by Dan Bergman | Black lives DO matter! I want to begin this article with that statement. I am NOT arguing that premise. I also want to make a vital clarification that is muddled by the media and collective mentality of those who see this movement as synonymous with the idea that the lives of black people are valuable. There is a distinction! Endorsing the movement “Black Lives Matter” (which is an organization with a charter, and stated platform) is NOT the same as standing in solidarity with ethnic minorities.
I also need to make a very important statement about racism. We know Biblically, that “God has made of one blood all nations of men,” as stated in Acts 17:26. We are truly all one race. I don’t think, however, that the answer is for us to be “color-blind” and imagine that there really isn’t a problem. That’s not what we see Jesus doing in His earthly ministry.
I heard someone say this, and I thought it was very good, “Although racism is a lie of the devil and is Biblically unfounded for, it is nonetheless a social reality.”
The closest example that we have of Jesus dealing with the social fabrication of racism is His numerous earth-shattering statements and actions regarding the Samaritans. They were viewed as second-class people by Jews and non-Jews alike because of their ethno-religious background. Jesus’ example of love that crosses social barriers, and His unwavering proclamation of truth to all peoples should illustrate to us how we ought to act in such situations. Jesus showed the Samaritan woman love, and at the same time, exposed her sin and told her that the Jews had the true Scripture and Messiah. This is the truth in love.
I’d like to make one more preliminary remark in shaping the spirit of this article. I used to think I knew what our African American neighbors and friends were going through. Until this year. A good friend of mine, whom I graduated with from Bible college, has served in full-time evangelism for over a decade. He has been interviewed on multiple podcasts that I listen to, and has spoken on the racially fueled turmoil in our country, as well as his personal experiences as a black man speaking in scores of predominantly white churches every year. He has had independent Baptist pastors cancel on him when he shows up at the church, because they didn’t realize he was black. And yes, this is in the 21st century, in our circles. Let me just say that there was so much that I didn’t know. We mustn’t ignore this social reality.
The Director of our ministry recently asked a black man at a gas station what he thought about all of this. The man’s response was well put, “People need God.” Once you finish reading this article, my prayer is that you would see BLM’s true colors, but also that you would be burdened for the salvation of all who are involved, and for those who claim to follow Christ (on both sides of this issue), to realize the un-Christ-like and unbiblical spirit of their actions and associations, and to repent. With these thoughts under our belt, let’s dive in as we uncover the vile anti-Semitism that many don’t realize is embedded in the DNA of the BLM movement.
A CHARTER DELETED FROM THE PUBLIC EYE
In May of 2018, an official statement from Black Lives Matter boldly articulated their platform regarding what they think about Israel:
“The Movement for Black Lives stands with the Palestinian people and especially those in Gaza, that have been engaging in resistance at the Gaza border… We know that police officers in the United States learn the tactics of war from Israeli police forces, who come annually to train U.S. officers in methods of oppression, surveillance and murder. We understand that we are connected to the Palestinian people by our shared demand for recognition and justice and our long histories of displacement, discrimination and violence.
“We categorically condemn the mass murder of Palestinians whose only crime was taking acts of moral resistance to life under occupation. We join them in calling for an end to the illegal blockade on Gaza which has allowed for the sealing off of its borders, trapping 2 million residents in an open air prison.
“We also demand an end to the over 3 billion US taxpayer dollars that are sent to Israel to purchase military arms from U.S. corporations that are used on Palestinians.
“We stand on the side of those fighting for the freedom of Black people, Palestinians and oppressed people all around the world.”1
Furthermore, “The US justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliance with Israel and is complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people.” 2
These statements have since come under scrutiny and have subsequently been removed from their respective websites.
There has never been any renouncement of these foundational beliefs held by the organization, even though they have now attempted to remove them from public inspection. This is a foundational part of their platform.
