Profile
The Battle for Justice
Tebeka’s free legal aid (and litigation when necessary) for Ethiopian-Israelis throughout the country. Each year, our staff attorneys will have responded to more than a thousand legal queries on time-sensitive matters of employment, education, housing, health and law enforcement and other issues.
Striving for Equality
Tebeka takes a multi-faceted approach to influencing justice and equality through policy and dialogue that is leading to sustainable change. Tebeka sets precedents in our litigation—and we work with varied authorities and decision makers to implement solutions to create legal and social equality.
Leading Change
Tebeka plays a lead role in proving to a new generation of Ethiopian-Israelis that Israel’s democratic processes work.
Each case opened at Tebeka affirms for Ethiopian-Israelis that they have legal recourse to battle discrimination and seek equality before the law.
A promise to the public
Tebeka (Amharic for “Advocate of Justice”) is a non-profit organization founded in 2000 and led by a group of educated professionals, Ethiopian-Israelis and their Israeli-born peers. Its aim is to pursue equality and justice, build the community’s resilience and capability, and strengthen its social fabric.
Tebeka achieves these outcomes by providing both legal aid and community empowerment programs.
Success Stories
The morning began like any other day. My coffee was still steaming on the desk, and my fingers flipped through the worksheets. My thoughts drifted to the evening ahead — a special moment when my best friend would propose to his beloved in front of friends and family. But those…
Further to our appeal to the Ministry of Education regarding the incident of racism at the school in Netivot, we received a reply letter stating that hearings were held for all the teachers involved, they were reprimanded, and it was decided to take disciplinary action against them. The Ministry of…
A success story about winning a court case. A self-sufficient was slandered by the person who hired him. He told to the worker that in Ethiopia worker used to chase monkeys in the jungle. At the end, the court awarded the applicant compensation of NIS 15,000, as well as payment…
Y׳ is a soldier who served in the IDF and was shamed in several incidents by the commander of the course he was sent to – the serious incident happened at a base in the north of the country, where trains young soldiers from different courses – during one of…
Close to the Passover holiday, we were approached by D’, a young man with no criminal record who finished his military service – in an elite unit in the IDF – received marks of excellence, contributed and continues to contribute to the security of the Israel. D’, who has been…
On 01.09.2022 the ruling was given by High Court of Justice (7091/19) submitted by Tebeka and Catering Lee-Bar against Chief Rabbinate, the local Rabbinate in Kiryat Gat and Ministry of Religious Services, among other things, regarding the requirement of the local rabbinate to conduct a Jewish investigation for employees of…
We received an urgent request from a mother who enrolled her minor son in one of the schools in the center of the country for the 7th grade, after, as part of the registration process, she was required to attend an interview at the school. The mother said that during…
The Tebeka Association updates that immediately after the publication of a “Kan 11” news investigation regarding the racist, disgraceful and shocking behavior of officers and policemen from the Kiryat Malachi station, it began to exhaust proceedings against all the various parties demanding the dismissal of the policemen and officers who…
Stop treating us as a different. “A child is allowed to sit on a bench without being afraid that some policeman will pass by, that my daughter can study whatever she wants, not that they don’t accept Ethiopians because they are immediately rejected…” (Ms. Siegal Tamino).
Fentahun Assefa Dawit joins the RUNDOWN to talk about the Ethiopian protests: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=902559176756953
Tebeka is mentioned on the website, “The Hottest Place in Hell”, in the article as the one who submitted the petition to the High Court. The head of the unit for coordinating the fight against racism in the Ministry of Justice was sued by the rabbi of Kiryat Gat, for…
Ethiopians have suffered for many years from discriminatory treatment at the hands of too many elements in Israeli society, and in particular – of the Israel Police. This assertion was anchored in the report of the “Team to Eradicate Racism against Ethiopians” led by the Director General of the Ministry…
This morning we sent an urgent appeal to the Minister of Internal Security, Gilad Erdan, and to the Commissioner of Police, Moti Cohen, demanding that any police officer who comes into contact with the protesters be equipped with a body camera that will record the situation “to prevent the next…
Tebeka provides legal counsel to teens and young adults in expunging unjustified police records and in 2018 has successfully closed four such cases in the course of months, and scores more will pursued. Young adults whose cases were expunged are now able to pursue employment and higher education unhindered. Tebeka…
An Ethiopian-Israeli teenager was denied overseas medical care by his health plan. He suffered from a life-threatening condition. Medical experts deemed that treatment overseas offered him the most promising course of treatment—but his family did not have the means nor the resources to appeal the decision of the health plan….
An Ethiopian-Israeli father of five who worked as a driver for four years for a private employer was not paid his agreed-upon salary nor was he given his government mandated severance package. His case, litigated by Tebeka, resulted in the decision to provide the driver with NIS 62,000, the full…
Tebeka’s legal arguments successfully created a rare instance in which the attorney general reopened a closed case allowing re-examination of the case of an Ethiopian-Israeli soldier who was brutally assaulted by a police officer with no provocation (documented on videotape).



Are working towards the successful integration of the Ethiopian community into Israeli society
Leadership. Empowerment. Justice.