Israel's Black Panthers

Apr 9, 2024 12:30pm - 2:00pm
University Library: Jack & Florence Ferman Presentation Room

Asaf Elia-Shalev is an Israeli American journalist based in Los Angeles. He works for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a nonprofit newsroom that has been covering issues of Jewish concern around the world for more than a hundred years. He first encountered the story of the Israeli Black Panthers as a college student exploring his Mizrahi Jewish roots and learning about the legacy of the original Black Panther Party from Oakland.

Elia-Shalev will speak about his new book, Israel's Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation's Founding Myth, where he tells the story of 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. The 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.

Sponsors: The University Library, Departments of Journalism and History, the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center, the College of Humanities, Jewish Studies.

Light refreshments will be available. Please RSVP for the event on the form below.

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