Printer Friendly

Email to A Friend

Friday April 4, 1997

Netanyahu meets soldier who suffered a racist slur

NAOMI SEGAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met this week with an Ethiopian soldier who was ejected from an army medical clinic by a major who said "no blacks" were allowed.

The officer was reprimanded for the incident, which this week prompted an outcry among top government officials, Knesset members, Ethiopian community leaders and the public.

According to an Israel Radio report, Israel Defense Force soldier Avi Asmara with the prestigious Golani unit came to a clinic for treatment about three months ago.

A major who was in the clinic at the time grabbed the Ethiopian-born soldier, pushed him outside and made a racial slur, the report said.

According to the report, the major, Michael Valitzkin, then told the doctor on duty, "We need to put a sign up here saying, `No blacks [kushim] allowed.'"

Asmara reportedly did not file a complaint about the incident because he thought that no one would believe him. But word of the event reached Valitzkin's commander.

Valitzkin has since said that he made the racial slur in jest.

The Ethiopian soldier told the premier during their meeting this week that he hoped that his community would no longer have to face racism.

In addition, the United Ethiopian Jewish Association has asked the Israel Defense Force to establish a board of inquiry to examine the way soldiers of Ethiopian descent are treated.

Did you find this article interesting? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and you'll be notified each week when "J." goes online. We'll tell you about the most important stories of the week and give you a link to each one.

This page contains a BETA version of Amazon contextual links. They are marked by the dashed underline.  Your purchases support our site. At times they point to items which are not related to the actual link. Please alert us by email if you discover objectionable links.