Pro-Palestinian activists are resurfacing claims that Israel subjected Ethiopian immigrants to long-term birth control shots without their knowledge or consent. In 2012, Gal Gabai, an anchor for the news show Vacuum on Israeli Educational Television, aired a report revealing that a number of Ethiopian immigrants to Israel received contraceptive shots either coercively or without their full consent. The investigation also reported an almost 50 percent decline in the birth rate of Ethiopian women in the prior decade. From the available evidence, it appears likely that some Ethiopian women were given contraceptive injections without fully understanding the potential side effects or their alternative options. Claims that this contraception regime led to a decrease in the Ethiopian community’s fertility rate are similarly difficult to validate.
