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Anti-Ethiopian sentiment

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Ethiopians in the world

Anti-Ethiopian sentiment, also known as Ethiophobia, refers to prejudice, discrimination, or hostility directed against Ethiopia, its people, and the Ethiopian diaspora. While "Ethiopian" denotes a civic nationality encompassing all citizens of the state, it simultaneously functions as an umbrella identity for a diverse mosaic of over 80 ethnic groups. Externally, this sentiment often manifests as xenophobic attitudes toward Ethiopians. Internally, it includes hostility toward or rejection of Ethiopian national identity, often manifesting in conflicts between the central state and various ethnic groups, including the country's four largest populations: the Oromo, Amhara, Somali, and Tigrayans. Broader definitions may include hostility toward the Ethiopian government or criticism of Ethiopian state policies when framed through ethnic or national biases.[1]

The phenomenon has appeared in various contexts, including discrimination against Ethiopian Jews in Israel, Italian colonial aggression against Ethiopia, regional conflicts with neighboring states such as Eritrea and Somalia, tensions with Egypt over the Nile, and internal opposition from ethno-nationalist and separatist groups within Ethiopia.

Scope

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Africa

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Egypt

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Egypt has historically maintained a cautious and at times adversarial posture toward Ethiopia due to the latter's control over the headwaters of the Blue Nile. Tensions have been particularly pronounced since the mid-20th century, with Egyptian officials viewing Ethiopian water development projects as a potential threat to Egypt's water security.[2]

Relations further deteriorated in the 2010s following Ethiopia's construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Egyptian leaders and state-aligned media have frequently portrayed the dam as an existential threat, leading to heightened anti-Ethiopian rhetoric in Egyptian political discourse and media. The dispute has been marked by periodic diplomatic crises, mutual accusations, and strong nationalist sentiment on both sides.[3]

Eritrea

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Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia deteriorated significantly after the United Nations imposed a federation in 1950, which Ethiopia later annulled. Many Ethiopian nationalists, particularly Amhara elites, supported annexation, while leftist Eritreans viewed it as hostile to Muslim inhabitants and Eritrean statehood.[4][page needed] This led to the formation of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) in 1960 and the Eritrean War of Independence against both the imperial government of Haile Selassie and the subsequent Derg regime. The ELF later allied with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) until the Derg’s defeat in 1991.[5] After the TPLF came to power in Ethiopia, relations improved temporarily until the 1998–2000 Eritrean–Ethiopian War. Following the Algiers Agreement in 2000, the two countries entered a prolonged stalemate and frozen conflict.[6] In 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a joint declaration at the bilateral summit in Asmara, formally ending the 20-year border conflict and restoring trade and diplomatic ties.[7]

Somalia and Somaliland

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The frontier road at the Wajaale crossing point along the Ethiopia–Somaliland border in April 2011.

Historically a feature of long-standing regional rivalry, anti-Ethiopian sentiment across Somalia and Somaliland is documented by historians as being rooted in centuries of territorial and cultural friction. This conflict took on a distinct religious dimension during the 16th-century Ethiopian–Adal War between the Christian Ethiopian Empire and the Muslim Adal Sultanate from 1529 to 1543.[8][9] This historical animosity re-emerged during colonial-era border partitions and the Ogaden War (1977–1978).[10] Following the Ogaden War, the mass settlement of Ethiopian refugees (mostly ethnic Somalis and some Oromo)[11] into camps along the northwestern corridor in what is now present-day Somaliland exacerbated local tensions; the Somali National Movement (SNM) viewed these populations as a Somali government-backed paramilitary force used to colonize Isaaq lands, culminating in targeted hostilities during the Isaaq genocide.[12]

Regional animosity surged again during Ethiopia's military intervention in Somalia from 2006 to 2009, when an Ethiopian-led offensive ousted the Union of Islamic Courts on behalf of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Al-Shabaab, a militant group designated as a terrorist organization by numerous international bodies and states,[13] actively exploited this sentiment to recruit fighters and mobilize support during the intervention, later maintaining this narrative as a core component of its long-term insurgency and propaganda efforts.[14][15] In 2012, Somaliland authorities faced international condemnation and protests from the Oromo community for conducting sweeping police raids on informal settlements, where security forces rounded up hundreds of Ethiopian asylum seekers, loaded them into trucks, and forcibly deported them to the border town of Tog Wajaale.[16]

