Solomon Tekah: The Police Shooting, the Protests and the Legacy — 5 Years On

What Happened?

On 30 June 2019, a police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Solomon Tekah in Haifa. The officer claimed he fired at the ground after youth he suspected of fighting approached him; the bullet struck Solomon.

The Largest Protests in Community History

Up to 50,000 protesters in Tel Aviv alone; roads blocked across the country; the national conversation on institutional racism was forced into the open for the first time.

What Has Changed?

Positive: Shamir-Maier Committee established; expanded diversity training for police; public discourse on racism became mainstream; some cities appointed community-police liaisons.

Disputed: The officer was convicted of negligent manslaughter in 2023 and sentenced to community service — widely seen as lenient. Ethiopian-Israeli over-policing rates remain ~4× the average.

📞 acri.org.il