Israel's Black Panthers
Subtitle: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation's Founding Myth
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2024
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-0520294318
First sentence: On the evening of February 28 1971, Israel's aging prime minister, Golda Meir, summoned a group of advisers and senior officials to her office for an urgent meeting.
Description: 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.