ABSTRACT
I present the total sum of Mizrahi political struggle activities in Israel, both radical independent and within the hegemonic mainstream, as “the Mizrahi struggle movement.” In this I follow prevailing academic and public discourse in the U.S., which defines the black struggle for equality during the 1950s and 1960s as “the civil rights movement.” On this basis I try to evaluate the Mizrahi struggle movement’s achievements in relation to the main goal common to all participants: just socioeconomic policies and cultural freedom. Two goals preceding this general goal are shared by all players in the Mizrahi struggle arena: to bring the state to acknowledge its policy of inequality, and to legitimize the very existence of the Mizrahi struggle for equality. Here the main differences in practice and ideology between various groups, organizations, leaders, and politicians are revealed.
