Ethiopian-Israeli Lawmaker Says Seeking Equality, Netanyahu's Ouster

Hadera, Israel, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Feb, 2020 ) :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 colour 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.