Hundreds show up to George Floyd protest in Israel

Over 200 demonstrators protested outside the U.S. diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to decry the killing of George Floyd.

The protesters held signs reading “Black Lives Matter,” “All Lives Matter” and “If you aren’t livid, you’re not listening.” Some carried placards with Floyd’s name written.

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Floyd, who was black, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe and became motionless.

Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. But members of Floyd’s family and many others are calling for more serious charges, as well as charges against the three other officers who were there.

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The killing sparked a wave of violent protests that have rocked the U.S. for a week.

Some protesters also wrote the name of Solomon Teka, an 18-year-old Ethiopian Israeli who was fatally shot last year by an off-duty officer who claimed he felt threatened by a group of teenagers.

Ethiopian Israelis complain of racism, lack of opportunity, endemic poverty and routine police harassment.

Ethiopian Jews began arriving in large numbers in the 1970s and many were airlifted to Israel in clandestine operations in the 1980s and ’90s. The community is now estimated at approximately 150,000, or around 2 per cent of the country’s population.