In the years 1990-2000, the suicide rate of youths of Ethiopian extraction was double that of their age group, according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry released this data in a position paper that was discussed in the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee yesterday.

In the discussion, held on Mental Health Day, the committee decided to initiate legislation to create a national authority dedicated to preventing suicides. MK Ran Cohen, who initiated the committee discussion, said he would seek a NIS 5 million budget for the organization's preliminary work.

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Committee chair MK Michael Nudelman said following the discussion that it is "a tragedy that the number of suicide victims is almost equal to the number of car accident victims."

The health ministry's position paper on suicide states that during the years 1996-2000, Ethiopians aged 15-24 constituted 5.2 percent of all suicide cases, even though they accounted for only 1.75 percent of the population in that age group.

Officials in the Immigrant Absorption Ministry say that the high suicide rate among immigrant youth is related to inadequate education and low socio-economic status, as well as the cultural and linguistic difficulties immigrants encounter in Israel.