International Resistance to Zionism, Panel Discussion (Los Angeles)

On August 6, IJSN members hosted an event featuring 3international leaders of the network who had come to the United Statesto participate in IJSN’s first international meeting July 31st–August3rd. The panelists were: Gabriel Ash, an Ashkenzai Jew born in Romania,raised in Israel, and currently based in Geneva who is ananti-capitalist writer and activist; Marcelle Edery, a Jewish MizrahiIsraeli of Moroccan descent who has organized Palestinian and ArabJewish women in Israeli against economic, racial and genderdiscrimination; and Rueven Aberjel, a Moroccan-born Mizrahi Israeli whoco-founded the Black Panther Party of Israel, one of thefirst anti-racist and anti-imperialist Mizrahi organizations in Israel.Rueven and Marcelle both shared their history of political andcommunity organizing work. They also spoke about how their experiencesof race and class oppression as working class Arab Jews in an Israelisociety dominated by Jews of European descent led to their politicalradicalization. And they shed light on the history of Jews in  Arabcountries like Morocco. The audience also heard about IJSN’sperspective on Israeli apartheid, both vis-a-vis the Mizrahiand Palestinian communities inside Israel. The event was attended byover 50 people and was held at the Southern California Library in southLos Angeles and was moderated by Los Angeles IJSN member Robin Ellis.