kochavi shemesh (‎; 10 january 1944 – 13 may 2019) was an iraqi-born israeli lawyer and leftist activist. he was one of the leaders of the israeli black panthers protest movement. he served as editor of the movement's main publication "ha'panter ha'shachor" (, meaning "the black panther"). he also helped form the political party hadash. the party formed as a merger between the black panthers, the israeli communist party and other leftist organisations. he was born in baghdad and grew up in jerusalem.