Yemenite Children Affair

A Palestinian woman seen after after crossing the a fence that had been damaged by demonstrators during the protest near the Gaza-Israel border fence, Gaza Strip, September 28, 2018. (Mohammed Zaanoun/Activestills.org)

The most critical issues Israelis won’t be voting on in the next election

Israelis will head to the polls next April to elect a new government. But none of the major parties are offering any real change when it comes to the occupation or social justice issues. This is where the left has a role to play. Amid a number of coalition crises and the possibility of an indictment against Prime Minister Benjamin…

By Haggai Matar December 24, 2018

Protesters demand recognition and reparations for the state's abduction of Yemenite, Mizrahi, and Balkan children between the late 1940s and the 1960s. June 21, 2018. (Shiraz Grinbaum/Activestills.org)

Hundreds demand recognition, reparations for Israel’s practice of family separation

Hundreds of protesters chant outside Netanyahu’s residence and block major thoroughfares in Jerusalem demanding recognition, reparations, and accountability for the abduction of Yemenite, Balkan, and Mizrahi children by state authorities between the late 1940s and the 1960s. Roughly 350 people demonstrated outside of the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Thursday, calling on the government to officially…

By Haggai Matar June 22, 2018

Dozens of women block traffic on Rothschild Boulevard to protest violence against women, central Tel Aviv, July 17, 2017. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

This summer’s wave of protests gives us reason to be optimistic

From asylum seekers demanding their wages to protests against the Gaza blackout to raising awareness over disappeared Yemenite babies, this summer’s protests give us every reason to stay optimistic about this place. It’s hot outside. The Israeli summer often brings with it a new wave of social and political protests, and yet it looks like summer 2017 will be…

By Haggai Matar June 24, 2017

Latest

Photo of Yemenite children who were taken from their parents and disappeared.

Israel’s national wound that cannot heal

A group of dedicated activists have been working tirelessly over the past several years to force the state to come clean about the disappearance of hundreds of Yemenite children in the early days of the state. They might just succeed. One of the aspects that is easiest to forget about the Yemenite children affair is that…

By Haggai Matar June 18, 2017

Nurses and mothers taking care of Yemenite children, Rosh Ha'ayin, 1949. (photo: GPO)

Why is the Left silent on the kidnapping of Mizrahi babies?

In the years following the founding of the State of Israel, thousands of babies, children of mostly Yemenite immigrants, were allegedly taken away from their parents by the state and given up for adoption to Ashkenazi families. The Israeli Left remained consistently silent on the matter. By Naama Katiee Israeli society has a tendency to…

By +972 Magazine June 21, 2015

Protesters march on Tel Aviv's Ayalon highway on July 15, 2012. (photo: Activestills.org)

What Mizrahi activists really want: A ten-point program

Mizrahi activists have tried explaining their positions for years. Now, in the run-up to the elections, they lay out their political vision for education, land reform, health care and representation in a ‘ten-point program.’ By Roi Grufi Throughout my years of being active in the Mizrahi struggle in Israel, I found that there are several…

By Haokets February 14, 2015

Mizrahi activists protest outside Finance Minister Yair Lapid's house, north Tel Aviv. (photo: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Why Mizrahim don’t vote for the Left

It is no wonder that Mizrahim vote for right-wing parties when the Ashkenazi-dominated Left has done everything in its power to exclude them. Want things to change? Start talking about Ashkenazi privilege. By Tom Mehager Those who have, historically, voted for Israel’s left-wing camp are often nicknamed “the white tribe.” On the other hand, the…

By Haokets January 24, 2015

Yemenite Children Affair: Families of the kidnapped speak out

Between the years 1948 and 1952, thousands of babies, children of mostly Yemenite immigrants to the newly-founded State of Israel, were allegedly taken away from their parents and given up for adoption to Ashkenazi families. Now a group of activists is telling the stories of the traumatized families who vow never to forget. (Translated from…

By Haokets January 17, 2015