The Ethiopian Struggle, Racism or Other Factors?

Racism in Israel towards Ethiopians is not the sole reason for this group having difficulty succeeding. Even though Ethiopians receive a lot of government aid, they have difficulty succeeding based on several factors, such as immigrants suffering from cultural differences, low levels of Ethiopians in universities, and Ethiopians with degrees still not finding high-tech jobs.

In term of government support Ethiopians are not at a disadvantage, but gain more help than other groups. Ethiopians receive roughly four times more support from the Israeli government than any other group of immigrants. (Rosenthal, 157) The type of support they receive is focused around helping them to assimilate into Israeli society and acquire their own housing. This involves free Hebrew classes, government grants, financial aid, and counseling, among other types of support. (Rosenthal, 158) On top of this they also get the highest number of housing subsides, when compared to other immigrants. Even with all these government benefits Ethiopians are the poorest Jewish group in Israel.(Rosenthal, 159) This evidence shows the lack of racism in the Israeli government towards Ethiopians.

Israeli Ethiopian university students.

A factor that causes Ethiopian immigrants to have difficulty succeeding in Israel is cultural differences. This normally revolves around the loss of traditional Ethiopian hierarchical structures. In Ethiopian society they have a strict set structure that puts a huge emphasis on respecting elders. This even goes as far as children not being allowed to speak without permission or even making eye contact with elders.(Rosenthal, 158) The loss of this respect and authority, causes some Ethiopian fathers to often suffer from depression, due to this harsh shift in cultures. The males in the household no longer hold the same level of authority, as women are finding more work and parents often rely on their children for help with  Hebrew. (Rosenthal, 158)  In addition to this culture shock, Ethiopian immigrants often have trouble finding jobs because of their language barrier and low education background. When compared to their children born in Israel, which have more opportunities, their children have a much easier time getting jobs.

According to the Haaretz article, “Ethiopian-Israeli Woman Makes Good in High-tech: An Unrepresentative Story,” settled Ethiopians still find it difficult to succeed in Israel. This is most likely due to only twenty-seven percent of Ethiopians, who pass high school, have the grades needed for a university. This is extremely low when compared the fifty-three percent of Jews having the grades needed. The Olim Beyahad organization website states that its goal is to “help excelling Ethiopian Israelis who hold university degrees integrate into the forefront of Israel’s workforce.” This is concerning as the Haaretz article points out that a factor for Ethiopian failure is rooted in the high schools and subsequently the lack of Ethiopians in universities.

The Haaretz article, brings up another factor, saying that Ethiopians’ lack of success is due to a third of high-tech employees being hired because of the “friend brings in a friend” system. The issue with this system is that if there is not a high percentage of Ethiopians already in those tech-industries, their odds of getting hired drops dramatically. Although Olim Beyahad does not tackle the factor involving low levels of Ethiopians in universities, it does seem geared to finding high-tech jobs for those with degrees, which can be seen across their website.

Confrontation between IDF and Israeli Ethiopians.

Concerning statistics listed in the Haaretz article, it is easy for them to be misinterpreted. One such statistic brings to light this confusion, “The state comptroller report from 2012 revealed that Ethiopian Israelis who find work suited to their abilities get 40 percent less than the average Israeli.” The author did not provide a link to the source of this article and I was not able to find the direct source. Without the full context, what exactly does “find work suited to their abilities” mean? It would be extremely daunting to find this statistic accurately without compromising the integrity of the survey, as this is extremely subjective. If this statistic is a survey of the working Ethiopian population, the forty percent is in fact a more reasonable number than at first glance. This statistic includes the Ethiopian immigrants that are working and immigrated after adolescence, who suffer from a lack of education and language barriers. These harsh obstacles often result in low paying jobs. The Haaretz article even mentions that in a Taub Center report half of Ethiopian women and seventeen percent of Ethiopian men, who came to Israel over the age of 12, find jobs in cleaning and kitchen work. These low paying jobs lower the total population’s earnings, causing the statistics to be more skewed. As the older immigrant population gets replaced by Israeli-born Ethiopians, the statistics should yield more conclusive results.This does not mean that Ethiopians do not have difficulty succeeding in Israel but just simply means the statistics are skewed and not as valid.