South Africa

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In South Africa, the 2010s and 2020s saw a rise in xenophobic violence directed toward foreign nationals, including Ethiopian shopkeepers. Ethiopian-owned spaza shops in townships and informal settlements have frequently been targets of looting, arson, and physical attacks.[17] Scholars and human rights observers often attribute this hostility to a combination of economic competition and a broader climate of xenophobia, which affects numerous African immigrant communities.[18] Regional studies have documented the significant impact of this violence on the livelihoods of Ethiopian entrepreneurs, who are often targeted alongside other non-South African migrants.[19]

Europe

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Italy

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The Obelisk of Axum in Rome, Italy, before its repatriation.

Italian colonial interest in the Horn of Africa began in the late 19th century, but the decisive Ethiopian victory over Italian forces at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 created a lasting sense of national humiliation in Italy. The defeat was widely viewed as a profound blow to Italian prestige, fostering revanchist sentiments that persisted for decades.[20]

Mussolini's Fascist regime explicitly framed the 1935 invasion as an act of revenge. When Italian troops entered Addis Ababa in May 1936, Mussolini proclaimed "Adua è vendicata" ("Adwa is avenged").[20]

The Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936) and the subsequent five-year occupation (1936–1941) were marked by policies and military practices that reflected and amplified anti-Ethiopian sentiment. Italian forces made extensive use of chemical weapons, primarily sulphur mustard (mustard gas), dropped from aircraft in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. Over 330 tons were used between late 1935 and early 1936, targeting not only combatants but also civilians, villages, water sources, and grazing land. Italian aircraft also deliberately bombed Red Cross ambulances and hospitals.[21]

During the occupation, the Italian administration implemented racial segregation laws that classified Ethiopians as an inferior race, prohibited interracial marriage, and enforced strict social hierarchies. Resistance by the Arbegnoch was met with systematic reprisals, including village burnings, summary executions, forced labour, and concentration camps.[22]

One of the most notorious episodes was the Addis Ababa massacre (19–21 February 1937). Following a failed assassination attempt on Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani, Italian forces, acting on orders from Federal Secretary Guido Cortese granting "carte blanche" to "destroy the Ethiopians for three days", carried out a three-day rampage of killings, arson, and looting in the capital. Historian Ian L. Campbell concluded in a 2017 study that approximately 19,200 people (roughly 20% of Addis Ababa's population at the time) were killed.[23] Similar reprisals occurred elsewhere, including the massacre at the Debre Libanos monastery in May 1937.[24]

Italian forces also systematically looted Ethiopian cultural heritage. In 1937, on direct orders from Mussolini, the 4th-century Obelisk of Axum was dismantled and shipped to Rome, where it was re-erected as a trophy of conquest. It was not returned to Ethiopia until 2005.[25]

Historians' estimates of total Ethiopian deaths from the war, chemical attacks, massacres, induced famine, and occupation policies range from approximately 250,000 to over 700,000.[26]

Post-war Italy showed limited official acknowledgment of these crimes for many decades.[27]

Western Asia

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Israel

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Ethiopian Jews and other Israelis protesting in Tel Aviv.

