So, here on +972 you’ve heard about racism towards people who aren’t Jewish, people who aren’t male and people who aren’t right wing – but did you know Israelis also hate people who aren’t white?

Ethiopian Jews protested yesterday in the town of Kiryat Malachi (40 minutes south of Tel Aviv) after Channel 2 reported on a block of four buildings where tenants are refusing to sell or rent to Ethiopians because they “smell” and “bring down property prices.”

Trust me, this isn’t happening only in Kiryat Malachi.

Remind you of something?

The first thing that came to my mind was one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs, “Cash in your face,” from 1980. I always remember that even as a kid who barely knew what racism was, Stevie’s vocals and lyrics managed to get my blood boiling. Just like the supremacists of Kiryat Malachi.

You see, when you live in a country where the State makes it so easy for you to hate the other, spreading it to more communities and minorities is just a matter of time.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ISRaXToZZ8 [/youtube]

Cash in your face

You just could not know how long we tried
To see how this building looks inside
This must be a lucky day for me
Because the sign says there’s a vacancy

Look I know you came a long way
But you made it just too late
So we had to give it to somebody else
Well I talked to you on the phone less than fifteen minutes ago
And you told me that it was cool
I graduated from Howard U.
My job is paying good money too
And if you check on my resume
You’ll find they all wanted me to stay

Well I can’t take the time out
To check your credit card
‘Cause the computer just broke down today
Well I’ll stop by here tomorrow to complete our interview
But I know what you’re gonna say
I know what your bottomline is

You might have the cash but you
Can…not cash in your face
We don’t want you living in here
Say you might have the cash but you
Can…not cash in your face
We don’t want your kind living in here
Too-oo, Too-oo too bad,
Too-oo, too-oo too sad

Our first child is due here any day
That’s why we’re desperate for a place to stay
The location is so perfect too
So please try to do what you can do

Well in this apartment complex no children are allowed
And if you told me that I could have saved you alot of time
Well I thought the Bill was passed that said you could not discriminate
But I know some excuse you’ll find
Because your bottom line is

You might have the cash but you
Can…not cash in your face
We don’t want you living in here
Say you might have the cash but you
Can…not cash in your face
We don’t want your kind living in here
Aye, you might be a great doctor
You might be a great lawyer
You might possess the key to the city
Or maybe a politician
You might have the cash but you
Can…not cash in your face
We don’t want you living in here
Say you might have the cash but you
Can…not cash in your face
We don’t want your kind living in here

Even the great Ehud Banai foresaw that hardships and the racism the Ethiopians would face when he wrote his epic song “Black Labor” in 1987. I specifically remember that chilling line: “Even at home it happens, the exile continues.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oEjIQ9zL_Q[/youtube]