Other pieces of data provided in the Haaretz article are anecdotal accounts of Shoshi Jambar and WalkMe employees. This data is a reliable account of an individual's story. Although reliable, it is important not take this one account at face value and generalize the whole ethnic group. Unfortunately there are no links in the article backing the statistics or other information provided. Some of the statistics do not even list the source, like the one that provided information on the percentage of the gaps between Ethiopians and Israelis. On the other hand when the author does list the source it becomes more reliable. For example, the author cites the Central Bureau of Statistics, which makes the information much more reliable as this it is an Israeli government office. Similarly the information provide by the Taub Center is also reliable as they are an independent, non-partisan organization.

The reliability of the data on the Olim Beyahad organization website is not the most reliable. This is due to the nature of the data being on a website that is meant to promote its cause. The website is not going to give the whole picture but just account for its successes, as the goal is to gain support and donations. Although questionable, the stories and data given on the website help to understand the level of their success.

Protesting Israeli Ethiopians

The point of view of the sources covered in the blog share varied perspectives about Ethiopians in Israeli society. The author of the Haaretz article, Ruti Levy, has a perspective of Ethiopian Israeli women being successful where they are normally excluded. This can been seen in the title, where she says it is an unrepresentative story. The pictures in the article display Shoshi Jambar’s pride and confidence as an equal to white Israelis, which expresses the author's positive view about Ethiopian Israeli’s future. The next source, Olim Beyahad website projects a view of empowerment towards Ethiopians. The organizations point view is clearly stated on website, which is to promote the successful integration of Ethiopian Israelis into Israel. Their website displays several pictures of Ethiopians in powerful and creative situations, such as on stage singing or at podiums. In contrast, Rosenthal speaks from the Israeli point of view of the Ethiopian plight. As stated in a previous blog post, Rosenthal’s point of view is pro-Israeli. She does provide an accurate perspective of several Israeli ethnic groups but in the case of the Ethiopian chapter it feels one sided. This is due to her depicting the Ethiopians as a singular group with one set of shared issues and successes. She lacks multitude of varying perspectives, like in other chapters of the book.

Do all Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs hate each other?

Through examining Rosenthal’s book, The Israelis, the Pew Religious Forum website, and two articles in Haaretz, “Hundreds of Arab and Jewish Architects Call for End to Arab Home Demolitions” and “Thousands of Jews and Arabs March Together Against Racism and House Demolitions in Tel Aviv”, it is clear that not all Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs hate each other. It can also be seen that there are many mixed opinions, on both sides, supporting and against the Israeli government.

Rosenthal presents several first hand accounts of Israeli Arabs with mixed opinions on this matter. Through her evidence she supports a theory, that the more religious observant the person is, the more intolerant they will be of others. The first example she gives, is Yasser Mansour, who is an extremely progressive Israeli Arab doctor who happily works with and treats, Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. (Rosenthal 263) Yasser Mansour is not religious and likes his diverse lifestyle. Another example, on other extreme of the spectrum, is the Muslim religious leader Sheik Salah. Sheik Salah is the leader of The Islamic Movement and is strongly against favorable relations between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. Also seen throughout the chapter Rosenthal presents Salah’s distrust and disdain of the Israeli government. (Rosenthal 271) The last example Rosenthal gave, was the moderate perspective from Tarik. Tarik was a simple Israeli Arab that wanted to live peacefully without dealing with the extremists on both sides. What was interesting, is that he was upset at the Israeli government not because they treated Arabs unfairly but because they were too soft on them. (Rosenthal 277) All these examples show the vast differences in opinions of Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews, towards each other and the Israeli government.

Palestinian women yelling at IDF solider.

