Calling on the government of Israel to wake up and take a serious stand against racism, thousands of people marched through the streets of Jerusalem  Wednesday to protest what they believe is on-going and institutionalized discrimination against Israelis of Ethiopian descent.

Protest against discrimination of Ethiopians Jews, Jerusalem, January 18, 2012 (Photo: Activestills)

The leader of the march was 26-year-old student Mulet Hararo, who started his own personal march from Kiryat Malakhi to Jerusalem on Monday.  Prior to the march he said, "It was very heart warming to see people support me on my way to Jerusalem. It gave me the strength to go on. My goal is to expose the Israeli society and the Israeli establishment to the phenomenon of racism."

The protest was also attended by leaders of the social protest and the  woman who sparked this past summer’s mass social justice protests, Daphni Leef.

“I believe this is an evolution of what happened in July,” Leef told journalists, adding, “even though seven percent of the population came out onto the streets calling for social justice, the government has shown complete disregard for social issues and now we are even seeing a series of anti-democratic laws.” She continued: “This is no longer a fight for welfare or education or equal pay but a fight for democracy that has created a civil rights movement.” Successive governments in Israel have “nurtured a divide and conquer method” that has prevented different social groups from uniting and fighting together, said Leef, adding that “this is now changing.”

A week ago, thousands demonstrated in Kiryat Malakhi to protest discrimination in the wake of the reported refusal of housing committees to sell apartments to Israelis of Ethiopian origin. Some 120,000 Jews of Ethiopian origin reside in the country, many of them having arrived in three airlift operations in the 1980s and early 1990s. Many continue to face social discrimination, class exploitation, racism and other barriers,  including segregation in schools, and challenges stemming from the Rabbinate’s refusal to recognize the community’s religious leaders.

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