The Ethiopian Jewish (Beta Israel) community in Israel has long complained of discrimination, racism, and poverty.[28] The absorption of Ethiopians in Israeli society represents an ambitious attempt to deny the significance of race.[29] Israeli authorities, aware of the situation of most African diaspora communities in other Western countries, hosted programs to avoid setting in patterns of discrimination.[29] The Ethiopian Jewish community's internal challenges have been complicated by perceived racist attitudes in some sectors of Israeli society and the establishment.[30] Demonstrations in Israel have occurred protesting the alleged racism against Ethiopian immigrants.[31]

In April 2015, an Ethiopian IDF soldier was the victim of an unprovoked and allegedly racist attack by an Israeli policeman and the attack was caught on video. The soldier, Damas Pakedeh, was arrested and then released, after being accused of attacking the policeman. Pakadeh is an orphan who emigrated from Ethiopia with his siblings in 2008. He believes the incident was racially motivated, and that, if the video had not been taken, he would have been punished. Instead, the police officer and volunteer were suspended pending an investigation. Likud MK Avraham Neguise called on National Police Chief Yohanan Danino to prosecute the police officer and volunteer, saying they engaged in "a gross violation of the basic law of respecting others and their liberty by those who are supposed to protect us". The Jerusalem Post notes that in 2015, "there have been a series of reports in the Israeli press about alleged acts of police brutality against Ethiopian Israelis, with many in the community saying they are unfairly targeted and treated more harshly than other citizens".[32][33]

The incident of police brutality with Pakedeh and alleged brutality of officials from Israel's Administration of Border Crossings, Population, and Immigration with Walla Bayach, an Israeli of Ethiopian descent, brought the Ethiopian community to protest. Hundreds of Ethiopians participated in protests in the streets of Jerusalem on April 20, 2015, to decry what they view as "rampant racism" and violence in Israel directed at their community. Israel Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino met with representatives of the Israeli Ethiopian community that day following the recent violent incidents involving police officers and members of the community.[34] When over a thousand people protested police brutality against Ethiopians and Mizrahi Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced: "I strongly condemn the beating of the Ethiopian IDF soldier, and those responsible will be held accountable."[35]

Ethiopian Jewish woman holding a sign reading "The police have blood on their hands" during a protest in Tel Aviv.

Large protests broke out in July 2019 after Solomon Teka, a young Ethiopian man, was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer, in Kiryat Haim, Haifa, in northern Israel.[36]

On 8 December 2012, the Israeli Educational Television program Vacuum, hosted by Gal Gabbai, aired a report claiming that in 2004, female Ethiopian Jewish immigrants were coerced into receiving Depo‑Provera injections in transit camps in Ethiopia. They were told it was a prerequisite for immigration and often misled into believing that it was a vaccination rather than birth control.[37][38]

The practice was first reported in 2010 by Isha le'Isha (Hebrew: Woman to Woman), an Israeli women's rights organization. Hedva Eyal, the author of the report, stated: "We believe it is a method of reducing the number of births in a community that is black and mostly poor."[39]

Haaretz criticized international coverage of the issue, stating that although some Ethiopian Jewish women's procreational rights had been violated through medical malpractice, these effects would only last for three months, and that any claims of a state-sponsored sterilization were falsehoods warped by circular reporting. The newspaper also issued a correction to their earlier reporting on the story.[40]

A 2016 investigation into the claims of the 35 women found no evidence that forced birth control injections of Ethiopian Jews had taken place.[41] In a subsequent independent study, the decline in fertility rate was shown to be "the product of urbanization, improved educational opportunities, a later age of marriage and commencement of childbirth and an earlier age of cessation of childbearing."[42]

Internal (Ethiopia)

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Opposition to Ethiopian nationalism within Ethiopia has primarily come from various ethno-nationalist movements. Ethiopian nationalism, often framed as a form of civic nationalism, has been rejected by groups such as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Oromo nationalists argue that the Amhara-Tigray dominated Ethiopian Empire historically subjugated the Oromo people and incorporated their lands through conquest. They further claim that the Oromo nation maintained its own distinct social and political traditions, which were suppressed by Abyssinian expansionism, particularly during the conquests led by Emperor Menelik II in the late 19th century.[43][44]

Similarly, ethnic Somali populations in Ethiopia have historically rejected the central state's national project, viewing it as an external imposition. This friction was starkly highlighted during the Ogaden War (1977–1978), where many ethnic Somalis aligned with the Somali Democratic Republic or insurgent groups like the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF) to pursue self-determination, citing a history of political and economic exclusion as drivers for their resistance.[45]

