Israel’s Black Panthers, with Asaf Elia-Shalev

Click here to register for this free virtual event, co-presented by New Lehrhaus.

Inspired by the American group of the same name, Israel’s Black Panthers were young and impoverished Israelis, primarily from a Moroccan background, who mounted protests and a yearslong political campaign in the 1970s 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.

In his new book, Asaf Elia-Shalev draws on archival documents and interviews with elderly activists to capture the movement’s history and reveal little-known stories from within the group. Exploring the parallels between the Israeli and American Black Panthers, he offers a unique perspective on the global struggle against racism and oppression and on the role that Mizrahim can play in the future of Israel.

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.

Program made possible, in part, by Marc and Marci Dollinger.