The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) has filed a $33 million lawsuit against Tides Foundation, a prominent progressive non-profit, accusing it of fraud and withholding tens of millions of dollars in donations intended for the civil rights group, according to a bombshell lawsuit first reported by the New York Post.

"There is an expectation for Black Lives Matter to challenge systems, break barriers, and uphold the truth, no matter how uncomfortable," BLMGNF said in a statement to the Post. "Today, that extends into non-profit operations as we call out Tides Foundation and other so-called 'fiscal sponsors' who exploit their role."

The 285-page complaint, filed Monday in the California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, alleges that Tides Foundation has "refused to honor its promises and continues to commandeer BLMGNF's donations."

According to the lawsuit, Tides doled out an undisclosed amount of the donations to a radical BLM breakaway group run by anti-police activist Melina Abdullah, who had previously lost a "frivolous" $10 million lawsuit against BLMGNF. This was first reported by the New York Post. "This lawsuit against the Tides Foundation is not just about financial discrepancies but the principle of rightful ownership and transparency that should govern partnerships in social justice funding," attorney Byron McLain told the Post on behalf of BLMGNF.

Tides Foundation, founded in 1976, acts as a fiscal sponsor, collecting donations for groups that may not have tax-exempt status. It manages funds for BLMGNF, other Black Lives Matter groups, as well as pro-Palestinian organizations that have supported anti-Israel protests nationwide.

The lawsuit states that Tides, which has over $1.4 billion in assets, has been operating in a "quasi-banking capacity without appropriate regulatory oversight or licenses." It alleges that after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked nationwide protests, BLMGNF received tens of millions in donations and approached Tides to temporarily manage the funds until obtaining tax-exempt status from the IRS.

However, Tides has refused to return the $33 million collected, the complaint says, despite verbal assurances that it would do so once BLMGNF received tax-exempt status. Instead, it has sent part of the funds to other BLM groups without BLMGNF's permission, including $4.75 million to an unaffiliated chapter in Oklahoma City, according to the New York Post's exclusive reporting.

In a statement to the Post, an attorney for BLMGNF said Tides was not authorized to distribute donations meant for BLMGNF to other groups or local chapters. The lawsuit comes after BLMGNF faced its own financial controversies in 2020 and 2021. As first revealed by the New York Post, co-founder Patrisse Cullors reportedly went on a multi-million dollar real estate buying spree after the group took in over $90 million in donations in 2020 alone. Cullors purchased properties in Los Angeles, Georgia and Toronto, including a $6 million LA mansion intended as a BLMGNF office space, before resigning in May 2021.

Video: PM Netanyahu speaks during the Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 5, 2024

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The blistering sun was searing the skin of those who were standing at the entrance to the Cannon House Office Building at Capitol Hill, just a stone throw from the capitol dome - the site of the storming of Donald Trump supporters on January 6, 2021. The Cannon building is where all 435 members of the US House of Representatives have their offices. There was a time when you could just walk in, but since the events of 6-1 security has been beefed and you need to be escorted in. 

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This was the last day before Congress breaks for its summer recess. In room 317, 34-year-old Congressman Ritchie Torres is waiting to meet us. His tough upbringing has become the stuff of legend in the African American community: He grew up in a public-housing project in the East Bronx with his mother and two siblings after his father left the family. The home was full of mold, resulting in young Ritchie developing asthma and having him occasionally hospitalized. On top of that, it caused clinical depression. He ultimately dropped out of school and went on a journey to find himself, and he did. After turning to public service, he reached stardom. 

Video: Congressman Ritchie Torres / Video: Shmulik Almani

At 25, he was elected to the New York City Council, and since 2021 he has been representing New York's 15th congressional district in Congress. Torres, who is gay, considers himself part of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. That puts him at the extreme Left of the party. 

With such a background and political views, you could not be blamed for thinking Torres is anti-Israel for the simple reason that in recent years anti-Israel voices have become much more vocal among Democratic fringe elements. This has resulted in people sounding the alarm on Israel losing the support of African Americans and Puerto Ricans in the party. There is also the other important thing to remember: in 2015, black Democrats in Congress chose to boycott then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before Congress. 

Some members of Black Lives Matter have joined the calls to boycott Israel and have even called it an apartheid state that promotes white supremacy. Then-President Barack Obama's attitude toward Israel did not help improve Israel's standing, as well as the violence by some in the black community toward Jews in several instances. The perception in Israel is that the black community, which used to be an ally of the Jewish community and the Jewish state, has now switched sides. 

But is Israel really losing African Americans? In order to put a finger on the pulse, I went on a journey in America. I looked for the positive initiatives that aim to connect the Jewish, black, and Israeli triangle. After all, the negative developments have been covered through and through. But if enough positive stories are found, perhaps there would be a paradigm shift that the battle is not lost. 

First stop: Capitol Hill

July 27, 2022: "I am black, but they say I am for white supremacy" 

Torres cuts right to the chase and warns of a self-fulfilling prophecy. "The Jewish people have always been persecuted," he begins. "That is why I have great regard for Israel and the right of the Jewish people to have a state of their own. Antisemitism is still simmering beneath the surface and can erupt at any moment, and that is why it is imperative that a Jewish state exist." 

Q: How does the Democratic mainstream view Israel? It has been well reported that in recent years, the anti-Israel voices have gained strength. 

"Allow me to correct your underlying premise. The US has deep support for Israel. A clear majority in the party support Israel; support for security assistance of Iron Dome funding passed with great bipartisan majorities. There is a small vocal minority in the Democratic Party that is a rival to Israel, but I would advise people to be careful in their assessments of Israel; they should not mistake the minority for the majority. The Democratic Party is pro-Israel to its core; I believe that this will stay this way in the foreseeable future. Remember President Biden is Democratic"

Q: But you have warned of things that could impact Israel happening inside the party?

"Yes, I have my worries. We have seen the rise of a new kind of Left in American politics. I am very much concerned that this new Left in the Democratic Party would have the effect that Jeremy Corbyn had on British politics. So the task that lies before traditional Democrats like me is to oppose the Corbynization of the party." 

Q: If an overwhelming number of Democrats support Israel, what is your response to those in Israel or among pro-Israel supporters in America who say Israel has lost the Democratic Party?

"There is a consistent effort on the part of Republicans to turn Israel into a political issue and to claim that only their party supports Israel. But politicization of relations with Israel is just destructive because the ties to Israel are historically bipartisan support. Anyone who turns Israel into a political matter doesn't serve this issue but does the opposite. I can tell you that anyone who claims the party does not support Israel is telling you utter lies and fairytales." 

Q: What about Black Lives Matter, which I believe chose to support the most radical Palestinians? 

"This is also a false premise. The support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement does not usually come from the minority groups in the party. I can assure you that in the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which supports the boycott of Israel, there are more Jews than black members. So my concern is over the next generation of Jews and its commitment to Israel. This is a question that only the Jewish community or the pro-Israel community can answer. But the claim that the African American community is hostile to Israel has been debunked by facts. The black community is a moderating force in the party."

Q: Lobbies such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Democratic Majority for Israel have come under criticism because they have been expending a lot of effort in promoting pro-Israel candidates in the party. What do you think about this? 

