Sami Shalom Chetrit’s Intra-Jewish Conflict in Israel: White Jews, Black Jews opens a
window into an overlooked aspect of Israeli society, the only majority Jewish society in the
region: the deep divisions between Mizrahi Jews, who immigrated from Arab and Muslim
countries, and Ashkenazi Jews, who came from Europe. For many, the history of Israel is a
story of national unity and resilience. However, Chetrit argues that beneath this narrative lies
a much more complicated reality. His book focuses on how Mizrahi Jews fought for social
and political equality in a society dominated by European ideals and norms.
Chetrit’s book takes an in-depth look at the political and social struggles of the Mizrahi
Jews. He begins his exploration of this community, which he himself belongs to, by their
arrival in the early years of Israel’s statehood. Their arrival was part of the “Zionist project” to
‘populate the newly established state with a Jewish workforce’. Ashkenazi leaders celebrated
their inclusion in the “ingathering of the exiles”. In contrast, the Mizrahi community was
often treated as second-class citizens and shared sentiments of alienation.
The book successfully places this struggle in a broader historical and global context.
Chetrit highlights key events of this struggle. One example is the “Wadi Salib” riots in 1952.
These riots were ignited when Mizrahi, notably Moroccan, residents in Haifa protested poor
living conditions and systematic neglect by the state. Chetrit also examines the rise of the
Israeli Black Panthers in the 1970s as a continuation and representation of the Mizrahi
frustration.
One of the strengths of this book is how it connects the Mizrahi struggle to other global
movements. For example, Chetrit draws a parallel between Mizrahi Jewish and African
American struggles. Both groups, he argues, faced economic and cultural oppression in
societies that favoured dominant groups: Ashkenazi Jews in Israel and white Americans in the
United states. He explains how the Israeli Black Panthers chose their name deliberately to
echo the American Black panthers.
Therein, Intra-Jewish Conflict in Israel is valuable for educators, students and activists
who want to understand how inequality works within societies. He writes, “The Mizrahi
resistance launched a long social and cultural process that changed the face of Israeli
democracy [..] Yet this was accompanied by a consolidation of power by the national right”
(p. x). Through this quote, Chetrit captures the duality at the heart of the book: progress and
resistance.
