The Sigd holiday honors the Jewish migration from Ethiopia and their longing to return to the biblical Zion. The day consists of fasting, prayers, repentance, and calls for unity, and ends with festive foods.

The ceremony began on Wednesday morning at the Armon Hanatziv promenade in Jerusalem, where a large prayer gathering took place and the traditional breaking of the fast was held.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Several Israeli lawmakers were in attendance, including Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein and Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev, among others. Several local community leaders, as well as members of youth organizations and soldiers, also attended the event.

For the third year, the festival was hosted by the Culture and Sport Ministry, the Center for the Legacy of Ethiopian Jewry and the Kessim Association.

For many years, the holiday was observed in Ethiopia by going to the mountains 50 days after Yom Kippur, where members of the community would pray and fast. At the end of the service, leaders would break Dabu bread that symbolizes the bread served in the Temple in Jerusalem and was followed by traditional singing and dancing.

Most Ethiopian Jews today live in Israel, although there is still a population left in Ethiopia. The Sigd festival is traditionally celebrated at the Sherover Promenade, which is in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem and has a view of Mount Moriah where the Jewish Temple once stood. Many worshippers don traditional white clothing and carry colorful umbrellas during the prayer service.

"I welcome the transformation of the Sigd holiday into a state holiday that marks the strong and long-standing relationship of the Beta Israel community to the God of Israel and Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. ... Today, more and more Ethiopian-Israelis are to be found in key positions in Israeli society and we will continue to work to ensure that this trend grows stronger," said Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev.

Dr. Simcha Gathon, a member of the Board of the Center for the Legacy of Ethiopian Jewry commended the Ethiopian community for holding on to its traditions.

"Even today, with their immigration to Israel, they continue their tradition and prayers, and continue to commemorate this holy day with fasting and prayer for the sake of Zion, of Jerusalem. ... We invite the public to share with us this special day at the Armon Hanatziv promenade in Jerusalem in order to enable the main prayer service to be conducted in a proper and dignified manner," he said.

The post Ethiopian Israeli community celebrates Sigd holiday appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Ethiopian Israeli Avera Mengistu has been missing since September 2014 after he was apparently seen crossing into the northern part of the Palestinian enclave from the beach.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

'We will continue to act to bring back our MIAs, including Ron Arad, Hadar Goldin, Oron Shaul, Tzvi Feldman, Avera Mengistu — just as we brought back Zechariah Baumel and Itir Naveh,' @netanyahu says on #YomHazikaron: pic.twitter.com/ODmugs5afh

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) May 8, 2019

"Abbas said that he sees Avera's case as a humanitarian one and that he does not believe in taking civilians captive," former Israeli MK Shlomo Molla told The Times of Israel, accompanying Haili Mengistu in his meeting at the PA office in the West Bank's Ramallah.

"He said he will do everything, directly and indirectly, to obtain information on his whereabouts and bring him back to his family including working with parties that hold influence with Hamas," added Mollah.

According to the Mengistu family, a deterioration in Avera's mental state following the death of his brother had caused him to cross the border into Gaza, captured by IDF cameras.

He is believed to have been apprehended by Hamas forces and no details on his condition were revealed since then, reported the Hebrew-language site Walla News.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

The post Father of missing Israeli meets Abbas in West Bank to secure son's return from Gaza appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

During the meeting, which Kochavi convened after receiving a letter from Ethiopian officers and non-commissioned officers about the prevalence of racism, the attendees conveyed their personal experiences and feelings on the matter with the chief of staff.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The IDF said in a statement that during the meeting Kochavi stressed there was no place for racism in the army and that stringent measures must be implemented in such cases.

Kochavi added that officers and commanders throughout the military must further instill and strengthen the principles of tolerance and acceptance of the other – in training and study courses and via specialized educational programs on the subject.

Earlier this month, mass protests across the country, sparked by the killing of an Ethiopian teen by an off-duty police officer in Haifa, turned violent.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement expressing sympathy for the Ethiopian community and acknowledging that "there are problems that need to be solved."

The post No place for racism in the army, IDF chief tells Ethiopian officers appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The violence of the riots, along with accusations that Israel's police and government are racist, surprised many across Israel, raising concerns that organizations with political agendas were inflaming the protests for political gain.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

When Smadar Taspai, a social worker for Israeli-Ethiopian youth at risk, found out about the death of 19-year-old Solomon Tekah, she was "devastated" but didn't rush to judgment.

