Saadia Marciano ( he, סעדיה מרציאנו; 1 May 1950 – 21 December 2007) was an Israeli social activist and politician, and founder of the Israeli Black Panthers.

Biography

Born in

Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

in 1950, Marciano's family

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

before his first birthday, where he grew up in the Musrara neighborhood of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He was inspired by the example of the

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

to organise a national movement to liberate

Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained ...

, and founded the Israeli Black Panthers in 1971. The organisation's name was attributed to Marciano by Kochavi Shemesh, who claimed that it was chosen to frighten

Israeli Prime Minister The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exe ...

Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and '' kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to ...

. In 1972, Marciano was part of a Black Panthers group who moved

milk bottle Glass milk bottles are glass bottles used for milk and they are generally reusable and returnable. Milk bottles are used mainly for doorstep delivery of fresh milk by milkmen as retail store sale is available in some regions (with bottle de ...

s from middle-class neighbourhoods to poor ones. During a demonstration, he was given a

black eye A periorbital hematoma, commonly called a black eye or a shiner (associated with boxing or stick sports such as hockey), is bruising around the eye commonly due to an injury to the face rather than to the eye. The name refers to the dark-colo ...

by a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, and this brought him to national attention. The group collapsed the following year, but he continued to campaign for equality, and also set up a

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...

centre. The Black Panthers joined the Left Camp of Israel party prior to the 1977 elections, and Marciano received a top five spot on their list. The party won two seats in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...

, and Marciano was one of five people to hold one, on a rotation basis. He entered the Knesset in May 1980, but in November he left the party and sat as an independent MK, before forming the ''Equality in Israel - Panthers'' party. After being joined by Mordechai Elgrably, the party changed its name to the Unity Party. However, the party failed to cross the 1%

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

in the 1981 elections and Marciano was therefore not re-elected. A relative of Marciano, Yoram Marciano, was also a member of the Knesset.

References

External links

* 1950 births 2007 deaths Jewish Israeli anti-racism activists Israeli human rights activists Moroccan emigrants to Israel 20th-century Moroccan Jews People from Oujda Israeli Mizrahi Jews Israeli Sephardi Jews Jewish socialists Black Panthers (Israel) politicians Left Camp of Israel politicians Unity Party (Israel) politicians Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) {{Israel-politician-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links