[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7256-H7257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
               THE PLIGHT OF ETHIOPIAN ISRAELIS IN ISRAEL

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

[[Page H7257]]

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the suffering of 
Ethiopian Israelis. A couple of weeks ago, a young Ethiopian Israeli 
man was killed by an Israeli police officer.
  After this tragedy, there have been massive protests against police 
brutality. Unfortunately, these protests have turned violent. While I 
do not condone violence, I believe people have the right to protest 
systemic racism.
  The Ethiopian community in Israel has been treated like second-class 
citizens for decades. In the 1990s, Ethiopian Israelis had their 
donated blood secretly disposed of by Israeli officials because they 
believed it may contain the HIV virus.
  Just 4 years ago, an Ethiopian Israeli IDF soldier was brutally 
beaten by an Israeli police officer, setting off another wave of 
massive demonstrations.
  Now, there are reports that the protests against police brutality are 
being cast as anti-Israeli. This is nothing more than an attempt to 
delegitimize their suffering. I will not tolerate it, and neither 
should any Member of this body.

                          ____________________