Saadia Marciano

Saadia Marciano was born in 1950 in Oujda

Saadia Marciano was born on 1 May 1950 in Oujda, Morocco, to Eliyahu and Aliza Marciano. His family immigrated to Israel by way of Marseille and settled in the Musrara neighborhood of Jerusalem.

In 1971 he founded the Israeli Black Panthers with Charlie Biton, Reuven Abergel and other activists, a movement for the rights of Mizrahi Jews. In 1972 a police officer gave him a black eye at a demonstration, which brought him national attention. After the group broke up, he kept campaigning for equality.

The Black Panthers joined the Left Camp of Israel before the 1977 elections, and the party won 2 seats shared by rotation. Marciano entered the Knesset on 19 May 1980 and left the party in November 1980 to form Equality in Israel, Panthers, later renamed the Unity Party. The party did not pass the threshold in 1981, and his term ended on 20 July 1981.

In 1996 he ran in the Labor Party primaries and placed 37th. In later years he worked to prevent drug addiction among young people and ran the Zoharim youth village. He died of cancer on 21 December 2007 and was buried at Har HaMenuchot.