It is jarring to see how blatantly anti-Zionist BLM is at its core. The above excerpts from their official charter are reminiscent of World War 2 propaganda produced by Nazi Germany. They use words like “engaging in resistance” instead of “shooting thousands of rockets into populated areas with the intent to harm” or “producing terror tunnels for the purpose of stabbing, killing, and/or kidnapping Israelis.” It’s just “engaging in resistance.” Never mind that the evil murderous, hell-bent, and recognized terrorist organization, Hamas, runs Gaza. Forget that Hamas uses its own people as human shields, and refuses to let journalists film injured militants, only children and other civilians.3 Ignore the Israeli aid to Gaza that is used to attempt to murder Israelis (such as the millions of dollars’ worth of concrete for rebuilding being used to build terror tunnels).4
It is a little known fact that Hamas constantly attempts to silence any Israeli charity, good-will, or assistance, even to the harm of Gaza’s own citizens. If you’ve never heard this before, you NEED to see a short film entitled “Eyeless in Gaza.” It exposes all of the media’s false narratives regarding this conflict. Over 800 trucks of Israeli assistance to Gaza are received every day.5 Israel doesn’t “attack” Gaza; it retaliates for the purpose of eliminating a threat. Hamas purposefully fires rockets from highly populated areas such as schools, apartment buildings, hospitals, and even a UN relief depot, (which are all war crimes by the way) so that when Israel strikes the rocket launchers, there will be mass casualties. Israel drops hundreds of thousands of leaflets telling residents to leave so that they will not be harmed in a strike. Israel texts them. Israel sends them Facebook messages. But Hamas tells citizens to stay via their radio programming. It is such a twisted narrative that is fueled by lies and blatant hatred for the Jews, and a denial of their right to exist.
Some might say, “But they’re not anti-Semitic, they’re just anti-Zionist!”
In reality, these terms cannot be separated. It’s like someone being vehemently anti-African, but at the same time, saying they are not anti-black. It is hypocrisy. Listen to this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he was approached by a student who attacked Zionism at Harvard University not long before his assassination. Dr. King responded, “When people criticize Zionists,
they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism.”6
JEWISH ESTABLISHMENTS TARGETED
Over the Shavuot festival on May 30 of 2020, members of Black Lives Matter vandalized numerous Jewish establishments in Fairfax, CA. It is the oldest Jewish community in Los Angeles, populated mostly by ultra-Orthodox Jews. Five synagogues and three Jewish schools were vandalized. Many of the Jewish businesses on Fairfax Avenue were looted.7
Bystanders recount that the rioters were chanting, “____ the police and kill the Jews.”8
Synagogue in Farifax, CA Vandalized by BLM Rioters – Photo credit: Lisa Daftari / Twitter
Aryeh Rosenfeld, whose store was looted, explained that when he came to defend his store there were people driving through the streets screaming, “____ Jews,” at the Jewish store owners.9
Caroline Glick reports in an article for Israel HaYom, that “BLM in Los Angeles is led by outspoken anti-Semites with intimate ties to the virulently anti-Semitic Nation of Islam.
“Over the past several years both the BLM-Los Angeles head Melina Abdullah and her daughter Thandiwe Abdullah, who is the co-founder of the BLM Youth Vanguard, have racked up long records of anti-Semitic rants and fawning praise for Nation of Islam leader Farrakhan. Farrakhan who has praised Hitler, recently called Jews ‘termites,’ and obsessively rails against Judaism and Jews.”10
THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK
Since learning of the anti-Semitic underbelly of BLM, I have been amazed at the irony and hypocrisy of this group who claims to stand against prejudice, and is supposedly fighting for racial equality. It seems that the only politically correct form of hatred these days is that directed toward Jews. Speaking of minorities, do you know how many Jewish people there are on this planet? About 15 million. Almost half of that current number were murdered less than a century ago! Do they not have a right to their own land, which God Himself gave to them 4,000 years ago? As a side note, Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005 as a gesture of good will. Within a year, it was turned into a terrorist state that literally murders its own people in the streets without trial, and whose official charter calls for the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people.11 To claim to stand against racism and hold blatantly anti-Semitic views is the very definition of irony and hypocrisy.
