The Israeli Black Panthers

When the state of Israel was first founded in 1948, the majority of its Jewish inhabitants were Ashkenazi Jews, hailing from the Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe. However, in the ensuing decades, an increasing number of Jews immigrating to the nation were from the Sephardic (Iberian, North African, and Turkish) and Mizrahi (Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and South Asian) Jewish communities. These new immigrants, particularly those from Arabic speaking or Muslim nations, were looked upon with suspicion as they continued to practice their own traditions and speak their own languages rather than assimilate into the mainstream Israeli, or rather, Ashkenazi culture.

As a result of this discrimination, young Sephardic and Mizrahi Israelis began to look to the actions of the African-American Civil Rights Movement, particularly the Black Panthers. In 1971, the Black Panthers, also called HaPanterim HaShhorim or the Isreali Black Panthers, was formed to protest the poverty and ethnic discrimination they faced in Isreali society. Although denied a permit to protest, the group still held one on May 18th, 1971 in Zion Square, Jerusalem, attracting between 5,000 and 7,000 demonstrators. The subsequent clash with the police left 20 hospitalized and 74 arrested. Despite facing stiff resistance from the government, including Prime Minister Golda Meir, the Black Panthers eventually succeed in having the movement take steps to confront issues of inequality and discrimination, as well as electing members to Congress.

Although the Israeli Black Panthers began to decline in the 1980s, their legacy remains. Although African and Middle Eastern Jews continue to face discrimination, an increasing number have entered the mainstream of Israeli political, military, cultural and economic life. Further, in the 1990s and 2000s, a group called the Russian Black Panthers was formed to protest discriminating and hate crimes directed at Russian-speaking immigrants.