"There is a double standard here. The anti-Israel lobby can raise funds and get involved and that is fair game, but if you are pro-Israeli you are accused of corrupting the system with big money. Those who target pro-Israel lobbies are those who give a green light to anti-Israel lobbies. You have to be consistent."

When it comes to the ties between the Jewish and African American communities, Torres believes that there is indeed tension and that it is part of the overall trend in America of communities turning inward. "The Jewish community has been reaching out with great initiatives to non-whites, including toward my constituencies in the Bronx, but it is hardly guaranteed that the people living there know about those programs. If you ask the Latino and African American voters I represent what their view on Israel is, they would tell you that they don't think about it. They struggle with putting food on the table and paying rent and keeping their families together. They are focused on bread and butter issues. That is why what I ask of Israelis is not to find hostility where it does not exist; I implore the pro-Israel community to continue being engaged in the political process. I am not one of those who think the battle has been lost. I am a gay, Afro-Latino from the Bronx who has not had Jewish voters in his district, but even so, my pro-Israel voice is one of the loudest. Israel-US relations should not be taken for granted. There are powerful forces who want to undermine what they consider to be one of the greatest friendships the world has known. You have to protect this friendship in a proactive way through politics." 

Torres has come under fire for his open support of Israel. "I have been criticized on this more than on any other issue. I am attacked precisely because I come from an ethnic minority as if I am some traitor. I have received death threats and insults; I have been accused of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. White activists on Twitter even said – how ironic – that I am a white supremacist because I support Israel. I asked him in response if he saw what I look like before he tweeted. I am a tough guy from the Bronx with thick skin, but it pains me to see what those attacks have done to the people I love, like my mother." 

Torres is hardly the only black politician who has voiced public and unqualified support of Israel. The most prominent black lawmaker to do so is Hakeem Jeffries, the head of the House Democratic Caucus. He is expected to become speaker after Nancy Pelosi leaves office, which would make him the second in line of presidential succession. He is the most powerful black leader who is publicly pro-Israel. 

But there are other black lawmakers who have been pro-Israel: Raphael Warnock, Karen Bass, and Shontel Brown. They may not agree with every decision made in Jerusalem, but when they face critical choices – like whether the US should veto an anti-Israel resolution in the United Nations or add more funding to the Iron Dome – the vast majority of the caucus will vote "yes".

Only eight out of the 235 Democrats currently serving in the House voted against the Iron Dome funding measures a year ago. Of them, only four were African American. In other words, Israel may have a challenge in winning over the African American community, but that is a far cry from losing their support. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that not all progressives are anti-Israel. In fact, only a minority are. Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens, like Torres, is both pro-Israel and progressive. Only recently she trounced her Jewish opponent, Andy Levine, in the Democratic primaries over the nomination in her district. Levine had been endorsed by J Street. 

This, in a nutshell, is the situation in Congress. But what about the sentiment among African American voters? Are they pro-Israel? 

Second stop: Brooklyn New York

July 28: For partnership, against cholent

Welcome to Crown Heights, the place where you can cut the tension between African Americans and Jews with a knife, sometimes even literally. Some 20,000 Chabad Hassids live here alongside some 100,000 African Americans.

A week before my visit, one of the leaders of the local Chabad organization – Yossi Hershkop – was violently attacked in broad daylight. Stone-throwing attacks on school buses bringing children to and from Jewish schools have become routine, as have sounds of gunfire and random cases of homicide. Not a day goes by without some violent incident, sometimes as much as three a day.

Although most of the violence takes place within the black community, the relations still carry the baggage from the past tensions between the Hassidim and African Americans. In 1991, the convoy carrying the Lubavitcher Rebbe accidentally killed a black child. The riots that broke out in response lasted for four days and resulted in one Hassid being killed as well as another person who was targeted after being mistaken for a Jew. In the wake of those events, the leaders of both communities resolved to do all their can to make sure relations don't deteriorate to such a state ever again. 

One of the leaders is Anthony Beckford, who is the head of Black Lives Matter in Brooklyn. He has been a community activist for the past 30 years even as he has had to struggle to keep his head afloat. I spoke with him in an office building near the Sterling Street subway station. 

"The problem is that the system and the politicians want the two communities to be separate because that is easiest for them. Rather than address the concerns of their voters, everyone just points to the other community and says, 'It's their fault.' That is why my goal is to create a unified community where everyone, regardless of their skin color, takes part, even though for me the black community is obviously the main community." 

Beckford does not sugarcoat things by pitching a vision of love and tolerance but rather talks straight. One of the hot-button issues in the neighborhood is the leasing of homes by Jewish landlords to black tenants. 

"When you have to pay higher rent than others, when landlords don't do proper maintenance, and when they try to evict the tenants, people get angry and generalize. There are also those who want to foment hostilities. 'Jews are exploiting us; they don't want us here,'' they say. You may say this is antisemitism, but I would respond that people here are struggling to get by and that most of the problems stem from a lack of education. That is why my job is to explain that not all Jews are rich landlords and that there are also poor Jews who have the same problems that everyone else has, or that there are also black landlords who rent out homes to African Americans. The way to deal with these problems is to join forces and together ask City Hall for the proper resources to address these problems." 

Q: Can you educate 100,000 people? 

"Yes, it's possible. You hold events for Latinos, African Americans, and Jews, you stream them on video and send the message that we are one community. The media will not broadcast this because it seeks to divide and it's convenient for it to have this narrative of African Americans being uneducated and lazy. They don't show the efforts people take to move forward." 

Q: What is the significance of your position at BLM?

"My job sends the message that I don't take the violence lightly, because it hurts everyone in the community. African Americans are the biggest victims of this violence, in every aspect, but it doesn't mean that I only care about them. When someone is beaten up, it doesn't matter what team he is on – I will be the first to come to his defense." 

Beckford backs these words with action. He was one of the first to offer help to Hershkop after he was attacked and helped the police in finding his assailants. He disagrees with the Jewish community over the need for more police presence and instead wants to focus on education and outreach. But despite this debate, he has not burned bridges. 

Q: BLM chose to stand by the Palestinians and even support the boycott against Israel. Do you agree with these views? 

"You can find extremists in every organization. Not everything is binding when it comes to the official positions of BLM leadership and not all of those who call themselves leaders are indeed part of the leadership. As far as the Palestinians are concerned, I believe there must be two states and two peoples who coexist, without anyone dying, just like we are trying to do here. But I will never tell you that the problem lies squarely only on one side."

Q: What about the claim that Israel is a white supremacist state that applies a policy of apartheid on the Palestinians? 

"Here in New York, you have whites who hate African Americans and Jews and would have killed both groups together. Jews and African Americans, as one of the Chabad rabbis, told me, are cousins and should live together. And as for what has been taking place in Israel – I am not going to talk about things taking place overseas without having seen them firsthand. All I can say is that I am against the loss of life and that there shouldn't be war. I am not anti-Jews and not anti-Israel. Apart from that, I do not look at governments; I look at people."

After the meeting, Beckford goes back to work. Our point man for this visit to the BLM offices is Yaacov Behrman, who is the liaison for Chabad's headquarters. Having grown up two houses from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Behrman knows the neighborhood like the back of his hand and remembers all the incidents throughout his lifetime. 

