Israel's Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation's Founding Myth
Israel's Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation's Founding Myth
Israel's Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation's Founding Myth
Description
Description
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.
About the Author
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.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"In his compelling new book Israel's Black Panthers, Asaf Elia-Shalev offers a richly detailed account of Israel's Black Panthers in the 1970s."-- "Haaretz"
"In the 1970s, a group of Moroccan Israeli Jews protested against the racial hierarchy then existing in Israel that left many of them both impoverished and lacking rights. Their campaign, inspired by America's Black Panthers, was, says Asaf Elia-Shalev, part of the wider global struggle against oppression."
-- "New Statesman" "Drawing on archival press accounts, government documents and interviews with surviving Panthers, Elia-Shalev -- a Los Angeles-based reporter with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency -- weaves a tale of young street toughs who underwent a political awakening. These young men saw their plight as a result of entrenched prejudice and lack of public resources, and they decided to fight back."-- "J: The Jewish News of Northern California" "In Israel's Black Panthers, Asaf Elia-Shalev forces us to confront the sometimes vast distance between constitutional aspiration and social and political practice."-- "Jewish Book Council"
-- "New Statesman" "Drawing on archival press accounts, government documents and interviews with surviving Panthers, Elia-Shalev -- a Los Angeles-based reporter with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency -- weaves a tale of young street toughs who underwent a political awakening. These young men saw their plight as a result of entrenched prejudice and lack of public resources, and they decided to fight back."-- "J: The Jewish News of Northern California" "In Israel's Black Panthers, Asaf Elia-Shalev forces us to confront the sometimes vast distance between constitutional aspiration and social and political practice."-- "Jewish Book Council"
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
University of California Press
Pub date:
2024-03-19
Length:
344 pages
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