On May 18th, 1971, The Night of the Panthers began.The Israeli Black Panthers were a group of Mizrahi youth, students, and allies that organized in the early 1970s to protest the discrimination they experienced in Israel. Their goals were to end discrimination against Mizrahim by improving resources like education and housing and by increasing representation in political, educational, and occupational institutions. On March 3, 1971, despite being denied a permit to protest, approximately 400 people participated in the Israeli Black Panthers’ first demonstration.After the public was alarmed, politicians on all sides wanted to placate the newly formed Israeli Black Panthers. When a delegation of the Black Panthers met with Prime Minister Golda Meir, their list of 33 demands was rejected. After Meir condescendingly dismissed them as “not nice boys,” more than 5,000 Israeli Black Panthers took to the streets in protest.The Israeli Black Panthers continued to stand up and speak out. On May 18, 1971, an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people gathered to rally in Davidka Square in downtown Jerusalem for what was to be known as the “Night of the Panthers.” The police began arresting people, some of whom weren’t even participating in the demonstration; by the next morning, more than 100 people had been detained. Protestors responded to the police violence with Molotov cocktails. After the protest, the Black Panthers temporarily joined the government-approved “Alliance of Moroccan Immigrants” so that they could free their fellow Panthers from jail.Nevertheless, the Israeli Black Panthers brought the discrimination and socio-economic inequality that Mizrahi Jews faced to light, challenging the long-standing Labor Party leaders and the Ashkenazi population to confront that discrimination. Though Golda Meir may have dismissed the Israeli Black Panthers, they had a strong impact and enduring influence on Israeli society by helping empower a generation of Mizrahi Israelis.