While walking the streets with him, he points to various places where violent attacks have taken place recently. Not all have been against Jews. "Jewish children, as well as adults, instinctively associate African Americans with violence. This is unjustifiable and not right. We must reach a situation where Jewish kids who see a black man approaching him won't cross over to the other side of the street." 

To break the mutual stigmas and preserve the peace, as well as to bolster the political clout of Chabad, Behrman has been building unlikely alliances. Every door he opens has a story hidden behind it. The mother of one of his neighbors – an African American living across from him – was murdered several blocks from here in what was a random act of killing. Behrman and other neighbors sent a sympathy package to the neighbor and continued to help him.  They also forged a deep bond with a city council member, Crystal Hudson, who became their representative.

Hudson, who is African American and gay, has made sure that the city provided towels to the local mikveh. Another initiative saw Behrman bring together imams and local politicians for a neighborhood iftar meal at the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan to break the fast. Many jokes on rabbis, priests, and imams who walk into a bar could be told at the event – and the food was kosher mehadrin. One of the people there was Geoffrey Davis, a resident of Crown Heights, who allowed me into his home as if we were longtime friends. His mother, 95-year-old Silma, joins the conversation. The Davises paid the heaviest price for the out-of-control violence: Jeffrey's brother James was a rising star in the local New York politics. The fight to eradicate violence in urban America was his flagship effort, but in 2003, a local activist killed him in the city council building in front of everyone.

The blow did not break the family, and Geoffrey has taken it upon himself to continue his brother's project. He gave a children's book that he authored in which the Rebbe tells two black children – Geoffrey and James – that it is important not to fight. 

After the 1991 riots, he says, he and his brother came to the realization that they have to work to bring together African Americans and Jews. "There was anger and blame coming from both sides. They were talking past each other. There were no joint initiatives, nor community programs aimed at forging connections between the two groups. That is why we formed the organization and launched the program. The goal was – as my brother said – to bring people to work together. We held marches and meetings. Some 50,000 people marched near my home. There were rabbis, priests, Muslims, Hare Krishna followers – everyone you can think of. And it worked. The Crown Heights community worked together. Jews and African Americans told each other about their tough history 0- the Holocaust and the discrimination – and the message was that the community was healing together. My brother went on a visit to Israel and Africa and came back with the message that both groups must work together, but then he was killed shortly afterward. 

Q; How does Israel fit with all this complexity? Israel is the Jewish state after all, and here there is tension with the Jews. 

"I don't have much to say about this. From what I hear, Israel is a great country with many historic sites, but it is not germane to the debate." 

Q: What about prominent African American figures who advocate the boycotting of Israel because it is supposedly a white supremacy state or an apartheid state? 

"I am against that. It's silly. What are they talking about? Why boycott innocent people? Why boycott because of politics? That's just wrong."

Rev. Kevin McCall, another local leader, joins the conversation. He represents Terrence Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, whose killing in 2020 by several cops caused massive riots worldwide, making Black Lives Matter a household name.

McCall's bond with the Floyd family has not made him view Israel as an oppressive state or discriminatory toward the Palestinians. "BLM is a movement, not an organization. It is global. There are four women who support one another and are connected to the Palestinians and they are essentially antisemites, but as for the others – absolutely not. If you meet a guy on the street who supports BLM, that does not in any way mean you had just someone with anti-Israeli views. Everyone chanted Black Lives Matter during the protests – Jews, whites, and others were all part of the demonstrations," he says.

Q: What is your view? 

"I don't support it. They went too far. Why boycott an entire country? That doesn't make sense. That land is where our roots are. That is where the messiah (Jesus) was. How can you say such a thing (about the boycotting)? 

McCall – just like Beckford and many other black leaders I would meet on this journey – notes the importance of education. "You must understand that some people here have never stepped out of the New York City limits; they have no idea what Jews look like in other places. They don't understand or know others' cultures, but they are keen on learning about them and getting to know them." 

When the conversation ends, McCall, Behrman, Davis, and other guests who came to say hello stand up for a group picture. Behrman updates the group on Hershkop's situation and the latest in the investigation. Davis said that he has recently funded gender-segregated pool operating hours for the women of Chabad so that they can get some time off from raising the children. 

"This is what black-Jewish relations look like," he says with pride. He adds, "Three times a week they try to destroy what we build here, but we stay the course." 

A similar sentiment is apparent when I speak with Pastor Gilford Monrose, the head of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, which was created by New York Mayor Eric Adams. Monrose arrives late because Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise visit to Brooklyn and the streets were blocked. 

The towering and charismatic Monrose is very eloquent and has an impressive way of explaining his worldview. Aside from his job at City Hall, he also guides groups in Israel in his other hat as a pastor. "Most Americans view Israel through a spiritual and religious lens, not a political one," he says. 

Q: What do you mean? 

"They believe in the Bible, and for them this land is holy. They pray for Jerusalem and they all want to visit Israel. When they arrive there they view it as a place where Jews came back from the dead. They see Massada, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and all the other places. This automatically turns them into supporters, and I am not sure if Israelis understand that this is not just another form of tourism."

Q: What about political issues? Some people compare the treatment of African Americans by whites to what Israel has been doing to Palestinians and all the resulting consequences.

"First of all, between Jews and African Americans, there is a history of partnership in fighting together against racism. This is how the black church I am a member of came about. When I was in Israel we held for the first time an event in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A journalist came up to me and asked me how I could support BLM and still be in Israel. I answered that the one has nothing to do with the other. People know how to separate their faith from politics. Just like people won't leave America just because of all the problems here." 

Q: In Israel, people are worried that politics will increasingly become the determining factor

"The spiritual-religious support for Israel will never be weaker than the political one. That is not temporal, and it's not related to how Congress votes. I don't think Rashida Tlaib or Ilhan Omar are the future of the Democratic Party. People have been vocal in their support for Israel and will continue to support the Holy Land, and at the same time expect there to be a just political deal [to the conflict]."

Monrose believes that Israel must embrace the black church, something that is hardly happening these days. "We bring 1,000 people to Israel every two years. That is not a small feat, but we have never had a government official talk to us." 

Meanwhile, Behrman tells Monrose about the horrific killing that took place at the neighbor's home across the street. "We made sure to send a fruit basket," he told the mayor's representative. "I will hop over there," the pastor responds, saying he is hungry. "It's Thursday, we have cholent, do you want some?" Behrman asks. "What is cholent?," Monrose responds. Behrman's answer, despite his successful efforts at community outreach, fails to whet Monrose's appetite. 

A week after leaving New York, as Israel launched Operation Daybreak, protests erupted in New York against Mayor Adams. "Palestinian child killer," the demonstrators called him, and it's not hard to guess why: He supports Israel. 

Third stop: Parkchester Library, the Bronx

July 29: Six out of ten are against Israel 

In January of this year, the city had the worst fire in 30 years. Eight children and nine adults were killed. It engulfed a high rise with immigrants from Gambia and the survivors needed emergency shelter. 

