At the opening of the summer assembly of the 20th Knesset`s first session on Monday, Knesset Speaker Yuli-Yoel addressed the demonstration staged by Ethiopian-Israelis Saturday night at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. "A sad chapter in the history of Israeli society was written last night. The heart aches at the sight of the struggle of our Ethiopian brothers, which started out as a legitimate protest and unfortunately developed into violent events," Edelstein told the plenary session. "I call on all sides to calm the situation and lower the flames. Claims [by the protesters] of violence and discrimination must be thoroughly examined and even rectified, and the government and Israel Police did the right thing by launching trust-building efforts in this direction," he added. "Freedom of expression must be permitted magnanimously, but once this freedom turns into incitement, violence and anarchism, [...] it must be treated with a heavy hand." The Knesset speaker said everything must be done to avoid a civil war, "because I fear we are already on the brink of one." Israel, he said, is an "impressive enterprise of immigration absorption. Let us protect it from any harm."