Another example from Rosenthal, is how Bedouins also disagree in this. The Northern Bedouins, in Galilee and the Jezreel Valley “not only do they have very different backgrounds and speak different Arabic than the Negev Bedouin; they are more prosperous and urbanized… They generally have closer ties to the state than the Negev Bedouin.” (Rosenthal 290) Other then their opinion on the Israeli government the Bedouins also differ in their relations with Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. The Northern Bedouins have a tradition of serving in the IDF and because of this are mistreated by other Muslims. Serving in the IDF also causes them to be treated better by Israeli Jews. (Rosenthal 290) As for the Negev Bedouins, “The Islamic Movement and other militant anti-Israeli Islamic groups are also strong in six other Bedouin towns and villages (Rosenthal 289).” This shows the distrust of Bedouins in the Israeli government.

The Pew Religious Forum Website, presents detailed statistics showing both Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs opinions. In a survey it shows that sixty-four percent of Israeli Arabs generally do not think Israel can be a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time. This shows that even though it is the majority, still are large portion at  at twenty-seven percent belief  Israel can be a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time. Another example, is that “Israeli Jews are divided on the question of whether Arabs should be allowed to live in the Jewish state.” The website shows a distinct split with forty-eight percent agreeing Arabs should be expelled and forty-six not agreeing. Once again, this shows that not all Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs hate each other and also have mixed opinions about the Israeli government.

The last source supporting this is from two Haaretz articles, “Hundreds of Arab and Jewish Architects Call for End to Arab Home Demolitions” and “Thousands of Jews and Arabs March Together Against Racism and House Demolitions in Tel Aviv”. Both of these articles present strong negative opinions of the Israeli government from Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs, while also showing them working together. The first article has a quote from Prof. Oren Yiftachel of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev saying, “I found that only one or two percent of state land that has been allocated for planning has gone to the Arab community, despite their being a much larger part of the population.” This represents the common opinion of Many Israeli Arabs and some Israeli Jews who excuse the government of criminal negligence. The other article similarly paints this picture of Israeli Arab and Israeli Jewish activists working together against the Israeli government. Amal Abu Sa'ad, a Bedouin widow who recently lost her husband in a housing demolition incident, spoke to protesters saying, “you will not succeed in dividing between the country's citizens. All of you, who are standing here today, you are proof that Jews and Arabs can and want to live together and with equality." This is a prime example presented by Haaretz of this radical view.

Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs holding their nations flags.

The sources used by the Pew Religious Forum website, and the two Haaretz articles seem extremely reliable. The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan organization and based on Wikipedia does not take explicit policy positions. Although the Pew Research Center is highly renowned, statistics from polls and surveys can only mean so much as the results can often be misleading based on several different factors. The Haaretz articles are a little less reliable, mainly speaking about the second article. The author of the first article, Naama Riba, accurately presents several officials opinions. When the second article’s information is a little lacking, such as the information on how many protestors participated, which was based on the subjective hearsay of the event organizers. In spite of this, the first article accurately quotes the letter from the Arab-Jewish Planners Forum, which is directly relevant to the article. Although the lacked links to most of their sources the information came from officials quotes.

As stated earlier based on Wikipedia, The Pew Research Center does not take explicit policy positions. When reading through their section titled, Israel’s Religiously Divided Society, the reader gets a sense of how factual and objective it is by how it is written. Naama Riba’s, author of the first Haaretz article mentioned, point of view is against the Israeli government but in favor of cooperation between Israeli Jewish and Israeli Arab activists. This is made evident by sub title stating “Jewish and Arab planners band together to fight what they decry as discriminatory housing policy in Israel.” and the picture of a sad young Bedouin on a demolished building. Jack Khoury, also shares a similar point of view against the Israeli government and in favor of mixed group cooperation. An example of this point of view is when he states at the end that, “the harsh attacks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government against the Arab public and democracy.” The most clear evidence is also seen in the articles the sub title when the author expressed “a new stage in the civil struggle of Jews and Arabs.” As both articles share the same point of view, they link to each other in an effort to strengthen their stance. Lastly, the point of view of Rosenthal is, naturally, pro-Israeli. Throughout her book she glorifies Israeli thought and paints the plight of Israel as the worst in the world. On the other hand she provides a large variety of Israeli ethnic groups opinions and perspectives. This diversity of sources provided by Rosenthal allows for a more accurate perspective of Israel.

