Israel's Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation's Founding Myth

"Compelling . . . offers a richly detailed account of Israel's Black Panthers in the 1970s."―Haaretz

"Forces us to con­front the some­times vast dis­tance between con­sti­tu­tion­al aspi­ra­tion and social and polit­i­cal prac­tice."―Jewish Book Council

The powerful story of an activist movement that challenged the racial inequities of Israel.

Israel's Black Panthers tells the story of the young and impoverished Moroccan Israeli Jews who challenged their country's political status quo and rebelled against the ethnic hierarchy of Israeli life in the 1970s. Inspired by the American group of the same name, the Black Panthers mounted protests and a yearslong political campaign for the rights of Mizrahim, or Jews of Middle Eastern ancestry. They managed to rattle the country's establishment and change the course of Israel's history through the mass mobilization of a Jewish underclass.

This book draws on archival documents and interviews with elderly activists to capture the movement's history and reveal little-known stories from within the group. Asaf Elia-Shalev explores the parallels between the Israeli and American Black Panthers, offering a unique perspective on the global struggle against racism and oppression. In twenty short and captivating chapters, Israel's Black Panthers provides a textured and novel account of the movement and reflects on the role that Mizrahim can play in the future of Israel.

Author: Asaf Elia-Shalev
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 03/19/2024
Pages: 344
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.30d
ISBN13: 9780520294318
ISBN10: 0520294319
BISAC Categories:
- Political Science | General
- History | Middle East | General
- Social Science | Cultural & Ethnic Studies | Middle Eastern Studies

About the Author
Asaf Elia-Shalev is an Israeli American journalist based in Los Angeles. He is a staff writer for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, which distributes his work to dozens of media outlets in multiple languages.