The Ministry of Absorption, the Jewish agency and representatives of the Ethiopian community in Israel launched a special advertising campaign Monday in a bid to promote the image of Israeli Ethiopians in Israel.
The campaign's main objective is to change the current situation in which Israelis who were born in Ethiopia or to Ethiopian parents find it almost impossible to find jobs fitting of their qualifications, mostly due to lack of personal connections, prejudice and the community's problematic image.
The campaign, titled "30 Years to the Aliya from Ethiopia – Success Depends on Us," is set to introduce success stories of Israeli-Ethiopians who "made it," and to call on the public to actively participate in the effort to help Israeli-Ethiopians integrate in society.
According to Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni, "the campaign is not the solution to the problem, but part of the process. We want people to ask themselves whether they display racism, and whether they give equal opportunity to people at job interviews, or are they influenced by stereotypes. This is also true for city mayors and school headmasters."
Pessimistic statistics
Recent statistics reveal that only 76.15 percent of the Israeli-Ethiopian workforce is employed, compared to 89.7 percent of the general workforce. In addition, data shows that most of the Israeli-Ethiopian academics are uninformed of channels through which they can find work.
Studies conducted among Israelis also showed that the Ethiopian community is perceived as one that failed to integrate successfully into the Israeli society. A survey found that while 67 percent of the positive information on Israeli-Ethiopians was gained vis-à-vis personal encounters, 50 percent of negative info was obtained through the media.
Notably, the only representation Israeli Ethiopian are given on commercial television channels is in news reports, 30 percent of which focus on crime or violence within the sector.