Haaretz Reports: As Ethiopian activists expressed satisfaction over Wednesday’s demonstration in Tel Aviv, a new battle line has emerged for Ethiopian Jews targeting discrimination in Israel: New York.
Educator and activist Benjamin Aklom is targeting the Big Apple after recognizing the influence of overseas Jewish communities on Israel.
“We [Ethiopians] in Israel are a very weak political force, and significant changes like we’re demanding can only come through two channels,” Aklom explained. One is “mobilization of Israeli society as a whole.” The other is “recruiting Diaspora Jewry” – much of which has been active for years on behalf of Ethiopian Jews – “to influence the decision makers in Israel.”
To this end, he has posted video clips on YouTube, set up a Facebook page, and recruited Ethiopian friends who moved from Israel to New York as his “point men.” The Facebook page already has several hundred fans, of whom about half are fellow Ethiopians and half are American Jews.
All this activity is meant to culminate in a major demonstration in which activists will block the road leading to the Israeli consulate in New York. He is now awaiting final permits from the New York police, and hopes the demonstration will take place early next month.
