Abergel illuminates Israeli Black Panthers’ struggle

The Israeli Black Panthers, founded in 1971, was one of the first movements in Israel fighting for social justice for Jews from Arab and Muslim countries (also known as Mizrahi Jews). On March 22 co-founder and former leader of the Israeli Black Panthers, Reuven Abergel, gave a lecture in Hebrew with English translation provided by Itamar Haritan, a Cornell University graduate student in anthropology and Jewish Studies who has worked with Abergel for many years. In his lecture, Abergel discusses the treatment of Jews from Arab and Muslim countries in Israel by referring to a new translation, published by Jewish Currents Press, of one of the most innovative and important documents produced by the Israeli Black Panthers, according to Jewish Studies Director Deborah Starr: “The Israeli Black Panthers’ Haggadah.”