It was a Thursday night — all I wanted was to relax, laugh, and just feel like one of the guys. I’m D., 25 years old, and I went out with friends to a club in Tel Aviv to celebrate a close friend’s birthday. Good friends, good music, that end-of-summer vibe — everything for a perfect night.
But in an instant, everything flipped. While my friends — who are not of Ethiopian descent — walked right in, I was stopped. The bouncer looked at me and said coldly: “There’s a guest list.” None of my friends were on it either — but they got in. I didn’t. When I asked why, he didn’t even look at me: “It’s a private event.” It wasn’t. It was just closed — for me.
At that moment, I felt deep pain and humiliation. Not because of anything I did — but because of my skin color. I fought back tears and filmed the moment. My friends, shocked, filmed too. This shouldn’t happen — not here, not in Israel, a place that promises equality.
I knew I couldn’t stay silent. This wasn’t just about me — it was about anyone who’s ever been excluded for how they look. I decided to fight, not hide. I turned to Tebeka, which now represents me in court and stands by me all the way. For that, I’m deeply grateful.
Sadly, discrimination and racism are still alive here — hurting the core of our democracy. Tebeka sees these cases as a moral wound that must be healed. They work relentlessly to expose and eliminate them — so no one feels like a stranger in their own country.
Tebeka will keep fighting, using every legal tool, to build a fairer, more equal, and healthier society for us all.
פורסם ב