No More "Warning Conversations" from Police to Discourage Participation in Protests

Demonstration by the Ethiopian community against police violence, 2022. Photo: Tali Meyer, Shatil-stock

On December 10, 2025, ACRI appealed to the Police Commissioner and the Legal Advisor to the Police following testimonies we received and reports in the media about attempts by the Lachish Police  to deter members of the Ethiopian-Israeli community from holding or participating in a lawful demonstration. According to the statements ACRI and the media received, the community had planned a demonstration against police violence. Before the demonstration was set to take place, officers from the Lachish station called several community activists, and even Knesset Member Pnina Tamano-Shata, in an attempt to extract details from them about the demonstration and its organizers, and to pressure them not to participate in the demonstration by claiming that the demonstration was illegal. 

In the appeal, Attorney Eden Gilad argues that this is an ongoing pattern by the police towards members of the Ethiopian-Israeli community; this is far from the first time police had similar conversations with Ethiopian activists before a protest. Deterring activists by baselessly claiming that a planned demonstration is illegal and creates a chilling effect, both among those who receive the calls and beyond, and deters many from participating in legitimate and lawful protests. The warning conversations and interrogations regarding a planned demonstration also cause those who receive the calls to feel that they are under surveillance and suspicion merely for being social activists, and is a violation of their privacy. 

Attorney Gilad emphasizes in the appeal that the duty of the police is to protect freedom of protest, not to try to suppress it. Accordingly, the police had no authority to question the activists and attempt to dissuade them from coming to the demonstration and doing so undermines the proper role of the police in a democratic state. The appeal demands that the incident be investigated and that measures be taken against the officers involved. Moreover, it calls for officers to immediately cease warning conversations with future or potential demonstrators, or engaging in any action intended to prevent holding or participation in a lawful protest. 

ACRI's appeal, December 10, 2025 (Heb)