The Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah

The Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah was first written in 1971, at the beginning of their movement. It was written in a dark tin shack in Jerusalem on a stolen typewriter. In the introduction to this 50th Anniversary Edition, Reuven Abergel, one of the founders of the movement, writes that the Haggadah talks “about the pain, discrimination, and oppression that we were subjected to as part of Israel’s policy of separation between Jews from Muslim countries and Jews from Eastern Europe.”

A year later, a fire destroyed most of the Israeli Black Panthers’ archives, including the Haggadah. It was thought lost for some 40 years until a rabbi who collected Haggadot reached out to Abergel with a copy.

The Haggadah expresses a clear message: When we came to Israel we encountered racism, oppression, and apartheid.  We felt as if we had descended into the darkness of Egypt.  It was in exile that we were free.

This beautiful volume was produced as a cooperative venture between some of the original authors , including Reuven Abergel, the New Israel Fund, and Jewish Currents (very much worth checking out).  The new version is illustrated and describes the history of the Israeli Black Panther movement.

Gold Meir, the prime minister at that moment, is Pharaoh.

You can download a partial version for use at your seder.  Or you can buy a printed copy.