Integrating Ethiopian lawyers
Reports of alienating neglect of Ethiopians Israelis do not put a damper on the activity of members of Tebeka, an advocacy group, trying to open the professional doors for Ethiopian law students. 'There are 150 Ethiopian law students and interns,' Tebeka activists explain.
“The first lawyer of Ethiopian origin graduated eight years ago, but the road to integrating more Ethiopian lawyers is still long,” complains Lilach Tel-Nir, a lawyer and head of Olim for law and justice, a program sponsored by “Tebeka” (Amharic for justice), an advocacy group for equality and justice of Ethiopian Israelis.
“The private and public law firms are still inaccessible to the community,” she adds, while detailing the program she leads which helps 25 Ethiopian law students from around the country to integrate in their field of specialty.
“Today there are 28 lawyers of Ethiopian origin in Israel. Not one has father who is lawyer, not to mention any associations that may help them. Some even grew up with parents who can’t read and write,” says Tal-Nir. “Additionally, the whole concept of law within the Ethiopian tradition is very different from the Israeli concept. We believe the problem starts with the matriculation exams, which are not attuned to the Ethiopian community. Because of the difficulties many community members are not accepted to prestigious faculties, and the cultural differences impact the future.”
"Law firms are still inaccessible to the community"
Open professional doors
When Tal-Nir explains that “in the Ethiopian tradition, it is not acceptable to make direct eye contact with the elderly, and it may be difficult for members of the community to become assertive when needed,” Rina Kanda, (26), one of the programs participant, nods her head in agreement.
“Ethiopian students have no contacts in the law field and arrive at the universities after years of living in closed communities,” she explains. “Associations with Israeli society arrive mostly late or in small dosages and make communications and conduct difficult.”
Kanda, born in Ethiopia, immigrated with her parents to Israel at the age of four and lives in Beersheba. "Studying in Bar Ilan University is fulfilling a childhood dream,“ she says. "I always made sure I read books and developed associations with Israelis, so I have no problem with vocabulary,” she continues. “As time went by I also learned to make direct eye contact with the elderly. It didn’t come naturally, but in general most of us got used to the Israeli culture.”
The complexity that she and many of her peers are facing, explains Kanda, is the absence of professional contacts. “The problem begins when community students try to find a law office for internship.” She believes that such a program could be applied to immigrants from other communities. “These issues are relevant for every new immigrant who lived in closed community all his life. Beyond that, there are issues that wouldn’t hurt native Israelis to learn,” she concludes, smiling.
Learn in the field
The economic situation of students in Israel who struggle to pay living expenses and tuition is well-known. For the Ethiopian community this reality is even more exacerbated. “Most of them come from large families with low socio-economic backgrounds who live in the periphery, and many students are required to support their parents,” notes Tal-Nir. “There are 150 students and interns from the Ethiopian community, most of them need aid in finding a job. For that, among other things, we are here.”Boaz Tabaja, a student at the law school of Tel Aviv University, admits that he joined the program hoping to win future employment. “The theories we learn in school amount to nothing if you have no clue as to how things work in the field,’ he says. “Most community members are not familiar with the big law firms in Israel, know nothing about how things actually work, and are not acquainted with all the angles of Israeli society.”
Tal-Nir notes that part of the program framework provides meetings between students and senior lawyers representing a variety of fields, and for some students these meetings may be the ticket to future employment. Boaz Tabaja explains: “The idea is not to form contacts that may help you in future dealings, the idea is simply to introduce yourself and get introduced. Later, we will learn how to write CVs, how handle job interviews, how to formulate claims and affidavits – and I am looking forward to it.”
