Tel-Aviv and Baltimore - Uncomfortable Similarities

In a famous TV satirical sketch from 1972 called "The New Immigrants", Israeli actor Uri Zohar (now an orthodox rabbi) and the late actor/singer Arik Einstein lampooned the reactions of recently arrived "veteran" Israelis to newly arriving immigrants. In all the scenes, that stretch from the 1890's to the 1980's, the two are standing on a sandy hill, watching "new" immigrants from different countries (also played by them) arriving in Jaffa Port. Remember - this was satire.

In the first scene (1890's) they are dressed as Bedouin Arabs complaining about how these new pale, Russian immigrants are going to ruin everything about their traditional nomadic life.

In the next (1930's), dressed as established swamp-draining, settlement building Russian pioneers they mock new immigrants from Poland. Next (1940's) they are established Polish farmers mocking a just arriving Yemenite couple (Zohar is the very pregnant wife). Next (also 1940's) the now settled Israeli Yemenites make fun of the German immigrants, who later laugh at the Moroccan Jews in the 1950's, who mock the waves of Russians after the fall of the Iron curtain, etc., etc.

This funny parody was actually based on fact. Every wave of Jews that immigrated to Israel over the last hundred years endured hardship, discrimination by earlier and now-established settlers, and relegation to communities in lesser attractive areas. One could justifiably argue that this was done out of necessity.

There was precious little money, including donations, to settle hostile border areas, build the IDF, fight wars, finance education, provide welfare AND absorb hundreds of thousands of immigrants at the same time. Immigration absorption was, unfortunately a low priority.

However, with all the hardship, virtually all the immigrants, many of whom started in mud-paved tents of the Ma'abarot" (transition camps established to shelter survivors of the Holocaust and North African immigrants in the 1950's), especially the second generation, succeeded, with some government and organizational help, in breaking out of the poverty cycle.

So why haven't the 130,000 plus Ethiopian Jews, who have been in Israel now for over thirty years succeeded like the others? Why are they so frustrated and disenfranchised that they feel compelled to riot, like in Baltimore, against police brutality and lack of support or caring by the Israeli government and local authorities? Why do many feel ostracized today by an Israeli public that received them with open arms just three generations ago?

The answer is complex, embarrassing and not necessarily politically correct. First - there were two categories Immigrants from Ethiopia:

• Those that came from the cities.
• Those that came from remote villages.

The first group was, for the most part, educated; spoke languages, with some having professional degrees or commercial experience. This group was absorbed relatively quickly in Israel.  Many achieved success in business, politics, art, the IDF, sports and diplomacy - representing Israel around the world as heads and staff of Israeli missions and delegations.

In 2013, Ethiopian immigrant Titi Yitayish Ayanow represented Israel in the Miss Universe contest.

The second group, the majority, was totally different. Having been pretty much disconnected from civilization for hundreds of years most had never seen a structure bigger that a straw hut. They had never seen a door handle, sink, running water or anything electrical or gas driven.

When it was clear that the normal process of absorption (several months in an absorption center for full-emersion language, culture, customs orientation and adaptation) was not appropriate here, other systems were tried. Some worked - some not so much.

While first generation absorption has always been difficult, it almost always got better with the second generation once they were drafted, to the IDF, which has always been the "great melting pot" of Israeli society. The IDF prides itself as being color blind (Israelis from Ethiopia serve in every unit and every command position), religion blind (Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Samaritans and atheists serve together), education blind (soldiers and officers are evaluated and promoted by performance, not education level), gender blind (every combat and command position is now open to women), race blind (Arabs and Circassians serve) and social status blind - all recruits start off as a basic trainees on equal footing.

Unfortunately this time the system failed. As Renee Ghert-Zand reported in the May 5^th edition of The Times of Israel: "Although 89% of teenage boys (higher than the national average of 75%) and 62% of teenage girls of Ethiopian heritage serve in the IDF, one third of them end up in IDF prisons." Many are subsequently dishonorably discharged.

And these, together with their younger brothers and sisters, have become the critical mass of frustrated, disenfranchised, jobless young Ethiopian Israelis who live in crowded, run down apartments, turn to minor criminal activities or drugs, feel harassed by the police and invisible to the authorities.

Like in Baltimore - the trigger was a video tape of two Israeli policemen attacking an Ethiopian soldier because he "looked suspicious". This cannot continue. The Israeli government and society dropped the ball. Bibi Netanyahu promised very publicly that he intends to deal with this explosive and growing "festering wound", as president Rivlin called it, at "top priority".

Let's see which situation be resolved first...Baltimore or Tel- Aviv. Hopefully it will be both - and the sooner, the better.