Israel Fewer Ethiopian soldiers jailed by IDF, but more still than other soldiers

Haartez Gil cohen:-But data show number of Ethiopians is disproportionately high vs. the greater population in military prisons.

Fewer Ethiopian soldiers were sent to military prison in 2013, according to a report published Monday by the Israel Defense Forces Military Police Corps. According to the report, 380 Ethiopian soldiers were imprisoned in 2013, as compared with 433 in 2012.

IDF sources attribute the reduced number of detainees to efforts by the Manpower Directorate to improve the integration of Ethiopians into the army. Nevertheless, the data still present a sobering picture regarding the military service of members of this population. Although they are considered to be the most motivated to do army service, many soldiers from the Ethiopian community are sent to IDF incarceration facilities, mostly due to offenses related to taking unauthorized leave.

In 2013, a total of 189 female soldiers and an estimated 1,117 male soldiers were serving time in military facilities, whereas in 2012, 255 female soldiers and some 1,295 male soldiers were incarcerated.

Ethiopian soldiers constitute 3 percent of the general IDF population, but their proportion in military jail in 2013 was between 14 percent, at the peak, and 11 percent at the lowest point during the year. The rate of re-incarceration of Ethiopian prisoners is also very high. Whereas among the general IDF population, most released prisoners do not return to jail but go on to complete their service in the IDF, among the Ethiopian community the situation is different: A soldier who has served a prison sentence is most likely to be incarcerated again. Indeed, among the general population of jailed IDF soldiers, 20 percent are return offenders, whereas among the Ethiopian community that figure is about 60 percent.

“This is a very harsh thing to say, but unfortunately it’s true: If an Ethiopian soldier serves a repeat prison sentence, he will probably end up out of the army,” said an officer in the Military Police Corps.

The Manpower Directorate recently set a goal of reducing the number of Ethiopian prisoners by 15 percent within the next two years.

Current data show that some 30 percent of all Ethiopian soldiers – men and women both – did at least one stint in military prison during their service; 38 percent of the men served at least one sentence; and nearly a quarter of the male soldiers were imprisoned more than once.

The IDF decided about two years ago to create smaller detention facilities in the framework of the Military Police Corps, as well as in a number of different commands and directorates, for soldiers tried for disciplinary offenses and sentenced to relatively short prison terms.
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