Could they be a VERY dark glossy olive drab??
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The IDF Sherman in the photo, is based on an M4 (105) VVSS, which would have a different engine deck and hull rear, additionally it should have a metal line used for connecting the canvas thingymajig on the turret face. Other small differences due to Israeli modifications.
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The IDF were using the French olive green to paint their early tanks and it is very dark, so it could be that the colour looks like black in the photos
Or this could be the brownish colour referred to above as it was much browner than the US olive green
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Kinda interesting. I pulled those two black Sherman pictures into a paint program to check the RGB values and they are not black of gray. They are a very dark blue green. I then checked against WWII US Olive Drab and some other olive drabs. They are not that, either. The interesting thing is that, no matter where the picture is sampled, the RGB values have a spread something like R, G=R+X, B=R+2X. That could be an artifact of the original picture taking process, or how the original picture chemically deteriorated over time. Thought I would mention it because I know some model builders are rally picky about colors.
As an aside, in 1979, Graham Masterton wrote a book called The Devils of D-Day that features 13 black painted M4 tanks. General Patton gives the order for their creation and uses them to beat the Germans, with horrific consequences. My dad enjoyed horror stories so when he finished, I was allowed to read it.
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I had read, years ago, one reference that stated that the French olive green faded to a khaki-ish brown in the desert sun. Black IDF Shermans are new to me, and would certainly make for an interesting addition to the collection.
Robin, I am going to guess that the shadow variations are simply geometry, i.e., angle (and intensity) of the sun. Yes? No? Maybe? Perhaps Iām just not understanding your questions about the shadows.
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Sisay, Iām curious - these black painted tanks, like āLighteningā in that top pic, were they assigned to a specific unit, a specific region, or was it an experiment? Any idea?
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Thatās the fun part, I donāt know! Back then the IDF armored corps was small.
Brigade 7 - Active service, formed in 1948 and got itās first tanks in 1952 IIRC, still exists today
Brigade 27 - Reserve, formed in 1952, after multiple iterations disbanded in 2014 with Merkava Mark 1 Meshupar tanks
Brigade 37 - Reserve, formed in 1955-56, after a couple iterations it continues as a reserve tank brigade today, Brigade 179.
M-50 Shermans as seen in the photo were present in two tank companies, one Company A of Battalion 82 Brigade 7 and Company Gimel of Battalion 268 of Brigade 27. The āBarakā (Lightning) writing appears on the turrets of other Sherman tanks of the era, and I have no idea why, to my knowledge the was no unit named Barak back then, and it appears or multiple Sherman types which means multiple companies, very interesting!
Regarding the colorway, I have no idea why some tanks were painted black while others werenāt, I can guess that all the tanks after a certain period were painted that way, and those which didnāt need a paint job since their initial one earlier were sparedā¦ I really donāt know!
Sorry if my answer was structured confusingly, I got confused a little by your question and realized it halfway through 
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That alone should be enough to conclude the tank isnāt black. A pretty dark shade of greenish olive drab, going by the photo, but photos are notoriously inaccurate when it comes to colours.
You realise youāre talking to modellers here, right? 
Thatās what Iām leaning to, anyway.
No That Tamiya kit is a large-hatch M4A3, the tank in the first photo is a large-hatch M4 with a different engine deck and hull rear, as well as other details. As @Sisay_E says, these Israeli tanks were based on M4 (105 mm) models (there were no other large-hatch M4s with welded hull front) but with a 75 mm gun and mantlet retrofitted. Modifying the Tamiya kit to that configuration requires more than just swapping the engine deck and hull rear with those from an M4 or M4A1 kit, though.
ā¦ learned nothing useful Colours in photographs are never what they are in real life.
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I have also either read or heard on the old IDF-in-Scale forum that early armour was sometimes painted with colours mixed from whatever was available at the time. Spares and materials were in short supply in the early years.
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I was curious about the darkness differences between two vertical surfaces facing the same direction (shadow side of the tank)
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Right. Got it. Good question. Iād propose that given the high angle of the sun in the direction of the machine gunners hatch -putting the far side of the turret in shadow- dust on the port hull side, and the fact that the ādark sideā of the hull deck was in the shadow of the turret, the turret would receive no reflected light from it, there by making the turretās side to appear darker that the hull side, which, covered in dust, offering some ability at re-reflection of the surrounding sands would be lighter. 
Or itās a just poor photograph.
Or Aliens passing by on their way to check up on their pyramids.
Please feel free to discuss.
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I think @namengr Wayne
and @Jakko have the best
explanations with hatch shadow
and uneven accumulation of dust
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My way of agreeing with them?
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Yes that is the perfect starting point. The tanks the IDF acquired had the 105 guns demilitarized by having holes drilled in them and were replaced by 75mm guns with their corresponding gun mantlets.
Many had miss matched road wheels and missing parts like head lights
Also most (probably 90% from the photo evidence) IDF Shermans used T54A1 tracks.
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Most likely, yes. I donāt particularly like Dragon Shermans myself, but at least this should give you the right tank straight from the box. You may want to replace the tracks by T54E1s, like @idfpaul also says, and youāll have to find an M34A1 gun shield and 75 mm gun somewhere, because those donāt seem to be in the box (going by the instructions). You will want those from another Dragon kit, BTW: Asukaās, for example, wonāt fit the Dragon turret.
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IDF try not to name every single thing āBarakā challenge:
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