"The Jewish community was the first to reach out, Sheikh Musa Drammeh tell me. "Food, clothes, medicine - they gave me everything I asked for. They even funded the transport of the bodies back to Gambia. They have also helped in the past when such events happened, they always come and help." 

In the Bronx, unlike in Brooklyn, there are hardly any Jews left. "They left. They had synagogues and schools; some are still the landlords, but they don't live here," the sheik says as he points to a building that used to be a synagogue. 

Drammeh arrived in the US from Gambia in 1986 and soon became a religious leader. He now heads a local mosque but that doesn't mean he is anti-Israel. The opposite is true. He says that radical Palestinians hijacked human rights groups after the 9/11 attacks. "They took advantage of those organizations because they understood that after the attack there would be zero tolerance to their ideas," he says. "But the black community has been in the struggle for human rights well before them and does not conflate the two issues. There are 22 Arab nations that have their own proud language and heritage but you are telling me that the Jewish people are not entitled to a state of their own? That's total rubbish." 

But the sheik's personal views do not reflect the overall sentiment on the street. "We live in very challenging times. Even within the Jewish community, you have figures such as Bernie Sanders who have a negative view of Israel. I believe that out of every 10 people you ask, at least six will have views that are similar to Sanders. Even if they are not pro-Palestinian, they would have a negative view on Israel and in many cases have antisemitic opinions."

To get to the root of the anger by African Americans and Latinos, Drammeh says that you have to look at the economic forces at work. Jews are the landlords, and non-whites are the tenants. "That is why they develop antisemitic views," he says. "Not because of Palestine."

Jewish communities are well aware of those problematic views that often lead to violence. That is why they have launched initiatives in recent years to increase their outreach to African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, and other minorities using Jewish Community Relations Council. Drammeh says such action is very impressive and that Israel should adopt that model. 

"The Jewish community's actions help save lives, not just individuals," he said. "Yes, not everyone will know about these efforts, and in many cases, those who get the support don't know that it is thanks to the generosity of the Jewish community. But we are working on this, on building bridges and ties. This is a productive dialogue that has taken place since 9/11. The goal is to normalize the attitude toward Israel among Muslims. If for example, the Israeli Consulate sponsors a local baseball competition, it would be a big step that costs very little. We need more visibility from Israel's government. Change is still possible."

He then says that "relations between Israelis and Palestinians are one thing, but denying Israel's right to exist is another thing altogether. It doesn't mean that I accept every policy the Israeli government pursues, just like I don't accept all the US government's decisions or those in Africa, but Israel must be an independent, safe Jewish state, like every other state. Period."

Q: If I walk with an Israeli flag here, how will people react? 

"They will probably not say anything directly to you. But they will recognize the flag. In any event, as soon as you say you are pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian you create enemies." 

Fourth stop: Cleveland, Ohio

August 1: "And I thought that I was suffering" 

"Just like Tel Aviv is not Israel, so too is New York not America," the common saying goes. To get a taste of what America is like beyond the Big Apple, I took a flight west and arrived at the home of Matt Fieldman in Beachwood, a suburb of Cleveland. I found him by googling "partnerships between Jews and African Americans." He is a successful businessman and nonprofit executive. 

He and Charmaine Rice, who guides African American groups, are the co-creators of Rekindle, which seeks to bring Cleveland's Black and Jewish communities together to accelerate social justice in a five-week fellowship program.

The fellowship includes four sessions of discussion in which equal-sized groups of African Americans and Jews take part for a total of 12 hours of discussions. Each participant also commits to a personal project to show their commitment to the causes of the organization. There is no monetary compensation or otherwise. The program was launched in the spring of 2020 and has so far had more than 50 participants in each of the four cohorts. By the end of 2022,  Rekindle will have over 70 alumni of the program. Fieldman's wife, Alyson, welcomed me to their home. The oldest daughter is away at camp, as is common among many Jewish households during the summer months. 

The colorful sign in the front yard encapsulates the worldview of my hosts:

"We believe black lives matter

Love is love

Women's rights are human rights

Science is real

Water is life

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

In other words: The household is clearly aligned with the Democratic-liberal side of the spectrum of Jewish American politics. But this does not lie in contrast to the fact that they keep kosher and feel a deep sense of commitment to Israel.

My arrival leads to a gathering outside the home. We talk for hours about the pain and anger of African Americans – both in the past and now. The good news is that the ethnic strife in Brooklyn is not common here. There aren't many Jewish landlords to black tenants, and the anger of the black community is not directed toward the Jews. In fact, African Americans are split on whether Jews should be considered part of the oppressive white majority or whether they are also a minority that has been subject to discrimination and violence and can therefore relate better to the pain of a black person. 

"The two communities already do so much work together," one of the participants, Kate, says. "This is a force multiplier. Cleveland is a small city and we have many common acquaintances. We are natural allies." 

Chris, one of the cohort leaders, has a more critical take. "The black community sees Jews as whites. Had I not met you here, I would have not known you are Jewish. Jews are definitely enjoying the benefits whites enjoy." 

Kelly, another member of the cohort, echoes this sentiment. "There are tensions between the Jewish community and the black community here in the city. I try not to take it to heart but this table is a bubble. Because the feeling is that the Jews have two layers of defense: You are a minority, but you can always be white as well and get all the opportunities white people get, while a black person will always be left out. If you drive five miles from here you can see how African Americans really live. You will never have my skin color. What this organization is trying to do is to create bridges and to have people acknowledge the pain and suffering of each side." 

Sam, a Jewish participant in the program, confirms what the others are saying. "I initially joined because I primarily wanted to talk about Israel, but then I discovered that actually, I need to learn more about the black community. As a Jew, I thought that we were the ones who had been suffering from racism and violence, but right at the first session we learned about how we are actually white, and that our suffering right now pales in comparison to what they have to go through."

Q: How does Israel fit in when you talk about these issues? Is it an apartheid state of white supremacy? 

Fieldman: "Israel is the elephant in the room." 

Alyson adds, "When Israel first came up, there were heated arguments between us – the Jews in the cohort – but the African Americans could not understand why we were so passionate about this." 

The oldest fellow in the program, Kelly Rice who runs the Keratin Barber and Cosmetology College says, "This has nothing to do with Israel, at least not where I come from. The issue is the relationship between Jews and African Americans. The systematic discrimination and oppression and the lack of opportunity that we, the dark-skinned, suffer from. In this cohort we build bridges, and that is why I am here. But Israel is not an issue that requires an urgent discussion. Trying to make African Americans and Palestinians part of the same issue is a hostile takeover."

Some of the younger fellows disagree. "Israel is very much part of this discussion," a woman by the name of Paris says. Another one says, "We have to say it like it is: What is happening to the Palestinians is related to what is happening here. The US has been providing Israel with military aid and they use it to bomb a people who have dark skin and has to deal with white power. I don't think we will agree on what is important and what is not. But this program attempts to make us better understand one another." 

Charmaine adds, "The system is broken. We all want to defend our communities and defense means attacking those who we think are the aggressors. But I cannot explain why BLM has become tied to the Palestinians. Someone is trying to draw comparisons between the two groups in order to prevent progress." 

