We all know by now that Black Lives Matter and Antifa are terrorist organizations trying to bring down not just the duly elected President of the United States, but even more importantly the very system of representative elected government and freedom that we enjoy. Our system has been based on the notion of individual civil rights and rule of law, and BLM, as well as Antifa, wants to bring that all down and replace it with a socialist/communist alternative. Naturally, those of us on the patriotic right would want to prevent such a horrific outcome. But 600 Jewish groups have signed onto a full-page ad in the New York Times supporting BLM. It is not an accident that they are taking this position. They know what they are doing.
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.
We speak with one voice when we say, unequivocally: Black Lives Matter.
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, antisemitism is at the center of these manufactured divisions.
There is a long history to these attempts: during the Southern Freedom Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, conspiracy theories were used by white supremacists attempting to delegitimize the extraordinary organizing of Black activists. Billboards were erected smearing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a communist, signs and flyers claiming that “communist Jews” were masterminding the civil rights movement were common, and pro-segregation organizations like the John Birch Society popularized these lies.
