Rare badge Black panthers 70's

Rare badge Black panthers 70's

Foundation of the Movement

The movement was founded early in 1971 by young people in the Musrara neighborhood of Jerusalem, in reaction to discrimination against Mizrahi Jews, which is considered to have existed since the establishment of the state. The movement's founders protested "ignorance from the establishment for the hard social problems", and wanted to fight for a different future. All of the initial ten members were children of Moroccan immigrants, around ages 18–20, and most had dropped out of elementary school and spent some time in juvenile delinquent institutions. They were influenced by the Community Work Division of the Jerusalem municipality, who introduced them to the mass media as an outlet for expressing their demands for change. Other forces of influence were anti-Zionist high-school and university students.

The Israeli Black Panthers adopted the name of the United States Black Panther Party along with groups in the United Kingdom, West Indies, West Africa, and South Asia. The groups were united by migrant identities and adopted grassroots strategies and interethnic solidarity in order to resist racist social structures. The name was suggested in Israel by one of the founders of the party, Sa'adia Marziano.

There are two theories on how the group came to the name.[15] One is that Marziano or Abergel met with Angela Davis prior to choosing the name. Davis, who was involved with the Black Panther Party of the US, may have been involved in helping the Israeli Party develop its ideology. The other theory is that a social worker in the neighborhood told them that they sounded like the Black Panthers from the U.S.[6]

Protest Activities

In the beginning of 1971, the establishment of the movement was publicized, and it was distributed that the leaders of the movement had criminal records. The authorities became worried that the events of the Wadi Salid riots would be repeated. Shimshon Vigodar made a leaflet before the first organized demonstration and along with three other members of Matzpen, hung them around Musrara. While distributing the leaflet, they were arrested by the police. Vigodar pointed out the difference in treatment towards the newly formed Black Panthers and Matzpen: "When we were in Matzpen, there was no scenario in which we would be thrown in jail for no reason before a protest. I don't remember in the history of Matzpen that we were ever arrested for incitement.