"We are waiting to see the video; we want to see what happened," Taspai told JNS. Taspai did voice her concern, however, that stereotypes of the Ethiopian community might have contributed to the shooting, as well as to the shooting of 24-year-old Ethiopian Israeli Yehuda Biadga by police in January.

According to the officer's testimony, he was walking in Haifa's Kiryat Haim neighborhood after dark with his wife and children when they happened upon a street fight between young Ethiopian Israeli men. When he identified himself as a police officer and tried to break up the fight, the young men began to throw rocks at him. The officer claimed that he perceived a danger to himself and his family, and fired at the ground. The bullet ricocheted off the ground and hit Tekah in the chest.

The officer, who cannot be named due to a gag order, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful killing and later released to house arrest, under heavy guard for his own protection. Charges of manslaughter have already been dropped. Police have yet to release security camera footage of the incident, although there are rumors that such footage exists and supports the officer's version of events.

According to Eytan Meir, branch coordinator for the nongovernmental organization Im Tirtzu, while this is not the first police shooting of an Ethiopian Israeli, such shootings are "isolated incidents" rather than an indication of any systematic racism or stereotyping.

"Ethiopians are 100% Israelis," he told JNS. "Israel risked its own security when it rescued Ethiopians in Operations Moses and Solomon in the 1980s and '90s, respectively – that doesn't sound like the act of a racist country."

According to Meir, what started as a natural protest and an unfortunate death was twisted into a political charade that did not represent the will of the aggrieved Ethiopian community.

"The protests started as a grassroots, spontaneous movement in the Ethiopian community," said Meir, "but it is evident that the radical left-wing group New Israel Fund rapidly tried to hijack them."

According to Meir, left-wing organizations sought to use the protests as a vehicle to advance their agenda of dismantling Israel's right-wing government. In particular, Meir pointed to the Standing Together organization, which he calls "one of the pet projects of the New Israel Fund."

According to Meir, the group claims to be "grassroots" despite its funding sources. "As the smoke cleared," said Meir, "it became evident that Standing Together, which receives funding from the New Israel Fund, was heavily involved in the protests that began on Tuesday."

Meir's account is corroborated by a joint report by The Jewish Press and the Tazpit News Agency that Standing Together had a prominent presence at the demonstrations.

Ethiopian community activist Bezalel Yaakov wrote a scathing attack on his Facebook page against the left-wing leaders at the demonstrations.

"Our struggle is against policy, not against the state," he wrote.

"Unfortunately, I see the human scum of the Breaking the Silence and the New Israel Fund inciting the young people of my community against the State of Israel," he charged. He warned his followers that the "progressives" want to "see blood in the streets more than they want to help our community. They push themselves into any legitimate struggle and turn it into a struggle against the state.

"Our struggle is against policy and not against the state," he said. "Yes to the protest, no to violence. I doubt that they would have shown up if there were no elections soon," he added, referring to the general election set for September.

Meir explains that the left-wing political entities are attempting to link the Ethiopian community in Israel with the US civil rights struggle.

He said any comparison between the circumstances of Ethiopian Israelis and those of African Americans in the United States is "absurd."

"There is no semblance of a parallel; it's comparing apples and oranges. There is a big distinction between individual racists and systematic racism by law or de facto policy," Meir said.

At the same time, while stating that Israel is certainly not a racist country he noted that there are certainly individual racists in Israel, just as there are in every country.

"Some people are racist, and we should denounce them," said Meir. "Every citizen in Israel should be treated equally."

Similarly, Taspai said that while she sees some similarities between the two communities, the comparison is upsetting.

"I don't like it when people compare the Ethiopian story to the United States," she said. "There's something unique here and there. Here, we are all Jewish and supposed to be equal, but there, there was slavery."

In her work with Ethiopian Israelis ages 13-21, Taspai has found that teens and young adults in the community have become "very, very angry" in the past few years.

Taspai, who immigrated to Israel with her family from Ethiopia in 1983, one year before Operation Moses, said that the generation she works with is very different from her own or that of her parents. The Ethiopians of the past were known to be modest and docile, she said, while the generations born in Israel are "stronger and more determined" and do not stay quiet when they see something that needs to be changed.

"This is the country we dreamed of and adore, but sometimes we feel people are trying to push us and we ask, 'Why?' I am trying to be objective, not to be too involved, but [the question remains]," she said.

