Ethiopian Jews

Ethiopian Jews: The Forgotten Victims of Israel's Systematic Ethnic Discrimination





Racist attitudes and religious discrimination constitute some of the most salient characteristics of Israeli society. These prejudices, far from being restricted to a dichotomy of Jews and non-Jews, permeate the very fabric of Israel's social and political landscape.

Recent revelations from the Israeli Knesset Research and Information Center elucidate troubling health statistics concerning 175,000 Jewish citizens of Ethiopian descent, a population that has been systematically marginalized for years, receiving neither appropriate information nor essential medical services.

The fact that the Ethiopian Jewish community has a far higher suicide rate than the overall Israeli population—where cancer is the primary cause of death—highlights their enduring plight. Today, many Ethiopian Jews succumb to illnesses that are relatively basic and entirely treatable.

The continued denial of basic healthcare and fundamental rights to non-European Jews not only corroborates the prevailing social inequality in Israel but also paints a harrowing portrait of a collapsing society deeply divided along racial lines.