Life
Report reveals that Ethiopian Jewish women forced by Israel to use birth control before immigrating
Ethiopian Jews attend a protest in a neighborhood in the Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi, where 100 Israeli families had signed a confidential agreement with their residential committee not to rent out nor sell property to Ethiopian Jews. January 10, 2012. PHOTO/FLASH90
Israel’s Ministry of Health has finally acknowledged that contraceptives were administered to Ethiopian Jews before being allowed to migrate to Israel.
A investigative study released in December 2012 by the Israeli Educational Television (IETV), has renewed controversy over forceful administration of birth control medication on black Jews, who were not informed of the procedure nor the risks involved.
Speaking to reporters on an episode of IETV’s show “Vacuum” that aired on Saturday December 8 2012, several Ethiopian immigrants described the intense pressure placed on them to keep their families small. The women claimed Israeli representatives from the Joint Distribution Committee and the Health Ministry told them that raising large families is especially difficult, that it is for hard people with many children to find work and support their families, and that many landlords would not be willing to rent apartments to large families.
The show’s anchor, Gal Gabbai, reported that in the past decade, about 50,000 Ethiopian Jews have immigrated to Israel. During that same period, the birth rate among this community, which has traditionally favored very large families, has plummeted by nearly 50 percent.
(More: Israel begins the deportation of African migrants)
Several women interviewed by Gabbai said that they were told at the transit camps in Ethiopia that they had to receive the shots if they wanted to immigrate to Israel and continue receiving medical treatment from the Joint Distribution Committee. Furthermore, many of the women claimed they were never told that the shots were to prevent pregnancy. Rather, they were under the impression that the shots were vaccinations.
It has been revealed that the contraception administered was Depo-Provera, a long-acting birth control drug.
The study also revealed that many Ethiopian women continued to receive Depo-Provera after arriving in Israel, despite suffering such side effects as severe headaches, abdominal pains, osteoporosis and premature births.
Israeli authorities had in the past denied all of the allegations.
Gabbai revealed an official letter that she uncovered from the Health Ministry to Dr. Rick Hodes, the director of the Joint Distribution Committee praising the doctor’s work, noting that whereas fewer than 5 percent of Ethiopians use any form of birth control, Hodes achieved a rate of 30 percent among the patients he treated.
The Ministry of Health has responded by requesting the immediate halt of contraception to the women, without their consent.
As a result of these revelations, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has called for an explanation from the government.
Source: Times of Israel