He Didn’t Look Jewish

An Israel mob attacks and beats an Ethiopian Jew mistaken for a non-Jewish African refugee.

He Didn’t Look Jewish
An Israel mob attacks and beats an Ethiopian Jew mistaken for a non-Jewish African refugee
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

He didn’t look Jewish.

Hananya Vanda, an Ethiopian Jew, was photographing an an anti-African refugees demonstration in south Tel Aviv tonight when a mob of demonstrators stopped shouting “leftists are traitors,” dropped their signs saying “south Tel Aviv, not South Sudan,” and attacked him and beat Vanda, stopping only when they realized that Vanda was an Ethiopian Jew, not a Sudanese or Eritrean refugee, Ha'aretz reported.

After the attack, Vanda told reporters that he was walking by the demonstration taking  photographs when the mob attacked him. In Israel, Vanda said, “Sudanese are treated just like Ethiopians [Jews], the black presence is intimidating [to Israelis].”

Tonight’s demonstration was organized by extreme right wing activist and former follower of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, Baruch Marzel, who told reporters the mob hopes to hold these demonstrations every day “until the Prime Minister and the Foreign and Interior Ministers will start to act [to deport the African refugees], rather than [just] talk.”

Last week, an anti-African-refugee demonstration in south Tel Aviv attended by more than 1000 people turned violent after right wing Knesset members and other politicians called for the deportation of the African refugees. Some politicians called the refugees names. Likud MK Miri Regev called them a “cancer.”

Demonstrators rioted, smashed, looted, and beat at least one African refugee as they set fire to trash dumpsters and blocked roads.

In April, several apartments and a day care linked to African refugees were firebombed in what police believe was a coordinated attack. No arrests have been made.

Meanwhile, earlier today Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein told a Jerusalem court that there is no longer any reason to refrain from deporting South Sudanese. The situation in South Sudan is no longer bad enough to cause us to fear for the lives and physical safety of “migrants” who are returned there, Weinstein said, basing himself on a new report issued by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Comments

[RealJew]

He Didn’t Look Jewish
An Israel mob attacks and beats an Ethiopian Jew mistaken for a non-Jewish African refugee

Almost all pictures that I have seen involving Ethiopians they never appear to be wearing kipas. Why is that? No wonder why people feel that they are not Jewish. In Israel one usually see a mixture of people with and without kipas but among the Africans it is few and far between.

[David]

A good thing he didn't need medical attention on Shabbat.

[Mike S.]

Thusly did RealJew justify the beating of Hananya Vanda:
"Almost all pictures that I have seen involving Ethiopians they never appear to be wearing kipas. Why is that?"

For shame!

[dave@shallmar.com]

This behaviour is racist on so many levels it's disgusting.
I wonder what lame excuse they gave to Hananya Vanda.
As a separate matter, the Vilna Gaon wrote that wearing a kippa (apart from during prayer or studying the Torah) is NOT obligatory.

[Oy_Vegas]

This behavior is going to come back and bite the Israelis right in the ass. What a shame.

[SkepticalYid]

Posted by: RealJew | May 30, 2012 at 07:04 PM

Maybe it was never their minhag. I sincerely hope your comment was in jest. It was incredibly foolish.

[UseYourHead]

Maybe it was never their minhag. I sincerely hope your comment was in jest. It was incredibly foolish.

Posted by: SkepticalYid | May 30, 2012 at 08:43 PM

First let us understand the current climate. Israel is having, from what I read, a big problem with the African refugees so a smart one will put on a kipa to help avoid problems.

In France, many frum Jews walk around WITHOUT their kipas even though it is "their minhag" to wear one for safety reasons. If I would have business in an Arab country I would not walk down the street with my kipa even though it is "my minhag" to wear one.

So minhag "aheen" and minhag "ahere" you use your head when it comes to safety.

Now if all African refugees start wearing kipas then its "protection" will obviously go away.

[Yerachmiel Lopin]

What is this nonsense about whether most ethiopian Jews wear kippot. The majority of Jewish Israelis do not wear kippot. Are u saying that chilonim should start wearing kippot or else...

The issue is racist violence, period!

[Bob Guthrie]

Posted by: RealJew
"Almost all pictures that I have seen involving Ethiopians they never appear to be wearing kipas."

"RealJew" just gave the Israeli Human Rights groups a great idea: Pass crate after crate of kipas among all Ethiopians, and they will just cloak right inside Jewish society like Romulans' Birds of Prey.

Fiendish!. "Hey, weren't they a group of illegal blacks here a second ago?" "No, I only see a bunch of us standing in line for khallos in the same spot."

Oh, devilish still!. Give them black hats, easily disappear inside Mea Shearim, and, BAM!, the first black Hasidic rabbi in five years ("Rabbi Ginsburgh is a little tanned, isn't he?.")

[Yonina]

Oh, come on, nobody should be beating anyone, whether they are Jewish or gentile, black or white. And everyone has the right to choose if they want to wear a kippa, which until recently was a minhag. Good overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kippah#cite_note-1

[Jeff]

Demonstrators rioted, smashed, looted, and beat at least one African refugee as they set fire to trash dumpsters and blocked roads.

Great - so now it isn't just Haredim doing it.

Israel is finished. There's no saving it.

[anchell]

Apparently the creator of the european israelis and the creator of the African are two independent powers, having independent plans for each respective member of this plannet. . .to those right winged pain brokers, go ahead and get your hands bloodied. And after you have tasted the blood of these Seekers of truth, do tell us why you are better off with bloodied hands. . .

[Chaya]

Its comments and attitudes like the first I no longer live in Israel or believe in Bronze Age superstition.

[Maskil]

Re: The Kippa

The media represents Israel as it likes. Since corrupt politicians, tycoons, embezzelers and rapists etc. are not Ethiopian there is no interest in catching them with their kippot or highlighting those with kippot. The percentage of Ethiopian men who wear kippot is higher than any other ethnic community in Israel.

And yes, most Ethiopians can be identified as markedly Jewish in physical appearance. Those living here (usually) know how to identify them as Jews by phisical attributed (just like distinguishing Sepharadim from Arabs and Ashkenazim from Gentile Russians/Ukranians).

[Friar Yid]

RealJew- Almost all pictures that I have seen involving Ethiopians they never appear to be wearing kipas. Why is that? No wonder why people feel that they are not Jewish.

If that is the standard, let's start beating women, too. I notice very few of them wear kippot.

UseYourHead- First let us understand the current climate. Israel is having, from what I read, a big problem with the African refugees so a smart one will put on a kipa to help avoid problems.

In other words, Israeli Ethiopians who fled hostile countries should just accept that they risk being beaten by their fellow Jews if they don't wear the right uniform.

Gee, I can't imagine why Ethiopians don't feel welcome in Israel.

[Bloomberg]

Gee, I can't imagine why Ethiopians don't feel welcome in Israel.

Posted by: Friar Yid | May 31, 2012 at 07:25 PM

Makes more sense that come here to New York City.

[Anteneh]

Wow, come home Ethiopian !! Come home

[Sam]

can someone please tell me if this is not true. WAS MOSSES BLACK OR NOT?

And why is it almost always it is the Russian immigrant that causes all the hate towards the Ethiopian jews.

What is it that the Russian immigrant have aginst the Ethiopian jew?

I will never ever accept a Russian as a jew. Becouse he is not.