Taspai's brother is a police officer, and she noted that there are many good officers among the Israel Police force. Previous generations of Ethiopian Israelis, she said, have great respect for the police and vice versa, both back in Ethiopia and in Israel, but this trust is now being challenged.

While Taspai estimates that a staggering 70% of the Border Police force is of Ethiopian descent, "the teens have a lot of criticism about the police and Israeli government."

According to Taspai, the teens "want justice and to feel equal. They were born in Israel and grew up as Israelis with strong Jewish identities but still feel discriminated against whether in school, on the street or by the police."

While there are various initiatives seeking to better relations between members of the police and the Ethiopian community, according to Taspai, "they're not really working."

"We need to put more effort into education from a young age and ensure there are Ethiopians in every sector of society, including educators, so people see them and know them, preventing stereotypes rather than only seeing them in the army and the news."

While she understands the frustrations of young Ethiopian Israelis, Taspai tells those she works with that "you don't solve violence with violence," urging them to think of more effective ways to fight discrimination.

"Nobody is waking up saying, 'We're going to shoot Ethiopians.' You can't take it personally," she advises. "Yes, there is a problem, but you can still make it in Israeli society. You can't think that you don't have the same opportunities; you must have hope and dreams. There are a lot of successful stories of Ethiopian educators, doctors, lawyers – we have everything."

"You have to have trust in the Israeli state," she urged.

Correction:

On July 8, 2019, Israel Hayom published an article titled "Left-wing groups accused of 'hijacking' Israeli-Ethiopian protests," by JNS reporter Eliana Rudee, which was taken from JNS, the Jewish News Syndicate.

The article alleged that German left-wing party Die Linke does not recognize Israel's existence. From an inquiry made with JNS following the publication, we found that JNS could not independently substantiate this claim.

Further, JNS informed that they were presented with evidence that Die Linke does recognize Israel's existence and calls for a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel Hayom apologizes if anyone found said publication to be offensive.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Left-wing groups accused of 'hijacking' Israeli-Ethiopian protests appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Cohen's message read: "We are in the midst of an ongoing national police mission, one that is important and complicated. As the police force of a democratic, law-abiding state, we are obligated to preserve the delicate balance between allowing legitimate protests and cracking down on those who break the law. As professionals, we are obligated to restraint and containment," Cohen stated.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The acting police chief discussed violence perpetrated against police officers by protesters on Tuesday, and said, "There is the law and there is a way to protest. Along with the rights of the demonstrators, there is an obligation to uphold the rights of the public and the citizens. There is no place for attacks on representatives of the government, on institutions, or against property, and there is certainly no place for unchecked rampaging.

"In the past two days … you, the police, have conducted yourselves admirably, with determination, professionalism, and bravery. Some of you were even wounded during violent protests and continued to function alongside your comrades."

Cohen said that some of the demonstrators "exploited our willingness to allow legitimate protests, and were very violent with police and civilians as they rioted and blocked roads. We will now allow riots, roadblocks, or violence. We will continue to be careful about proportionality and in differentiating between those who want to protest, as is their legal right in a democratic state, and those who incite to and perpetrate violence."

Cohen warned police that the protests were not over and they would face "additional challenges." He said he trusted the police force to continue acting professionally and sent his wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded.

Earlier Wednesday, the father of Solomon Tekah, a young Ethiopian Israel who was fatally shot by a police officer in Kiryat Haim on Sunday, sparking the current protests, called on activists to avoid violence.

"I want to thank the Israeli people for their support of us. I'm asking the demonstrators not to use violence, and I am calling on the police to behave with restraint and tolerance. I can't have my son back, but we want there to be a fair trial and a just legal system. Let my son be the last, and no more children be killed," David Tekah said.

Meanwhile, new chairman of the far-Left Meretz party Nitzan Horowitz said Wednesday in a Facebook post that Tuesday's protests were "mild compared to what happened," referring to police violence against the community.

"Everyone should support these protests because it's not only for the Ethiopian community; it's a fight for our freedom to live in this country without fear," Horowitz wrote.

"This protest could not be more justified. But there are already those who are calling it 'wild and dangerous.' They do the same for every protest, by the way. Always. Because they simply can't stand protests and want everyone to keep their heads down," Horowitz continued.

Horowitz said that the people who were "wild and dangerous" were the "police who fired without reason, who beat civilians."

The post 'Rioters exploited our willingness to allow legitimate protests' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.