Sheffi Paz, the Israeli activist who led protests against African migrants and asylum seekers in south Tel Aviv, died on Monday, October 26, 2026, at the age of 74. The Save Tel Aviv organization said she died of cancer, diagnosed for a fourth time a month earlier.
“It was a very rapid and unexpected downward spiral,” her friend Amalia Ozer, the group’s deputy director-general, told Walla. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eulogized her, saying she had been “cruelly persecuted,” Haaretz reported.
From the left to south Tel Aviv
Paz was born in Łódź, Poland, on June 18, 1952, to Holocaust survivors, and moved to Israel with her parents at four. She grew up in Holon, served in the Israel Defense Forces and for decades was a left-wing activist and a member of Meretz. She campaigned for LGBT rights, joined Peace Now protests against West Bank settlements and took part in the 2011 social justice protests.
In 1996 she and her partner moved to the Shapira neighbourhood in south Tel Aviv, attracted by its diversity. Her views later changed sharply, and from around 2012 she became the best-known figure in residents’ protests against the presence of African migrants in the area.
Protests and prison
She organised demonstrations, confronted government officials and local authorities, and lobbied the Knesset, becoming the public face of the movement. Her tactics led to clashes with police and legal proceedings. In September 2024 she was sentenced to 45 days in prison after being convicted of offences including spraying graffiti and disturbing public order. She served the sentence, was praised by far-right lawmakers, and continued her activism after her release.
The Save Tel Aviv organization called her “the voice of the invisible people” and said it would continue her campaign.