Ethiopian family wins NIS 40,000 after told to prove Jewishness by school

An Ethiopian-Israeli mother will be compensated NIS 40,000 after she was denied enrollment of her children in a school unless she proved their Jewishness, the Tebeka Ethiopian-Israeli legal aid association said yesterday.“When I came to enroll my excited children for school, along with all their friends, in anticipation of such an important event, I was humiliated,” the mother said.

The mother of two told the school that she was Jewish and was married through the rabbinate without having gone through a conversion process, but was still denied registration -- even after she presented her marriage certificate.

'Feeling of humiliation'

“The fact that I had to prove my Jewishness because of my Ethiopian origin and deal with this feeling of humiliation, not only for myself but for my children, was difficult,” the mother said. “The fact that I belong to the Ethiopian community has never caused me to face discrimination my entire life. I grew up in a Torah observant home, and I was never required to prove my Jewishness even when I got married.”

Tebeka filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family for discrimination and racism, which ultimately was successful.

“We welcome the change that this case brings, for the sake that it will be understood that there is no place for discrimination and racism under the law,” said attorney Almog Yismach. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the only case that has come to the association in which a major organization placed barriers before Israelis of Ethiopian origin."