Israel has admitted that it has been giving Ethiopian Jewish immigrants birth control injections, according to a report in Haaretz. An Israeli investigative journalist also found that a majority of the women given these shots say they were administered without their knowledge or consent. Ethiopian Jews remain a marginalized group, often living in highly segregated communities. Because of this, many women\u2019s and immigrant rights advocates believe that the 50 percent decline over the past 10 years in the birthrate of Israel\u2019s Ethiopian community is the result of the Israeli government\u2019s attempt to limit and restrict Ethiopian women\u2019s fertility through forcible birth control injections.<\/p>\n
Health Ministry Director General Prof. Ron Gamzu acknowledged the practice \u2014 without directly conceding coercion was involved \u2014 in a letter to Israeli health maintenance organizations, instructing gynecologists in the HMOs \u201cnot to renew prescriptions for Depo-Provera for women of Ethiopian origin if for any reason there is concern that they might not understand the ramifications of the treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Depo-Provera is a hormonal form of birth control that is injected every three months.<\/p>\n
Gamzu issued the letter in response to a complaint from Sharona Eliahu-Chai of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel. Representing several women\u2019s rights and Ethiopian immigrant groups, Eliahu-Chai demanded an immediate end to the injections and that an investigation be launched into the practice.<\/p>\n