Russia Recognizes West Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

The Jerusalem Post article, “Jpost Exclusive: Moscow Surprisingly Says West Jerusalem is Israel’s Capital” published on April 6, 2017 and written by Herb Keinon, covers Russia's decision to recognize west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The key takeaway from this article is that Russia’s move is controversial because no other country in the world recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The reason for this is because of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The article starts by giving some perspective to the situation, stating that the Trump administration has been struggling to decide whether they should move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement about acknowledging the Israeli capital as west Jerusalem and the Palestinian capital as east Jerusalem, and plans to immediately put this into effect. Continuing to give context, the article says that this move is vastly different from Russia’s past policies, where they believed Jerusalem should be under permanent international regime. Alexander Shein, Russia’s Ambassador to Israel, does not plan to move the Russian embassy to Jerusalem and plans to discuss the recognition with the Israeli  Foreign Ministry in more detail. Israel is proceeding cautiously to release a statement and the author believes that this is because they annexed the entire city of Jerusalem in 1980. The Russian statement directly contradicts this claim. Moscow’s statement discusses a continuation of the Middle East peace process, and that Russia supports the two-state solution. They also believe that Israel and Palestine “could live in peace and security with each other and with their neighbors.” Finally, the article closes with a diplomatic official’s response to the situation. This official believes Russia’s actions are attempting to divert attention from the recent chemical attacks in Syria, and show that Russia wants to play a proactive role in the future diplomatic process between Israel and Palestine.

President Putin and Prime Minister Netanyahu 

The authors qualifications come into question, when assessing the reliability of the sources provided. The author, Herb Keinon, has a BA in political science from the University of Colorado and an MA in Journalism from the University of Illinois. He has published two books about Israel, and writes for the Jerusalem Post about a wide variety of topics pertaining to Israel. Most of the article’s information comes from the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement, and as the author said, it can be found on their website in English. This is an extremely reliable source, since the author often simply quoted it, without altering the context. For other pieces of data, like Moscow's recognition to go immediately into effect, the author assures the reader that it was information that the Jerusalem Post verified. This data seems reasonably reliable, and other news outlets, such as the Daily Sabah, cite this information to the Jerusalem Post. The reliability of the data on  Russia’s Ambassador's plan, Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry provide no links and their statements are not public. As this information is believed to be gathered by the author, or the Jerusalem Post, it is only as reliable as their trustworthiness. Once again, other new outlets cite this information back to the Jerusalem Post, which speaks to its veracity. The final  piece of data is probably the most questionable, as it is an unnamed source and not quoted. The diplomatic official’s stance leaves room for doubt, but does not mean it should be disregarded. The reliability of this data stems from the credibility of the author. The information presented are either from the Russian Foreign Ministry or gathered from the author and the Jerusalem Post. The article has almost no links to support its claims but, as stated, the Russian Foreign Ministry has data on their website.


Herb Keinon’s point of view is fairly factual, yet cynical of Russia’s true intentions. Most of the information that was given came directly from the statement the author was reporting on. The quotes the author presents from this statement are all about Russia’s aims and concerns, which were not taken out of context or contained any outrageous stances. In the article, the author also makes an attempt to get Israel’s official position, but they were not ready to release it. This reinforces the author's attempt to be objective. Keinon’s opinion, “Israel may be wary of applauding such a move,” shows an understanding of the larger issues involving Israel’s claim to all of  Jerusalem. Although he fairly states all the facts given by the Russian Foreign Ministry, he questions their intent with his final paragraph. The unnamed diplomatic official’s stance tries to ascertain what Russia’s motives are, which is merely speculative. Therefore Keinon’s point of view appears to question Russia’s goals.

