Israel's president has said Ethiopian Israelis' protests against alleged discrimination "revealed an open and raw wound" at the heart of Israeli society". Reuven Rivlin said Israel must address the community's grievances, which had been ignored. It comes after police and protesters clashed in Tel Aviv on Sunday night. Israel's PM meanwhile has met the Ethiopian Israeli soldier, whose beating by police fuelled tensions. Benjamin Netanyahu praised Damas Pakedeh and said he was shocked by video which emerged last week showing the soldier being beaten by two police officers in a suburb of Tel Aviv. One of the policemen involved has been fired and the other suspended from the force, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the BBC. An investigation into the incident is under way. 'Pain of a community' The protests on Sunday started peacefully as demonstrators blocked a busy road. Many walked with their hands held together in the air, to signify handcuffs. But the demonstration became more violent as night fell. Some protesters threw stones, bottles and chairs and tried to enter the municipality building. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades as protesters threw bottles and bricks. At least 46 police and seven protesters were hurt, officials said. Dozens of protesters were arrested, police said. President Rivlin blamed a "handful of violent trouble-makers" for the violence but said Israel must deal with Ethiopian Jews' grievances. The protests, he added, exposed "the pain of a community crying out over a sense of discrimination, racism, and of being unanswered. "We must look directly at this open wound."
