Questions for Wed Dec 4

Who were the Canaanites and what kind of Israeli culture did they advocate?

The Canaanites were a group of activists made up of poets, authors, journalists, sculptors and educators. This group was led by Yonatan Ratosh, a poet. Also, Binyamin Tammuz and Yitzhak Dazigner who were sculptors. The modern Israeli culture was impacted by their ideology, which was “negation of the Diaspora.” They were considered radicals, who rejected their connections to Judaism and their Jewish history. The Canaanites wanted to go back to a Middle Eastern identity, and they wanted to do so without including Islam or Judaism. The Canaanites were big supporters of Hebrew universalism.

Who were the Israeli Black Panthers and what were their demands?

Between the 1950s and 1960’s many Jews were immigrating to Israel. Bad living conditions, increased rates of unemployment and lack of education were all problems that these Jews faced during this time period. The blame for this was placed on the ruling Labor class who mostly constituted of European or Ashkenazi Jews. In 1971 The Israeli Black Panthers organization was established in order to fight oppression placed on Israeli’s from Middle Eastern countries and North Africa. On the third of March, 1971, the organization held a demonstration in Jerusalem against the cost of living. A series of violent demonstrations, forced the Oriental Jews into the public light. The people of Israel could no longer be ignorant to the oppression placed upon these Jews. This organization, the Israeli Black Panthers became the centerpiece of Israeli politics, and created a  lot of change.