Ashkenazi hegemony

Jewish immigrants from Yemen at a camp near Rosh Ha’ayin. (Photo: GPO)

Behind election lurks Israel’s ethnic divide

The use of racially loaded code words at an anti-Netanyahu rally highlights the inter-Jewish racism that has plagued Israeli society and politics since day one. A look at the correlation between ethnic background and voting patterns. The anti-Netanyahu rally in Tel Aviv Saturday night was meant to be a high point of the campaign to oust Israel’s…

By Dimi Reider March 11, 2015

Israelis march during a protest calling for social justice, Hatikva neighborhood, south Tel Aviv, June 14, 2012. (photo: Activestills.org)

Israeli Black Panther: Mizrahim must boycott the elections

Since its establishment and until today, not a single election has fundamentally changed the status of Mizrahim in the ‘only democracy in the Middle East.’ Now we must use the only tool we have left at our disposal and refuse to participate in the game altogether. By Reuven Abergel For Palestinian citizens of Israel, the upcoming…

By Haokets February 20, 2015

Israel Prize winner and famed author Amos Oz. (photo: Michiel Hendryckx/CC BY 3.0)

The prestigious award that only goes to Ashkenazi men

While the prime minister’s attempt to intervene in the selection committee for the Israel Prize is clearly anti-democratic, so is the fact that the vast majority of its recipients look exactly the same. The uproar over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s meddling in the nominations of three would-be judges for the prestigious Israel Prize selection committee caused many…

By Orly Noy February 13, 2015

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Mizrahi activists protest outside Finance Minister Yair Lapid's house, north Tel Aviv. (photo: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Ashkenazis, it is time to acknowledge our racism

The easiest way to avoid being called racist is to only hang out with Ashkenazis. But I hate this, and need to admit that I treat Mizrahis differently. Now all that is left is to start making a change. By Ruth Stern When my friend and poet Shlomi Hatuka asked me to write something about…

By +972 Magazine November 8, 2014

Still from the play "Frekha Shem Yafe" (Frekha is a Beautiful Name), directed by Hana Vezana Grunwald. (photo: Annie Atedgi)

Can a Mizrahi girl fit into Israel’s national story?

I grew up in a place where my first name was nothing more than a word on my identification card. Where the Holocaust was something that didn’t belong to me. Where my story had no place. All because of my ethnicity. By Adi Sadaka Ever since I was a young girl and through my years growing…

By Cafe Gibraltar October 19, 2014

Ritalin. (photo: Sponge/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Pathologizing ethnicity: Are Mizrahim really more prone to violence?

A recent article claims that the higher rates of ADHD among Mizrahim leads them to violence. But can one really make such sweeping statements about an entire demographic group without looking at the broader social context? By Marcelo Weksler (translated from Hebrew by Anat Goldman) On March 16, 2014, Dr. Shlomi Antebi, an expert on…

By Haokets June 12, 2014