Oromo nationalists have also asserted that Ethiopian nationalism functions as a vehicle for Amhara cultural assimilation.[46] While the Amhara people have long been closely associated with the Ethiopian national movement, the concept and political use of “Amhara nationalism” remains heavily debated among historians and scholars.[47][48]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Yihun, Belete Belachew (2014). "Battle over the Nile: The Diplomatic Engagement between Ethiopia and Egypt, 1956-1991". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 8 (1 & 2): 73–100. ISSN 1543-4133. JSTOR 26554818.
  2. ↑ Yihun, Belete Belachew (2014). "Battle over the Nile: The Diplomatic Engagement between Ethiopia and Egypt, 1956-1991". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 8 (1 & 2): 73–100. ISSN 1543-4133. JSTOR 26554818.
  3. ↑ "Egypt says Ethiopia's Nile dam poses 'existential threat'". Reuters. 2020.
  4. ↑ Negash, Tekeste. Eritrea and Ethiopia: The Federal Experience ...
  5. ↑ Negash, Tekeste (1997). Eritrea and Ethiopia: The Federal Experience. Nordic Africa Institute. ISBN 978-91-7106-406-6.
  6. ↑ "Ethiopia-Eritrea: Stalemate takes toll on Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin - Eritrea | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  7. ↑ "Eritrea, Tigray and Ethiopia's brewing civil war". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  8. ↑ Erlich, Haggai (2007). Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia: Islam, Christianity, and Politics Entwined. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 15–17. ISBN 978-1-58826-493-0.
  9. ↑ Pankhurst, Richard; Martínez d'Alòs-Moner, Andreu (2014). "Military units and organization". In Uhlig, Siegbert; Bausi, Alessandro (eds.). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Vol. 5: Y–Z, Supplementa, Addenda et Corrigenda, Index. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 430–433.
  10. ↑ Greenfield, Richard (1983). "An Historical Introduction to Refugee Problems in the Horn of Africa". African Affairs. 82 (327). Oxford University Press: 225–235.
  11. ↑ Mohamoud, Abdullah A. (1 January 2006). State Collapse and Post-conflict Development in Africa: The Case of Somalia (1960–2001). Purdue University Press. ISBN 978-1-55753-413-2.
  12. ↑ Gersony, Robert (August 1989). Why Somalis Flee: Synthesis of Accounts of Conflict Experience in Northern Somalia by Somali Refugees, Displaced Persons and Others (PDF) (Report).
  13. ↑ "Al-Shabaab". National Counterterrorism Center. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Metaferia, Getachew (2009). Ethiopia and the United States: History, Diplomacy, and Analysis. Algora Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87586-645-1.
  15. ↑ Williams, Paul D. (2018). Fighting for Peace in Somalia: A History and Analysis of the African Union Mission (AMISOM), 2007-2017. Oxford University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-19-872454-4.
  16. ↑ Human Rights Watch (2012-09-04). "Somaliland: Stop Deporting Ethiopian Refugees". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  17. ↑ Piper, Laurence; Charman, Andrew (2016). "Xenophobia, Price Competition and Violence in the Spaza Sector in South Africa" (PDF). South African Journal of International Affairs. 23 (1): 1–20. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  18. ↑ Crush, Jonathan; Tawodzera, Godfrey (2016). Migrant Entrepreneurship, Collective Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa (PDF) (Report). Migration Policy Series. Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP). Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  19. ↑ Monyai, Philemon (2020). "Xenophobic attacks on foreign shop owners and street vendors in Louis Trichardt Central Business District, Limpopo Province". The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa. 16 (1). Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  20. 1 2 Levine, Donald N. (2000). "Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society". University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Grip, Lina; Hart, John (October 2009). "The use of chemical weapons in the 1935–36 Italo-Ethiopian War" (PDF). SIPRI. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  22. ↑ Berhe, A. (16 August 2023). "Revisiting resistance in Italian-occupied Ethiopia: the Patriots' Movement (1936-1941)". Archived from the original on 6 December 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  23. ↑ Campbell, Ian L. (2017). The Addis Ababa Massacre: Italy's National Shame. London: Hurst Publishers. ISBN 9781849046923. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  24. ↑ Campbell, Ian L. (2014). The Massacre of Debre Libanos, Ethiopia 1937. Addis Ababa University Press.
