Who were Israel's Black Panthers?

 

In 1971 in the slums of West Jerusalem, a group of young Moroccan Jews established the Israeli Black Panthers to fight for equality Israel’s marginalized community of Middle Eastern, or Mizrachi, Jews.

While initially focused strictly on domestic issues, the group eventually came to find parallels between the mistreatment of Mizrachim and the Palestinian plight. Founding member Charlie Biton became the first Israeli to meet with Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat in 1980.

Asaf Elia-Shalev, a reporter for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency wire service, published the book Israel’s Black Panthers last year. He joins the Orchardcast to discuss the treatment of Mizrachi Jews by Israel’s Ashkenazi ruling class, the Panthers’ complicated relationship to Zionism and the group’s legacy.