David Friedman’s Support of the Beit El Settlment

The blog I will be analyzing is the Haaretz article published on December 16, 2016, “Fund Headed by Trump's Israel Ambassador Pumped Tens of Millions Into West Bank Settlement”, written by Judy Maltz. This article goes over David Friedman’s, America’s ambassador to Israel, actions and positions on settlements and the two state solution in Israel.

David Friedman

Judy Maltz starts the article by presenting background information about David Friedman. She states how he is the president of a fundraising organization, American Friends of Beit El Institutions, which “According its tax forms, ...raises about $2 million in tax-deductible donations each year from supporters of the settlement movement in the United States.” This money is raised for the Beit El settlement, which the author says is one of the most radical and oldest of West Bank settlements. A benefactor of this money, is a yeshiva in Beit El, that is lead by Rabbi Zalman Melamed. A yeshiva combines traditional Jewish learning of religious texts and army service. Rabbi Zalman Melamed is the founder of the Tkuma party, which is a political party in Israel that tends to favor right winged and Orthodox Jewish policy. On top of the money going to the yeshiva, it goes to different educational programs and also to Arutz Sheva, which is a Israeli online news network.

The article continues by going over David Friedman's connection to President Trump and how he was his adviser on Israel, during his campaign, and his lawyer for 15 years. In addition to raising money for pro-settlement organizations, David Friedman has also started a new campaign in American college campuses to promote opposition of the two-state solution. The author also states that David has be known to write for Arutz Sheva, which the American Friends of Beit El Institution funds. On top of this the article briefly presents who has backed the organization, such as Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and John Bolton, Republican and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Rabbi Zalman Melamed

Towards the end, the last key issue the author presents is how Rabbi Zalman Melamed, showed resistance of the Oslo agreement in 1995, by joining rabbis in protest against the evacuation of Israeli Defense Forces soldiers in occupied territories. Also in 2005 he promoted that IDF soldiers should disobey orders to evacuate the Gush Katif settlements in the Gaza Strip. This is relevant because David Friedman has shown support of Rabbi Zalman Melamed through funding. Finally the article closes with a few quotes from the organization’s website as evidence of their core values that the article previously discussed.

The author, Judy Maltz, has written hundreds of articles as a Haaretz correspondent. She seems to be a reliable writer on subjects involving Israeli politics because of the numerous articles she has written on the subject. The primary concern about the article, was that it lacked links to sources and made assessing the reliability more changeling and doubtful. Although it lacked links, finding the information she used about American Friends of Beit El Institution was simple because it was taken directly from the organization's website. For example the website clearly lists John Bolton as a speaker and the quotes she used. Another point to bring up is how the author listed a quote of David Friedman, which did not seem out of context but used fairly to show his stance. Overall there weren't any generalizations made but there was a lack of links for supporting her information.

The viewpoint of the author is seen in favor of liberal policies. This can ascertained by how she presents her information and her background. Looking at Judy Maltz’s other previous works and her Facebook profile, the reader can see that she tends to lean liberal and against the Trump organization. Haaretz is also a liberal news organization, and even promotes on their homepage to protest the occupation of settlements. This gives an idea the angle the work will be presented in, as it written about someone who is pro-settlement. Interestingly the author does not seem to make many, if any, assertions about the claims she presents but she does seem to unfairly present Rabbi Zalman Melamed. At the beginning of the article she introduces him by saying he is, “militant rabbi who has urged Israeli soldiers to disobey orders to evacuate settlements and who has argued that homosexual tendencies arise from eating certain foods.” Even though it seems out of place she puts it there to undermine his credibility by showing how ridicules anyone would be to support this person.

