Jerusalem – Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein has decided to close the criminal case against a police officer who was filmed beating an Ethiopian IDF soldier in April.
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The video, which appeared to show an unprovoked attack against the soldier, Damas Pakadeh, sparked weeks of protests among the Ethiopian community in Israel.
In lieu of criminal charges, the Israel Police will decide what disciplinary measures the officer will face.
The Justice Ministry stated that close inspection of the video shows that the soldier refused to leave the scene when told repeatedly by the officer that there was a suspicious package in the area. The soldier then, according to the Justice Ministry, pushed the officer, prompting the officer to use force to remove him from the area.
The soldier then punched the officer, prompting the officer to punch him in return, the statement added.
The Justice Ministry added that the officer could have handled the situation in a “more professional manner.”
The proper course, given the facts, is for the officer to be disciplined by the Israel Police Internal Affairs Department, and not face criminal charges, the Justice Ministry said.
The Ministry added that there was no proof that the officer acted out of racism, or hit the soldier because he is Ethiopian.
Weinstein’s decision was “scandalous” and a “disgrace,” said former lawmaker Pnina-Tamano Shata, who participated in the protests.
“We have no choice but to continue the struggle for our rights,” the former Yesh Atid MK wrote on her Facebook page.
shame on them!!!!! doesn’t matter if it’s racism or not (but methinks it was)–how can you beat up a soldier????
I would expect an explanation that clarifies that this incident was not another example of prejudice.
I wonder if it was a Palestinian that got beaten up if they would have closed the case.
also sadly Israel is one of the most racist country in the world against Sephardic people and other people of color
I don’t think you guys have read the article.
This proves how much we judge without having sufficient facts. We were all wrong; the soldier is a bum and not the police and the people who wrote in comments, like #1 and #2 , can’t seem to read well, well…
sounds like a pretext to riot, when will certain people learn to play by the rules?
Just like in our country, all these cases of alleged (concocted, invented) “police brutality upon the modicum of investigation turn out to be bogus. The reverse actually happened: police was attacked or threatened by blacks.