part of that operation. She recalls travelling with her pregnant mother and sisters to a camp for the displaced in Sudan from where she and thousands of others were exfiltrated to Israel. “We dreamed of Jerusalem for generations,” she said. “I was born in a village without electricity.” The Ethiopian-Israeli community has since grown to 140,000-strong, including 50,000 born in Israel.