Despite the disagreements, it appears that everyone agrees on at least one thing: Supporting the idea that BLM does not advocate support for the Palestinians. Lindy, a reform Jew, adds that "perhaps the role of progressive Jews is to explain why this comparison makes it hard for them to support BLM." 

Demetrius, who is Executive Director of Beat the Streets Cleveland, which seeks to help take children out of poverty and violent households, elaborates on what his organization has done in some of the hardest-hit communities in America. He adds that some of the children he has been helping will soon visit Israel. "We chose Israel this year because two of the board members live there," he explains, once again proving that the bridges built by the Jews in the US eventually reach all the way to Israel. 

Fifth stop: Detroit, Michigan

August 1, Singing the black anthem alongside Hatikvah

A massive sign bearing the logo of car manufacturer Ford appears next to the road. The drive from Cleveland to Detroit, which used to be the glorious capital of automakers, lasts three hours along Lake Erie. 

Detroit is one of the most troubled places in the US, which has no shortage of such places. Two-thirds of its residents left it in the 20th century. Seeing the deserted neighborhoods is just heart-wrenching. On the other hand, I could not see any of the horrors described on Wikipedia on how pit bull dogs supposedly roam the streets freely or how crime is rampant. 

The city is a bastion of Democratic progressives It is also where Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib lives. Tlaib is one of the most prominent anti-Israeli voices in the party. Some 80% of the people living here are black, and another 80% are Jewish. One of their leaders is Rabbi Asher Lopatin, a proud Zionist on the liberal end of the Orthodox community. One of his many initiatives includes outreach efforts to the black community. He is also the Executive Director at American Jewish Committee's Jewish Community Relations Council

He arrives at our meeting with Rev Kenneth J. Flowers., the head of the Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit. The pastor had asked to arrive at the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit building. "For the first time ever, Detroit might not have a black representative in the House," Flowers says with concern. 

Q: What about Rashida Tlaib? 

"She is by no means black and is not representative. She is Palestinian-American and expresses her views, but was not elected because of those views. Her views on Israel are not those shared by the African American community." 

Q: But she gets elected time and again?

"Just because there was no better-suited candidate." 

Q: Some say that her views on Israel will soon become the mainstream view in the party. 

"Her views will not become more popular in the party. The Squad (referring to four progressive congresswomen) has been losing in many cases. Black Democrats are much more moderate. We are not part of the radical Left on any matter; we are not radical at all. The Republicans want you to think that the Democrats are pulling away from Israel, but the party is not going in that direction."

Flowers does have criticism of Israel. He says that the 2015 speech by then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before Congress railing against the Iran nuclear deal was an affront to then-President Barack Obama, the first black president. He also has harsh words against former Israeli minister Miri Regev used racist language when she came out against undocumented immigrants in southern Tel Aviv, which 

I love Israel and the Jewish people. The church views Israel in a positive light. This is the land of Christ; a land of milk and honey, the Holy Land. That doesn't mean I don't have criticism but my approach is religious. In academia, in the black intellectual class, there is much more intense criticism. They see Israel as a nation formed by the United Nations and usurped Palestinians of the land where they had lived. But the black church sees Israel as the Promised Land that was given from Jews to the chosen people.' 

Flowers is convinced that viewing Israel through a religious lens is what most African Americans do. He has visited Israel 9 times, and he plans to come again. Some 30 years after he first set foot in the Holy Land, he seems to reconcile the fact that some Israelis don't view their identity through the prism of Judaism. "I have realized that there are various streams, just like we have here." 

Q: What about Black Lives Matter? If you support them does that make you anti-Israeli? 

"It's true that the heads of the organization are anti-Israeli but I do not support the organization itself, just the idea that black lives are equal. We are the victims of police brutality and today everyone around the world sees this with the help of social media videos. The idea is to say that our lives matter. We have to distinguish between the prominent group and the idea."

Rabbi Lopatin shares another experience as if encapsulating the entire conversation. "We once arrived at his church here, to represent the Jewish community. We sang together the unofficial blank anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, followed by Israel's national anthem Hatikvah, which includes the words ``to be a free people in our land" and "look east toward Zion." This is the language used by African Americans. This is a very basic tenet. Based on this we have to ask: Has Israel been living up to its mission? Is it a light unto the nations? Right now, Israel's great advantage is because of its religious component."

Lopatin says that a lot depends on what Israel and US Jews do. "There is no underlying hatred; it's mainly a function of education. If we make mistakes – primarily when it comes to racism and the treatment of Eritreans and other African immigrants in Israel – we may ruin this. But saying that the black community is against us now is just flat-out wrong." 

Prologue:  Everything starts with King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

July 11

"How are you dear," I hear the words coming from the screen. The question, asked by Dumisani Washington, the founder, and CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI), is directed at his young daughter-in-law, Olga Meshoe. 

 He is in North Carolina, and she is sitting next to me at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. The IBSI has been his lifelong project and it is dedicated to bolstering support for Israel among African Americans. 

Meshoe grew up in South Africa at the home of an Israel-loving pastor who came out against popular opinion. Her marriage to Washington's son, George, is partly because of the deep sense of connection the two families have toward the Jewish people, Israel, and the alliance between Jews and African Americans. 

Dan Diker, the director of the Political Warfare Project at the JCPA and a former journalist, has been a longtime friend of both families. We meet for lunch at the center, which is also frequented by Jewish students currently in Israel.

"In the past, it was clear to Jews and African Americans that they were marching together," Olga says. "But now things are different; you find people who blame the Jews for their problems and the pain. What was once a conflict over land has morphed into a question of human rights and racism. There is ignorance among African Americans, and our goal is to have them more informed." 

Her father-in-law Dumisani adds: "The black people in the US comprise some 50 million people. Some 70% of them go to a church, mostly a pro-Israel one. Some 9 million are die-hard pro-Israelis. Those that describe Israel as an apartheid state are just a small but vocal minority. It's all a question of education, and that is what we try to do. We inform people and send them to churches to tell the truth about Israel and the alliance between the Jews and African Americans, which goes all the way back to the time of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba."

Epilogue: Waking up the silent majority

I arrived back in Israel just two days before Tisha B'Av. Considering America's immensity, it's clear that what I saw is just a minuscule portion dealing with a very complex issue. But still, the message I kept hearing – from those in Congress and those in various towns and cities – was very similar at certain points. 

As far as the views on Israel the vast majority of African Americans are silent, and definitely not hostile to the Jewish state. And in light of the religious messages, it appears that their posture is a priori positive. One thing is clear: Israelis must drive up their efforts to engage African Americans. If we sit idly by and just echo the doom and gloom of how support among black might collapse – this will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. But if we make the case for what we believe in, the battle is far from lost. 

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It was hard to watch the scenes of President Donald Trump supporters storming the Capitol on Wednesday as the joint session of Congress was convened to debate and ratify President-elect Joe Biden's electoral college victory. Suddenly, the home of America's representative government was threatened not by Islamic terrorists or China or Russia, but by the people the lawmakers represent – Americans. And the Americans in question had just attended a rally where President Trump told them Biden stole the election and the procedure going on the joint session was illegitimate.

