Israel's Black Panthers

"Israel's Black Panthers tells a story not so much forgotten as willfully repressed--the tale of the profound racism toward non-European Jews that goes back to the earliest years of the Israeli state and of a political awakening that challenges the most cherished liberal Zionist origin stories. Compellingly and sensitively told, Asaf Elia-Shalev's work is an antidote to the triumphalist myths that still dominate the political discourse and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the divisions that continue to cleave Israeli society."--Ben Ehrenreich, author of The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine "A beautifully told story about one of the most fascinating episodes in Israeli history, one with powerful lessons for the struggle for equality today."--Peter Beinart, author of The Crisis of Zionism "A meticulous, intimate study that serves as a history of Israel's civil rights movement and a reminder that every struggle for equality begins with a few people who are willing to pay the cost. Timely and essential."--Joshua Hunt, author of University of Nike "With this incisive and compelling book, Elia-Shalev has achieved two important feats. He has filled a vast gap in the standard history of Israel by centering the experiences of Mizrahi immigrants and their descendants. And he has traced the arc of Mizrahi populism from left-wing agitation in the 1960s to the right-wing extremism that has infused the current Israeli government to devastating effect."--Samuel G. Freedman, author of Into the Bright Sunshine