No to Violence, Yes to Peace

August 5, 2008

More than 150 Israelis of Ethiopian origin from throughout the country gathered in Kiryat Moshe, Rehovot -- a neighborhood heavily populated by Ethiopian immigrants and often portrayed negatively in the media -- on July 28th for a day-long seminar on preventing domestic violence in the Ethiopian community. The seminar was organized by Yachdav (Together), the SHATIL-led Ethiopian Women’s Coalition to Address Domestic Violence.

The gathering was conducted in Amharic, making it accessible to new immigrants. As they entered the Kiryat Moshe Community Center, which the Rehovot municipality donated to the event, women and men of all ages donned blue and white t-shirts especially made for the occasion with the message, “No to Violence, Yes to Peace” in Hebrew and Amharic.

In the past ten years, twenty-two Ethiopian immigrant women have been killed by their husbands, many of whom then committed suicide. The Coalition works on many levels and with many partners to address the roots of the violence and to reduce it. The conference was part of the Coalition’s public education efforts.

Coalition Coordinator Shulamit Sahalo launched the day by saying, “This is a difficult day. But we’ll overcome the difficulties for the goal of peace in the home.”

Two participants at the seminar show off their new T shirts
which say in Hebrew and Amharic: "No to Violence, Yes to Peace."

Introducing Absorption Ministry Director Erez Halfon, Shulamit said: “This is what we want you to say: Next year we’ll increase the budget to address violence in the Ethiopian family. We have seen that if we invest in parents, we have to invest less in children later.”

The entire audience rose to its feet as a group of kessim (highly respected spiritual leaders) chanted a prayer for peace in the home specially composed at the Coalitions’ urging. The audience also heard talks from Coalition members and others about the nature of domestic violence in general and in the Ethiopian community, police handing of the issue and means of treatment and prevention.  

“This is an important event and I hope it helps,” said Ahuva Wanda, who arrived from Ashdod, where she works with Ethiopian immigrants. “One day isn’t enough; I hope it’s duplicated around the country. We need more awareness, more information campaigns. Every man and woman needs to know about his/her rights and responsibilities in the home and not to forget our tradition, but to blend it with the new reality.”

The event was co-sponsored by the above mentioned government bodies as well as the Ethiopian National Project and Bahalachin, which works for Ethiopian cultural preservation.