BLACK CELEBRITIES PROMOTING HATE TOWARD JEWS
Millions are being influenced with anti-Semetic views promoted by black celebrities who stand with BLM. British rapper Wiley, who has 940,000 followers on Instagram and Twitter, wrote that Jews are “snakes,” “cowards,” at “war” with black people, and compared Jews to the KKK.12 Philadelphia Eagles’ player DeSean Jackson, who has 10 million followers on Instagram claimed to be of “the real Children of Israel,” and cried out for black Americans to disrupt white Jews’ “plan for world domination.” Former NBA star Stephen Jackson agreed with DeSean’s comments, saying “The Jews are the richest. You know who the Rothschilds are? … They control all the banks. They own all the banks.” 13
American actor/talk show host Nick Cannon, who has 5 million Instagram followers, made anti-Semitic statements in his video podcast “Cannon’s Class” that was released in June of 2020. He interviewed “Professor Griff” Griffin, who performed with the rap group Public Enemy before getting kicked out in 1989 for saying Jews were responsible “for the majority of wickedness that goes on across the globe.” Cannon praised Griffin for having “the most substance and weight in speaking unapologetically… and you stuck to your guns.”
Cannon also said that “it’s never hate speech, you can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the semitic people…. That’s our birthright, we are the true Hebrews.” 14
The popular rapper Ice Cube, who has 5.3 million Twitter followers has been sharing openly anti-Semitic images and conspiracy theories on his Twitter page. He recently tweeted an image of the anti-Semitic mural depicting Jewish bankers seated around a Monopoly board resting on the backs of black men. The mural had been painted on a wall in London’s Tower Hamlets before being removed after an outcry. When confronted, he refused to apologize for posting the image and instead tweeted an image depicting an occult “black box” symbol inside a black Star of David. While some quickly expressed disapproval, others lauded him, suggesting that the “black box” contained a code which unlocked evidence that Jews are responsible for events such as 9/11 and Covid 19. Ice Cube expressed support for Black Lives Matter’s demonstrators in Bristol this June. He has become a dedicated supporter of Nation of Islam led by Louis Farrakhan, who is notorious for making anti-Semitic comments.15
CONCLUSION
Supporting BLM is NOT the same as standing for an end to racism. Raising your fist in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, is NOT synonymous with valuing black lives, or fighting for racial equality. The Black Lives Matter movement is a poisoned apple. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you must support BLM in order to support the value of black lives.
What must we then do? Listen to our black friends and neighbors, just as we who have Jewish background would desire them to listen to the struggles and hatred we and/or our families have faced because of our ethnicity. Show the love of Christ to them, just as Jesus did to the Samaritan woman at the well. Don’t dismiss their difficulties, love them, and show them that the gospel is truly the only real answer to break through this satanic social fabrication we call “racism.”
Endnotes
1. https://blavity.com/the-movement-for-black-lives-releases-statement-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people?category1=news&category2=world (which was removed from https://policy.m4bl.org/2018/05/the-movement-for-black-lives-stands-with-the-palestinian-people/)
2. https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/06/26/the-silent-american-jews/ (which statement was removed from https://m4bl.org/policy-platforms/invest-divest/?fbclid=IwAR1UlDHARobmpykSqSFuCn-ZcwCP08LJSqKefOG31xpqHJzTqlEakb0aNL8)
3. Lt. Col. Miri Eisen, IDF Retired, Eyeless in Gaza
4. IDF Video, Ibid.
5. Matty Freidman, Mid-East Correspondent for the Associated Press, Eyeless in Gaza
6. Seymour Martin Lipset, “The Socialism of Fools—The Left, the Jews and Israel,” Encounter, (December 1969), p. 24.
7. https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/06/26/the-silent-american-jews/
8. https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/06/farrakhan-supporter-led-la-black-lives-matter-daniel-greenfield/
9. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/jewish-business-describe-vandalism-looting-of-businesses-in-la-630089
10.https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/06/26/the-silent-american-jews/
11. https://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/880818.htm
12. jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/when-celebrities-antisemitism-and-israel-collide-637770
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15.https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9400472/ice-cube-criticized-anti-semitic-images-conspiracy-theories