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The day before his supporters stormed the Capitol, Georgia elected two new Democrat senators. Those elections mean that beginning January 20, the Democrats will control all three elected bodies in Washington. And so, at least until the 2022 Congressional elections, Democrats will be able to do whatever they wish and Republicans won't be able to stop them.

The events Wednesday will doubtlessly dominate the news cycle at least until Biden's inauguration. And, given the nature of the US media, the coverage will doubtlessly ignore two realities without which the public will be unable to understand what happened Wednesday or understand the nature of American politics and culture.
The first reality is that the assault on the Capitol was not a unique event. Rather it was a direct continuation of the political violence that leftist groups dominated by BlackLivesMatter and Antifa have engaged in cities across America since last May.

BLM and Antifa rioters have burned and looted small businesses, destroying the savings and livelihoods of tens of thousands of Americans. Armed and violent rioters stormed and destroyed a police precinct in Minneapolis. They laid siege to a federal courthouse in Portland and vandalized the mayor's home.

Contrary to the wizened intonations of "experts" on TV, the last time the Capitol was besieged wasn't during the War of 1812, when the British burned the Capitol and the White House. It was two years ago. A mob far larger than the one that stormed the building Wednesday took over the Hart Senate Office Building during Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing to intimidate lawmakers into voting down his nomination.

As BLM and Antifa rioters burned a swathe across the country, even as police officers and civilians were killed and wounded, Democrat politicians on the local, state and national levels supported them. While distancing himself from the violence, Biden supported them. In a television interview in late August, Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris egged on the shock troops and embraced them.

Speaking to Stephen Colbert, Harris said of the rioters, "Everyone beware. They're not gonna stop before election day in November, and they're not gonna stop after election day … They're not gonna let up and they should not."
The media, including social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube backed the rioters. Their hashtags were trending and their violence whitewashed even as people were killed and wounded and their mayhem inflicted $2 billion in damages on the US economy already battered by the coronavirus. The brunt of the financial burden was shouldered by small business owners.

The second reality that is underplayed in the newsrooms quick to criminalize the outgoing president is that the Republicans including Trump and his closest associates and supporters opposed the storming of the Capitol. The Senators and members of Congress who were raising objections to the electoral votes of several states based on widespread allegations of voter fraud were in the middle of making their claims when the protesters attempted to force their way into the joint session. They condemned the protesters.

Media personalities closely associated with Trump condemned the protesters and called on police to arrest those engaged in violence. Trump not only called for the protesters to behave peacefully. He posted a video calling for them to stand down and leave the Capitol. But whereas the social media giants were happy to serve as the logistics bases for Antifa and BLM rioters, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube all froze Trump's accounts and removed his video plea from their servers.

Wednesday's storming of the Capitol was an American tragedy. It marked the moment the center collapsed. The gap between the two political camps is unbridgeable today.

Wednesday's violent protest is a much graver tragedy for President Trump personally and for the 74 million Americans who voted for him than it is for their Democrat opponents. While Trump did call on the protesters to cease and desist, he also incited their actions during his remarks at the rally.

Trump told them Biden stole the election and that with the Republican loss of the Senate, America was going to the dogs. He also told them to march to the Capitol. True, as the lack of police presence outside the Capitol building indicated, there was little concern that the Trump supporters would behave violently. Trump probably didn't think they would. But, by lighting matches in a barn, Trump burned down his own legacy. He won't be remembered for lowering taxes and rebuilding the US economy or for bringing peace to the Middle East. He will be remembered for sending his supporters to the Capitol where they rioted.

Looking ahead, Trump's action also made it easier for Democrats to demonize his supporters going forward as they express principled opposition to the policies the Democrats are poised to adopt later this month after they assume full control of the US government.

Democrat support for BlackLivesMatter is the key to understanding what the next weeks, months and years hold in store. BLM is not a normal civil rights movement. It is a violent revolutionary movement. It doesn't demand the dismantling of police forces in cities around the country to address specific grievances. As its charter makes clear, BLM's demand to dismantle the police is rooted in the movement's rejection of America's moral right to police.
In Israel, discussions of BLM have honed in on its official anti-Semitism. BLM's charter rejects Israel's right to exist and its members have specifically targeted synagogues and Jewish businesses in places like Los Angeles and Kenosha.

But BLM is first and foremost an anti-American organization. Its charter describes the United States as a criminal state which was born not in a democratic revolution that brought the glad tidings of freedom and liberty to its people and to the world. As BLM and its supporters see things, the US was born in the original sin of slavery. And 400 years later, the America they describe is an inherently, structurally racist society.

The only way for the US to cleanse itself of the stain of its evil nature is through a revolutionary, racist, Marxist redistribution of wealth and opportunity and position in American society.

Today, the Democrat Party is committed to translating BLM's anti-American dogma into policy. And the work has already begun.

Earlier this week, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives approved a new rule that bans the use of gender-specific terms. "Father," "mother," "brother," "sister," "uncle," and "aunt" for instance are now banned. They are to be replaced by gender-neutral terms like "parent," and "sibling," and "sibling of parent." Absurd, tyrannical and inhuman on its face, the new rule advances BLM's doctrinal goal of destroying the nuclear family.
Shortly after the vote count in Georgia made clear that Democrats had won control of the upper chamber, Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the Democrats will "study and look at," eliminating the filibuster – the Senate rule that requires super-majorities for passing laws.

The filibuster blocks radical policy shifts by requiring the majority party to convince at least some members of the minority party to sign on to their bills before they become law. Abrogating the filibuster is a precondition for Democrats to pass a series of radical measures that taken together will change the face of America.

Among other things, the measures include giving statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. By adding four new senators from these territories, the Democrats will effectively ensure their continued control the Senate indefinitely.

The Democrats also intend to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to fifteen, which will enable them to pack the court with progressive jurists guaranteeing a progressive majority for at least the next generation.

The Democrats intend to nationalize healthcare in the US. They intend to pass the so-called "Green New Deal," a package of legislation regarding energy and pollution conceived by activists in the extreme margins of the party. The package will cost US taxpayers in excess of $10 trillion and destroy America's fossil fuels industries.
House Democrats approved a rule this week that will enable the appropriation by simple majority of massive sums not covered by the US treasury for environmental and health programs.

While Israel's community health clinics and hospitals are immunizing citizens against the coronavirus at a breakneck pace, America's vaccination efforts are barely advancing. So far, only thirty percent of the vaccines that have been distributed have found their way to the arms of Americans.

One of the major causes of the hold-ups is fear. Healthcare providers are fearful they will be subjected to civil suits and criminal prosecutions for vaccinating "the wrong people." Early last month, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Washington, (CDC) issued guidance for the provision of vaccines. The CDC's guidance gives preference to blacks and other racial minorities in vaccination drives in order to "promote justice," and "mitigate health inequality." New York state and New York City both adopted vaccination policies in keeping with the woke CDC. And now, a chain of health clinics in Brooklyn is accused of "fraud," for providing the vaccine to people not included in official guidance.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said this week that clinics that do not obey the state's race-based vaccination policies will have their operating licenses revoked and will be subjected to a million-dollar fine.

