"It is a combination of a historical analysis with storytelling and keeps the reader engaged in the evolution of this movement and its impacts. . . . This book is a remarkable work that brings to life the movement of the Israeli Black Panthers."-- "Sephardic Horizons"
"Shalev's writing is personal and infused with passion and warmth, through which he imparts a sense of reality to the events he describes. . . . The narrative is engaging and vibrant, successfully maintaining its vitality throughout the entire book."-- "Ethnic and Racial Studies"
"Simultaneously honest yet sober--with often humorous and clever prose--the book shows an extraordinary attention to detail and brings to life its characters and the mood of Israeli society."-- "The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs"
"Asaf Elia-Shalev tells the movement's story with vivid sympathy, tracing its arc mostly through the troubled life of Moroccan-born activist and key strategist Reuven Abergel."-- "Moment"
"Elia-Shalev is a journalist, which makes his writing structured and engaging in a way only few academic works are. His book is suspenseful, and the 'true crime' style of writing certainly keeps the reader engaged. . . . For those seeking deeper insights into this foundational aspect of Israeli society and culture -- one that is bound to resurface soon -- Elia-Shalev's book is essential reading."-- "Middle East Journal"
"Despite their seismic entrance into Israeli history, half a century later, the Panthers and their rebellion have been largely -- and perhaps wilfully -- forgotten. Their memory is primarily kept alive only by a few surviving Panthers, a handful of dedicated archivists and historians, the Mizrahi left in Israel and abroad, and parts of the broader Israeli radical left. But the Panthers' relevance, argues Israeli-American journalist Asaf Elia-Shalev in a meticulous new book, is enduring."-- "+972 Magazine"
"A staff writer at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Elia-Shalev narrates events with careful attention to interpersonal drama and local color. It is this foregrounding of the human element, over and above the more familiar themes of regional geopolitics and the global cultural currents of the early 1970s, that distinguishes Israel's Black Panthers."-- "The Markaz Review"
"It's both history and an important window into Israel today, as well as the Israel that will still emerge."-- "Israel From the Inside"
"In Israel's Black Pan­thers, Asaf Elia-Shalev forces us to con­front the some­times vast dis­tance between con­sti­tu­tion­al aspi­ra­tion and social and polit­i­cal prac­tice."-- "Jewish Book Council"
"In his compelling new book Israel's Black Panthers, Asaf Elia-Shalev offers a richly detailed account of Israel's Black Panthers in the 1970s."-- "Haaretz"
"In the 1970s, a group of Moroccan Israeli Jews protested against the racial hierarchy then existing in Israel that left many of them both impoverished and lacking rights. Their campaign, inspired by America's Black Panthers, was, says Asaf Elia-Shalev, part of the wider global struggle against oppression."
-- "New Statesman"
"Drawing on archival press accounts, government documents and interviews with surviving Panthers, Elia-Shalev -- a Los Angeles-based reporter with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency -- weaves a tale of young street toughs who underwent a political awakening. These young men saw their plight as a result of entrenched prejudice and lack of public resources, and they decided to fight back."-- "J: The Jewish News of Northern California"