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At least 41 people were wounded, of which 25 law enforcement officers, in clashes at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Sunday evening. Thousands protested Sunday against treatment of Israeli Ethiopians, days after a similar rally in Jerusalem that followed two incidents of apparent police brutality.

At least 35 people were arrested.

Protesters marched from the the Azrieli towers to Kiryat HaMemshala (government offices), shutting down traffic on the Ayalon Highway in both directions. They blocked the Kaplan-Begin junction, while police closed other main traffic arteries in central Tel Aviv.

As YWN Israel had reported on Sunday morning, protesters vowed to shut down the daily routine in Tel Aviv.

The Times Of Israel reports:

Rabin Square, normally a place island in the center of Tel Aviv is littered with broken glass, pieces of stun grenades and stones, the remnants of the intense battles between protesters and police that left dozens on both sides injured.

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich says: “It’s no longer a protest, it’s a riot.”

“I’ve never experienced this, and I have a lot of experience,” Aharonovitch says. “It’s a very difficult situation.”

He says he has been here for many hours, “and there is no one to talk to.”

“The moment there is no permit, the protest is not legitimate,” he says, echoing police commissioner Danino.

Aharonovitch concedes that “some of the claims against police are legitimate.” He says the number of incidents police brutality are increasing and the police “needs to examine itself.”

But tomorrow the prime minister will hold a meeting and these issues will be discussed, he stresses.

As YWN reported last Wednesday, a video surfaced that showed two policemen in Holon assaulting an Ethiopian IDF soldier in an apparently unprovoked attack. The soldier is a member of Israel’s Ethiopian community and community leaders lament what they call police brutality against members of the community of a regular basis. It is pointed out that the Ethiopian community in Israel has protested against police brutality on numerous occasions. Community officials tell the media that too often when police arrest a member of the community, too often they do not hesitate to use unjustifiable force.

Israel Police Chief Yochanan Danino announced that the policeman caught on video beating a uniformed IDF soldier has been suspended and he will be dismissed from the force following a department hearing. Danino, who has been committed to weeding out corruption in his department stated “there is no room for officers like this in the department”.

Despite Danino making this statement, protesters took to the streets last Thursday night in Jerusalem causing damage and getting violent.

We’ve had enough! No to racism, no to discrimination. Our democracy is at risk. Enough to police violence,” protesters said, blocking the entrance to Jerusalem and its main artery.

(Chaim Shapiro – YWN)