Trump stormed onto the political stage five and a half years ago. And almost immediately, he dominated the Republican stage. Tens of millions of Americans, who felt they had been forgotten by a Washington that had surrendered to the commissars of political correctness saw in the flamboyant real estate magnate their mouthpiece.

At the first Republican primary debate in June 2015, Trump declared, "The big problem this country has is being politically correct. I've been challenged by so many people that I don't frankly have time for total political correctness, and to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time either."

As the curtains come down on the Trump presidency, America is entering into an era of "total political correctness" the likes of which it has never seen, as the party in complete control of the US government works steadily to implement the revolutionary dogma of the thugs that torched America's cities last year.
They will use Wednesday's storming of the Capitol as a pretext for everything they do.

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According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, whose House of Lies – the Baseless Campaign to Smear Israeli Police Exchanges went live this week, groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace have spent years trying to end programs that which take American police leaders to Israel to interact with counterparts there, claiming that these exchanges lead to the deaths of Black people in America.

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These claims gained traction this summer during protests over George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

For years, JVP's website claimed that American police return from Israel more violent, leading to "extrajudicial executions, shoot-to-kill policies, police murders ..."

Now, however, JVP has reportedly acknowledged that these claims further "an anti-Semitic ideology."

"JVP tried to sweep its own words – that it now admits fuel anti-Semitism – under the rug," said executive editor of the Investigative Project on Terrorism Steven Emerson. "But we'll show viewers exactly what was said. Unfortunately, the false, hateful rhetoric has been repeated often enough to be accepted as true."

The IPT interviewed four American police chiefs – two active and two retired – who participated in exchanges with Israel and said that their experiences were the exact opposite of the narrative that the exchanges fostered police violence.

The chiefs say the exchanges included no tactical training, and emphasized the value of community policing and building relationships among diverse constituencies. They also learned how to best minimize terrorist threats and investigate in the aftermath of an attack.

No critic of US-Israel police exchanges has ever produced a whistleblower who says otherwise, IPT says. Organizers of two police exchange programs say the narrative stems from a deep-seated anti-Israel bias, combined with an intersectionality campaign to equate the Palestinian cause with the struggle for civil rights in America.

The series can be viewed here.

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"We are Jewish organizations and synagogues from across the racial and political spectrum; from different streams of Judaism; whose members trace their lineage from countries around the world," states the group in the ad.

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"We speak with one voice when we say, unequivocally: Black Lives Matter."

The groups also state, "We support the black-led movement in this country that is calling for accountability and transparency from the government and law enforcement. We know that freedom and safety for any of us depends on the freedom and safety of all of us."

"There are politicians and political movements in this country who build power by deliberately manufacturing fear to divide us against each other. All too often, anti-Semitism is at the center of these manufactured divisions."

The groups make a connection between anti-black and anti-Jewish hatred.

"As Jews, we know how dangerous this is: when politicians target Jewish people and blame us for problems, it leads directly to violence against us," they state. "When black movements are undermined, it leads to more violence against black people, including black Jews."

"Anti-Semitism is part of the same machinery those politicians use to blame black and brown people, people who are immigrants, people who are Muslim and more," they continue. "But whether they generate division and fear based on our religion, our skin color, or how long we've been here, their goal is to keep us from working together to win the things we all need to survive and thrive."

Groups that signed the ad include the Anti-Defamation League, J Street, IfNotNow, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, HIAS, Hebrew College, Jewish Voice for Peace, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Zioness Movement, Young Democrats of America Jewish Caucus and NCSY (New York).

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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A reporter for the right-wing news site Townhall posted a video of a Black Lives Matter activist spray-painting the words "Free Palestine" on the driveway of Beth Hillel Temple, a Reform synagogue.

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The vandalism took place amid the protests and riots that erupted Kenosha after a Black man, Jacob Blake, 29, was shot seven times in the back by police on Sunday during an arrest. Blake is in critical condition, his lawyer told NPR.

Rabbi Dena Feingold of Beth Hillel said she felt the vandalism wasn't representative of the protests.

"We are advocates for justice for all oppressed people. We support the movement for black lives, and we know that one person with a can of spray paint does not speak for an entire cause," Feingold said.

"We pray for Jacob Blake and decry the vigilante murders that took place a block from our synagogue two nights ago. Our call is for justice and peace in our community and around the world," the rabbi said.

On Wednesday, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation expressed solidarity with the black community and called for unity.

"We believe that all must stand united to rid our communities of systemic racism and its toxic effects because it puts black lives at risk, including black and brown Jewish lives, and harms us all," the organization told JNS in a statement.

"Our pursuit of justice is guided by the Jewish principle of pikuah nefesh, which places the sanctity of life above all else. Government policies, practices and policing must be guided by this shared value."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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"Rabbi Abraham Cooper is a COWARD who LIED to our brother Nick Canon about the history of the caucasian [sic] race. Ask him does he stand behind the VILE TEACHINGS of the Talmud? Don't be a coward next time Cooper you DEVIL," posted Jay Electronica in a series of anti-Semitic tweets on July 25.

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Jay Electronica, whose real name is Timothy Thedford, also tweeted in support Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has an extensive history of anti-Jewish rhetoric.

"Sit down w The Hon. Louis Farrakhan or The Exec Council of The NOI and defend your claims and prove us wrong. WE are INDEED THE TRUE Children of Israel. And you are an imposter and birthright stealer as described in the scriptures. The ADL, THE WEISENHALL CENTER… BRING EM OUT," he tweeted.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper is a COWARD who LIED to our brother Nick Canon about the history of the caucasian race. Ask him does he stand behind the VILE TEACHINGS of the Talmud? Don't be a coward next time Cooper you DEVIL.

— J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A (@JayElectronica) July 26, 2020

"We DEFY you to challenge us on these claims publicly. You LYING antisemites," added Jay Electronica, who also recommended reading Farrakhan's The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews.

The rapper subsequently posted tweets that included links to pages on the Nation of Islam website, including one titled "The Simon Wiesenthal Center: A House Built on Lies"; a post that reads, "ps, to my Christian family, do you know what the talmud says about Jesus and His Mother? also, what is a Goy?"; and a post with citations from the book of Revelations, Revelation 2:9 and Revelation 3:9.

https://t.co/T93EoYyiwr its time to cut out all this playing. The Man Of Sin MUST BE REVEALED. #SynagogueOfSatan

— J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A (@JayElectronica) July 26, 2020

Revelation 2:9 states, "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." … They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan."

Revelation 3:9 reads, "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."

When approached by JNS, Cooper declined to respond directly to Jay Electronica, saying, "I'm not the issue."

Cooper said that he warned Cannon to "get ready for the blowback" following his apology to the Jewish community, citing NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's column in The Hollywood Reporter that called out the anti-Semitic posts made by Ice Cube and Philadelphia Eagles player DeSean Jackson.

Abdul-Jabbar received backlash for the piece, including from Ice Cube, who tweeted, "Shame on the Hollywood Reporter who obviously gave my brother Kareem 30 pieces of silver to cut us down without even a phone call."

Cooper remarked that he is used to receiving backlash, saying that while "it's not pleasant," it is "important" for the black and Jewish communities "to sort of deal with reality and deal with the implications of that much hatred."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The president, who revels in large crowds and had predicted that his first rally in months would be epic, blamed the media for discouraging attendees and cited bad behavior by demonstrators outside, but did not specifically acknowledge that many seats in the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena were empty.

