Ethiopian kids refused schooling

Less than three weeks before the school year begins, 80 children of Ethiopian descent residing in Petah Tikvah find themselves with no place to carry out their first year of elementary school. An inquiry revealed that at least eight of the children were refused admission due to racist reasons.

The families of eight of the children said they discovered a few days ago that their children were not assigned to the first grade of their neighborhood school because parents of other children objected to having Ethiopian students study there.

Erez Sandovski, a friend of the Moloyia family whose son Yossef was not admitted to the neighborhood school has been trying to help the family.

"The father (of the Moloyia family) told me with tears in his eyes that it was all because they were Ethiopian. I didn't believe him and went to the school's principal. The principal passed responsibility on to the municipality, and there I was transferred through different departments. In one of the departments I was told that the matter was being treated," Sandovski said. 

Sandovski described the "creative" excuses he was given by the municipality, and said, "After asking directly if that (the children's descent) was the problem and receiving twisted answers, I carried out a brief inquiry among the parents in the school, and the cat came out of the bag. The teachers' board opposed the registration of more Ethiopian children to the school."

A Petah Tikvah municipality spokesperson said in response: "There are 80 Ethiopian children whose integration into the city has not been successful. The mayor is supposed to meet with Education Ministry Director General Shmuel Aboav to discuss ways of integrating all the students into the municipal education systems – both private and state schools."

The spokesperson continued to condemn the parents' behavior, saying, "We pay no attention and give no importance to their position. We will do everything we see fit for all the students. We will find an appropriate educational system, and we hope that the parents will show patience and tolerance…I despise parents who object to students because of the color of their skin."

Aboav said state schools or state-religious schools refusing to accept Ethiopian children was out of the question.

"This is a decision that we cannot accept, and we demand Ethiopian students be integrated into municipal education systems in every town…We will fight this unacceptable phenomenon," he said.