Rabbi Bradd Boxman (R) and his daughter Ashira at a Florida rally, June 2020. The signs: “Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue” from the Torah and “The only thing necessary for evil to exist is for good people to do nothing. #BLM” (Sun Sentinel)
Written for America Unfiltered, the joint project of EA WorldView and The Clinton Institute:
Instead of reproducing this notion of conflict, activists should pursue a joint coalition against hate crimes in the US. Antisemitism and racism are real, and they should be challenged together. At the moment of a far right targeting Blacks and Jews alike, this is the time for non-Jewish Black and Jewish alliances.
In the past six weeks, some prominent Black American figures have reproduced antisemitic canards. Comedian Nick Cannon and rapper Professor Griff, chatting on Cannon’s podcast, claimed Jewish people control the media. Philadelphia Eagles football star DeSean Jackson shared a quote on his social media platform, falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler, that Jews “will blackmail America” and that “their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were”. Former pro basketball player Stephen Jackson wrote that the Jews “are the richest” and “control all the banks.” Both Jacksons proclaimed their admiration for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has a long, well-documented record of antisemitic rhetoric.
The Black Lives Matter movement has been accused of antisemitism because the BLM-linked Movement for Black Lives took positions critical of Israeli and US policies towards Palestinians. The M4BL’s 2016 platform stated that the US “is complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people”, that “Israel is an apartheid state”, and that the US has funded Israel’s “apartheid wall”. Some Jewish groups, like T’ruah, a nonprofit organization of rabbis, stood with the grassroots movement to end racial injustice in the US while criticizing the M4BL platform’s anti-Israel stance. Others, such as Boston’s Jewish Community Relations Council, categorically rejected alignment with BLM for “isolating and demonizing Israel”.
After backlash, Cannon and the Jacksons expressed their regret. “I must apologize to my Jewish Brothers and Sisters for putting them in such a painful position, which was never my intention, but I know this whole situation has hurt many people and together we will make it right,” Cannon wrote on his Facebook page. DeSean Jackson posted the message, “Hitler has caused terrible pain to Jewish people like the pain African-Americans have suffered. We should be together fighting anti-Semitism and racism. This was a mistake to post this and I truly apologize for posting it and sorry for any hurt I have caused.”
The Anti-Defamation League has emphasized that the BLM is not responsible for position papers from associated groups such as the M4BL. BLM’s campaign and policy goals do not mention Israel, nor any other international issues. Instead, they focus on domestic matters including voting rights, criminal justice reform, economic justice and healthcare. The M4BL also The Rise of Black Anti-Semitism” and “Black Anti-Semitism is a Very Big Problem”. Some tagged the entire BLM movement as antisemitic, “Why Black Lives Matter Protests are a Catalyst for Anti-Semitism”, or claimed “no wonder Jewish groups are wary of BLM”.
A Problematic Narrative
The idea of tensions between “the Blacks” and “the Jews” has been part of American political culture for decades. In the summer of 2020, it has been elevated in the current debates on racial injustice in the US.
But this old-new “debate” is problematic on many levels.
Instead of demanding that Jews and blacks join forces in fighting their supposed common enemy, Jews should do better to reflect on their own privilege as one of the most successful ethnic groups in the US and Western Europe. It isn’t 1930 anymore. Statistically Jews are significantly over-performing when compared to other subgroups, especially in important metrics such as educational attainment, representation, and income. African-Americans cannot boast about any of those things. Why do you think that is? Obviously Jews greatly benefit from a system designed to reinforce white supremacy at the expense of people of color.
Do better, Armin. BIPOC don’t owe you their friendship. Instead, you OWE them to ask yourself and your fellow Jews how you benefit from the privilege conferred to you by systemic racism, and in what ways can you give it up in order to uplift marginalized bodies in their fight for social justice!