Hundreds of Ethiopian-Israelis protest shooting of Ethiopian teen by an Israeli police

Hundreds of members of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel protested on Monday afternoon in the city of Haifa against the fatal shooting of an unarmed Ethiopian youth by an off-duty police officer a day earlier.

The policeman claimed that a group of young men had assaulted him and that he feared for his life, forcing him to use his weapon. The Haifa Magistrate’s Court later released the officer to house arrest.

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Ethiopian activists have accused the Israeli police of racism.

Shelly Yachimovich MK of the Labour party said the young man, Solomon Tekah, 19 had been killed simply because he was Ethiopian, adding that the policeman would have never used his weapon if the quarrel had been with a group of white youths.