Ma'an News Agency’s Account of Elor Azarya's Court Verdict

Elor Azarya

The Ma'an News Agency’s news article on March 3,2017 reviews the controversy of Elor Azarya’s filmed shooting of an incapacitated Palestinian assailant, which took place near a military checkpoint in Hebron. In this event, two 21 year old Palestinians, Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, armed with knives, attacked an Israeli Defense Force soldier. This exchange resulted in the IDF soldier being moderately wounded and Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi being killed in the process. Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif, who survived the initial struggle, was seen to be wounded and incapacitated at the scene when medics arrived. Shortly after, an IDF soldier, Elor Azarya, was filmed shooting Abd al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif in the head, killing him instantly. Global outrage followed, when the court ruled that Elor Azarya be convicted of manslaughter and not murder. The final verdict resulted in a delayed 18 month prison sentence.  

The article begins by going over what the author believes to be the injustices of the court’s rulings. Throughout the article the author cites the judge's repeated defenses of Azarya. One example is when the judge said that Azarya "has proven he poses no danger to the public and that there's no fear he would try to escape justice." This statement gives clear insight to why the delayed sentence was included in the verdict. The article then continues, by presenting statistics showing the the many deaths of Palestinians by Israeli Defense Force soldiers and suspected IDF soldiers very rarely receive indictments. Towards the end of the Ma'an News Agency’s article, they present al-Sharif's family's point of view about their outrage and lack of surprise with the verdict. They also mention that this sentiment is shared by the Palestinian community. The article closes with a quote from a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute stating that 47 percent of Israelis believe that terrorists should be killed on the spot, even if detained.

IDF soldiers after the fatal shootings in Hebron.

When questioning the validity of  Ma'an News Agency’s data claimed in the article, many doubts come to the forefront. The primary concern is that most of the quotes presented in the article are from secondary sources. This article simply is a regurgitation of news from other news sources. Of the several examples in the article, the most glaring case is when Ma'an News Agency uses a quote from a another newsgroup, instead of getting a statement from the victim's parents themselves, “Israeli daily Haaretz quoted them as saying.” This is extremely concerning because the context of the quotes are left to the secondary source’s discretion.

Among the other data displayed in the article is the cited statistics from Human Rights Watch and Yesh Din. The information shared by Human Rights Watch and Yesh Din must be looked at with doubt, as credibility comes into question based on these groups objectives. Yesh Din is a non-governmental organization funded by many political European organizations. NGO Monitor gives insight into these groups stating, “As with other European-funded political NGOs based in Israel, Yesh Din’s agenda is one-sided, and ignores Palestinian violations of Israeli human rights, including terrorism.” NGO Monitor is a non profit website that compiles a list of non-governmental organizations and reviews their credibility. Also in question, is Human Rights Watch, which is also believed to have links to Western governments and often contains a bias against Israel. These statistics shown in the article from Human Rights Watch and Yesh Din very well could be accurate, but as both groups have an objective that favors these statistics, the reader must proceed with caution. Also equally important, is the fact that they lack the context of why these Palestinians were shot or why just four cases resulted in indictments. It leaves much to wonder about the angle with which this article is pursuing.

Ma'an News Agency’s Logo.

Another concern with this article is that the author's name was not given and leaves the reader questioning why this is the case. Even without the author's name, the reader gets a clear image of the author's point of view. By identifying the sources the author presents, the reader can see that there is a bias against conservative Israeli policies. This is also shown throughout the article, as he or she does not cite from any right-winged Israeli news organizations. The sources the author uses are: Ynet, Haaretz, Yesh Din, and Human Rights Watch. On top of this, the author quotes the judge and Yoram Sheftel, Azarya’s lawyer, but he does not give the judge’s name. Ynet has been known to convey negative opinions towards the expansionist beliefs of Revisionist Zionists,  mainly those beliefs of Netanyahu. Haaretz is known universally as the liberal news source for Israelis. Yesh Din and Human Rights Watch, as stated earlier, have been known to express anti Israeli ideology. As this is a compilation of other news sources, the material chosen provides the author's point of view. Clearly shown, the author’s stance is heavily pro Palestinian and liberal Israeli.

Test Post

This is a dumb test post on Clyde's Israel blog.

Dude