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Trump has brushed aside criticism for his decision to hold his first rally since March 2 in Tulsa, the site of the country's bloodiest outbreaks of racist violence against Black Americans some 100 years ago.

The president, who has encouraged a militaristic response to the nationwide demonstrations while being accused of showing a lack of empathy for the plight of black Americans, used his speech to take aim at some of the protesters.

"The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our monuments - our beautiful monuments - tear down our statues and punish, cancel, and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control. We're not conforming," Trump told cheering supporters.

Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, the Republican president is trailing in opinion polls to Biden, who has hammered Trump for his response to the protests and the pandemic.

Trump defended his response to COVID-19, saying more testing had led to identifying more cases, seemingly to his chagrin.

"When you do testing to that extent, you're going to ... find more cases," he said. "So, I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.'" A White House official said he was "obviously kidding" with that remark.

Hours before the rally, Trump's campaign announced six members of its advance team had tested positive for COVID-19. Only a handful of attendees wore masks inside the arena.

Oklahoma has reported a surge in new coronavirus cases in recent days, and the state's department of health warned that attendees face an increased risk of catching the virus.

While Trump campaign officials said prior to the event that demand far outstripped the capacity of the venue, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled speeches to an expected "overflow" crowd after a few dozen supporters showed up to a space prepared for thousands. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said protesters had "interfered with supporters" trying to enter the rally.

There were some shouting matches and scuffles outside the event between around 30 Black Lives Matter demonstrators and some Trump supporters waiting to enter. There was no sign that any Trump supporters were prevented from entering the arena or overflow area.

Trump warned that, unless he was re-elected, all Americans would endure the "chaos you're seeing in our Democratic-run cities."

"When you see those lunatics all over the streets, it's damn nice to have arms," he said, vowing to protect Americans' rights to bear arms. "Our people are not nearly as violent, but if they ever were it would be a terrible, terrible day for the other side."

The country's racial divide remains a political vulnerability for Trump. His "law and order" reaction to the protests triggered by Floyd's death has put him at odds with the views of most Americans.

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However, the Paris demonstration was marked by virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiments, with some participants holding signs that read things like, "Israel, laboratory of police violence." Racial slurs such as "Dirty Jews" were also heard.

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An i24NEWS French reporter also noted the presence of Palestinian flags.

In the early afternoon on the Place de la République in Paris, thousands began to march in the direction of the Place de l'Opéra in the name of Adama Traoré, a young black man who died in July 2016 after he was arrested by police officers near Paris.

Assa Traoré, the young man's sister, called to "denounce the denial of justice, to denounce social, racial, police violence" and demanded the indictment of the police involved in her brother's arrest.

"The death of George Floyd -- this African-American killed on May 25 in Minneapolis by a white police officer -- directly echoed the death of my brother. It is the same thing in France, our brothers die…." she said, promising to "continue the fight" for justice.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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On June 6, as part of expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Ice Cube (whose real name is O'Shea Jackson) posted to his 5.3 million Twitter followers the caricature of a group of white-skinned older men, some with large hooked noses, sitting around a Monopoly-like game board with a fully-bearded man counting dollar bills. The board is on top of bowed, naked backs of a group of mostly black men.

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The image first appeared in mural form in London, igniting controversy in 2018 following then-British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn expressing support for the artist Mear One (Kalen Ockerman). Corbyn later apologized, and the image was removed.

The caricature is identical to "anti-Semitic propaganda used by Hitler and the Nazis to whip up hatred that led to the massacre of millions of Jews. This extends to the table these figures are sat at, resting on human bodies, as the Nazis also depicted," according to journalist and filmmaker Michael Segalov.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center condemned the tweet in a reply to it: "Shame, two years ago we met with @icecube to turn a new page. Now when it counts, instead of using his notoriety to promote peace in a fractured America he regresses to classic #antiSemitic tropes."

Shame, two years ago we met with @icecube to turn a new page. Now when it counts, instead of using his notoriety to promote peace in a fractured America he regresses to classic #antiSemitic tropes.

— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) June 9, 2020

On June 10, Ice Cube tweeted a photo that appeared to suggest that the "Black Cube of Saturn," which conspiracy theorists claim to be a magical symbol, is within the Star of David.

That same day, the rapper posted on Twitter an image of hieroglyphics portraying dark-skinned ancient Israelites in slavery in Egypt. A caption above the picture reads, "Hebrew Israelites slaves in ancient Egypt," followed on the bottom with "Clearly they are a black people."

pic.twitter.com/pj4WHkLy44

— Ice Cube (@icecube) June 10, 2020

In a tweet on Wednesday, Ice Cube stood by his posts.

"This is CUBE. My account has not been hacked. I speak for no organization. I only speak for the meek people of the earth. We will not expect crumbles from your table. We have to power of almighty God backing us all over the earth. NO MORE TALKING. Repent," he tweeted.

This is CUBE. My account has not been hacked. I speak for no organization. I only speak for the meek people of thee earth. We will not expect crumbles from your table. We have to power of almighty God backing us all over the earth. NO MORE TALKING. Repent.

— Ice Cube (@icecube) June 10, 2020

Jewish leaders must 'publicly condemn these anti-Semites by name'

Jewish and pro-Israel groups vehemently criticized Ice Cube's string of anti-Semitic tweets.

"At a time in this country when we need to pull together, bigoted imagery on the Internet is the last thing we need," B'nai B'rith International told Jewish News Syndicate. "Promoting hateful stereotypes is not the answer to the national crisis we are in."

The tweets exemplify Ice Cube's anti-Semitic history.

Ice Cube's 1991 song "No Vaseline" include lyrics such as "It's a case of divide-and-conquer/'Cause you let a Jew break up my crew" and "Get rid of that Devil real simple / Put a bullet in his temple / 'Cause you can't be the N*gga 4 Life crew / With a white Jew telling you what to do / Pulling wools with your scams / Now I gotta play Silence of the Lambs."

The rap group, N.W.A., which Ice Cube was a member of, had a manager named Jerry Heller, who was Jewish. Heller died in 2016 at the age of 75.

In 2015, Ice Cube, after a rabbi he allegedly bumped into outside a Detroit casino told the rapper to watch where he was going, allegedly told his entourage to assault him. The rabbi accused Ice Cube of uttering anti-Semitic epithets for wearing a kipah.

On May 11, Ice Cube posted a picture of him and Louis Farrakhan, and wished the Nation of Islam leader a happy birthday.

Farrakhan has an extensive history of making anti-Jewish remarks such as "I'm anti-termite," and that Hitler was "a very great man."

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Zionist Organization of America president Mort Klein told JNS that he was concerned, as all people should be, with "Ice Cube's ugly Jew-hatred, combined with the pro-BDS Black Lives [Matter] group calling Israel a genocidal apartheid state."

He said that "Jewish leaders and rabbis who have been silent must immediately and publicly condemn these anti-Semites by name."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Jewish groups react to more anti-Semitic tweets by Ice Cube appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.