  25. ↑ Carroll, Rory (20 April 2005). "Obelisk returned to Ethiopia after 68 years". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 January 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  26. ↑ Del Boca, Angelo (1969). The Ethiopian War 1935–1941. University of Chicago Press.
  27. ↑ Campbell, Ian L. (2017). The Addis Ababa Massacre: Italy's National Shame. London: Hurst Publishers. ISBN 9781849046923. Retrieved 11 July 2026. Campbell and other historians have noted Italy’s prolonged institutional and societal reluctance to fully confront its colonial war crimes in Ethiopia.
  28. ↑ "Ethiopian Israelis Clash With Police as Anti-Racism Protests Escalate". The Forward. 2015-05-03. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  29. 1 2 Rebhun, Uzi, Jews in Israel: contemporary social and cultural patterns, UPNE, 2004, pp. 139–140
  30. ↑ Onolemhemhen Durrenda Nash, The Black Jews of Ethiopia, Scarecrow Press; Reprint edition 2002, p. 40
  31. ↑ Haaretz (2012). "Thousands in Jerusalem protest racism against Ethiopian-Israelis". Archived from the original on January 18, 2012.
  32. ↑ "Video: Police suspended after assaulting IDF soldier in incident caught on tape". The Jerusalem Post. 2015-04-27. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  33. ↑ Staff, ToI (2015-04-27). "Cops beat Ethiopian IDF soldier in alleged racist attack". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  34. ↑ "Ethiopians protest racist attack, clash with police: 'Israel will be like Baltimore'". Ynetnews. 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  35. ↑ "Netanyahu condemns police beating of Ethiopian soldier, but calls for calm amid protests". The Jerusalem Post. 2015-04-30. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  36. ↑ "Ethiopian Israelis continue protests as family of victim calls for calm". The Jerusalem Post. 2019-07-03. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  37. ↑ "Ethiopian women claim Israel forced them to use birth control before letting them immigrate". Archived from the original on 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  38. ↑ "Ethiopian women in Israel 'given contraceptive without consent'". the Guardian. 2013-02-28. Archived from the original on 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  39. ↑ ""Furore in Israel over birth control drugs for Ethiopian Jews"". 2013.
  40. ↑ Allison Kaplan Sommer (2013-01-30). "Ethiopian Women and Birth Control: When a Scoop Becomes a Smear". Haaretz.
  41. ↑ Yaron, Lee. "No evidence that Ethiopian-Israeli women were forced to take birth-control shot, comptroller says". Haaretz.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-21. Retrieved 2025-09-29.
  42. ↑ Kaplan, Steven (2016). "Coercion and Control: Ethiopian Israeli Women and Contraception". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 10 (1 & 2): 35–50. ISSN 1543-4133. JSTOR 26554851.
  43. ↑ Moges, Zola (2022-08-24). "Oromo nationalism should cross the river of resentment". Ethiopia Insight. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  44. ↑ "Suppressing Dissent: Human Rights Abuses and Political Repression in Ethiopia's Oromia Region: Political Competition in Oromia". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  45. ↑ Abdullahi, Abdurahman M. (2014). "The Ogaden Conflict: The Paradox of Power and Identity in the Horn of Africa". Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies. 14: 35–64.
  46. ↑ Sew, Mistir (2021-06-07). "Amhara nationalism at the polls in Ethiopia". Ethiopia Insight. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  47. ↑ Borago, Teshome M. (2018-12-10). "What is the point in Amhara nationalism?". Ethiopia Insight. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  48. ↑ Ayalew Workneh, Yilkal (2021-09-02). "The terms of debate on the existence of Amhara ethnicity with a focus on the emerging Amhara ethno-nationalism". African Identities. 21 (4): 786–804. doi:10.1080/14725843.2021.1972793. ISSN 1472-5843. S2CID 239220450.
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