E/CN.4/1997/71 page 37 121. Government officials confirmed this information after the newspaper Ma’ariv published a photograph of a bag of blood with this handwritten notation on its tag: “do not use because he is from Ethiopia”. 122. It has been alleged that Mr. Zvi Ben Yishai, the Deputy Director of Haifa’s Ramban Hospital and Chairman of the Government-run National Aids Committee, defended the policy in an interview as “justified for the protection of the public” because, he said, Ethiopian immigrants have as much as 50 times the incidence of AIDS as other Israelis. But Mr. Yoram Lass, a member of Israel’s Parliament and former Director General of the Health Ministry, described the screening policy as “racist and unfounded scientifically”. 123. It has also been reported that needlessly large numbers of Ethiopian children in elementary school are placed in classes for the learning-disabled and that teenage Ethiopians are largely schooled in vocational tracks that prepare them for society’s least rewarding jobs. 124. A majority of Ethiopians are housed in grim trailer parks in distant “development towns”, and their religious leaders are not recognized by the government-sponsored rabbinate. 2. Reply from the Government of Israel by a letter dated 26 February 1996 125. The Government of Israel has provided a detailed account of the situation of the Falasha in Israel. Part of the information was published in the Special Rapporteur's report to the General Assembly at its fifty-first session (A/51/301, paras. 34 and 35). 3. Special Rapporteur's observations 126. The Special Rapporteur is still awaiting the conclusions of the Commission established to consider the question of blood donations by the Ethiopians, as promised by the Government of Israel in its communication. K. India Communication dated 20 December 1996 127. The attention of the Special Rapporteur has been drawn to the situation of the untouchables in India. 27 In view of the complexity of the issue, he plans to carry out preliminary studies in consultation with the Government of India, the parties concerned and in conjunction with the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, before undertaking a field mission if appropriate. He has informed the Indian authorities of his intention. L. 1. Italy Communication dated 23 December 1996 128. According to information received, “a high proportion of ill-treatment by law enforcement officers continued to concern people of non-European ethnic