In Zionism’s early decades, Mizrahim, or Jews from Arab and Muslim-majority countries, were largely an afterthought for the movement. Soon after Israel’s founding, however, they became the majority of the new country’s Jewish population—both essential and marginalized by an elite intent on preserving Israel’s European identity. This virtual lecture explores how the Mizrahim, led by the Black Panthers, challenged the secondary role imposed on them and reshaped the nation, leading to contradictory and, in some ways, unintended outcomes.

Asaf Elia-Shalev is an Israeli-American investigative journalist based in Los Angeles. He is a senior reporter with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA News), where he covers philanthropy, Jewish institutions, antisemitism, Christian nationalism, and other topics for a global audience. His articles for JTA are syndicated by dozens of outlets in multiple languages worldwide. His byline has appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Haaretz, The Forward, and many other publications. He led the archival and historical research for the 2022 re-release of The Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah, with Jewish Currents Press. In 2024, he published his first book, Israel Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation’s Founding Myth, with UC Press. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.