Dear Friends,

We are in the midst of hot raging times, both in terms of the weather and the political storm taking place with government reforms. The road to justice is a long journey with significant steps ahead. Injustices often begin with Ethiopian Israelis and other marginalized groups who have been subjected to inequality for years.

The AEJ is taking a stand by publishing our position paper on government reforms and we continue to raise awareness on the political turmoil via AEJ’s social media. We posted a moving speech by AEJ’s board member, Ziva Mekonen-Degu, who spoke to protesters in Jerusalem about the struggle for Israel’s character.
 
This conflict has many angles so I presented another perspective as part of an informative and emotional webinar organized by Elluminate on “The Future of Women's Rights: A Gendered Response to the Emerging Crisis in Israel”. For many Ethiopian Israelis, the current struggle is problematic since Israel’s democracy, whether before or after the reforms, does not always protect our rights. Israel’s reality today confirms that issues, like over-policing, about which the AEJ has continuously advocated against, spill over and touch everyone. Ethiopian Israelis are simply the first to get hit.

In 2019, AEJ published our research on over-policing and the proportionately high criminal cases of Ethiopian Israelis. We continued to call out the ineffective investigations of police offenders and the partisanship of Israel Police’s Internal Investigations Department (PID). AEJ’s criticisms and demands for change were confirmed by the State Comptroller’s 2023 Report that highlighted the topic “the handling of police offenses by the PID and the Police.” The report criticizes the police’s systemic failures in addressing or altogether ignoring complaints against police officers– an issue that the AEJ has been warning about for years.
 
And what about Avera Mengistu? It is a travesty that he has been languishing in Hamas captivity for 3245 days! Real justice means his immediate return! What if Israeli society was more involved in our struggles for justice, making the road less arduous and much shorter to a more just and equal society?
 
On a positive note, there are encouraging signs of resolve and cooperation between police stations (like Netanya, Bat Yam, Kiryat Melachi, etc...), the local authorities, and the Ethiopian Israeli community to expunge criminal cases. AEJ has received over 100 requests from the community to close cases as we continue to push this initiative. This is a significant achievement! 
 
Additionally, the AEJ has plans to participate in a special conference in collaboration with police Commander Nir Jambar of the Zevulun police Station near Haifa to advance the closure of criminal cases in cooperation with the legal clinics at Hebrew U and at Ono Academic College.
 
Read below on AEJ’s impact on public sector employment.
 
Finally, I am proud to report that once again, the AEJ was awarded the Midot Seal of Effectiveness recognizing AEJ’s focus on results and continuous improvement to impact policy and social change.
 
Thank you all for your on-going support and partnership on this journey to justice. Please consider donating to AEJ today!
 
Rina

June 30, 2023 marked 4 years to the day when an Israeli police officer shot and killed the late Solomon Tekah contrary to legal procedures. For four years we have demanded the maximum three year prison sentence! The verdict will take place on October 31, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. Let’s stand together with the Tekah family for justice!

Police Reform - AEJ Policy Change Continues
On April 23 and then again on May 31 AEJ’s Executive Director participated in the Knesset Special Committee for Youth Affairs chaired by MK Naama Lazimi on profiling and police violence against youths. AEJ continues to demand data transparency and the system’s recognition of profiling. By breaking down BIG-data into specific populations, then patterns and correlations could provide the Police and public with valuable insights into the problem of profiling and over-policing leading to informed policy decision-making.
Committee Chair, MK Naama Lizami, declared in a clear voice that “skin color is not reasonable suspicion.”
 

A couple of weeks ago, the Civil Service Commission released its 2022 Employment Diversity Report. As in previous years, the data is disturbing. Ethiopian Israelis are overrepresented at the lowest entry level while targets at the senior level are unfulfilled. These are the numbers: 83% worked in entry-level jobs; 9.3% were employed at a professional level; 3.8% in middle management level; and.0.3% at senior management level. AEJ continues to work vigorously with numerous government ministries (like Health/Foreign Affairs/Welfare and Justice) to implement the law and meet their legal diversity goals with an emphasis on qualitative management positions and by actively recruiting candidates, advancing their current employees, and fulfilling the ministry’s designated positions.
 
One of the highlights of AEJ’s collaborations took place on July 12, 2023 when AEJ partnered with Israel's Foreign Ministry and presented an information session on the next Cadet course with guest speaker Ambassador Belaynesh Zevadia, a senior diplomat at the Foreign Ministry and the former Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia. There was a strong turnout and interest with the goal of increasing recruitment to the course, proving that when the government makes an effort, employment diversity advances.
 
AEJ’s employment advocacy continues and on May 17 AEJ’s Executive Director spoke at the Knesset State Audit Committee about the State Comptroller's Report published in February about the under-representation of marginalized populations in government defense companies and other key government companies. The report examined the years between 2017-2022 and shows the employment numbers did not increase dramatically over the years. The data illustrates the indifference of these company CEOs over decades and I stated clearly that state companies are a public resource and Ethiopian Israelis are only employed at the low entry levels. Government companies must take initiative to meet legal employment diversity goals for equal employment at all levels including management positions.
 

Special Update
AEJ is thrilled to host Summer AEJ volunteer Rachel Fredman from Boston as part of the Onward-Birthright Internship program. Rachel has been improving AEJ’s brand in our presentations, Facebook, website, and Zoom with her sharp insights and skills. She is motivated and engaged by AEJ’s mission and activities as a result of working on our master statement, attending an advocacy meeting, and discussing the latest issues with AEJ's team. We wish Rachel much success on her return to the U of Maryland and hope she continues to advance AEJ’s cause from afar and social change in general.