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8 | JUNE 25 • 2020 

1942 - 2020

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How to reach us see page 12

for Black Lives organization, 
which has since dropped, but 
not altogether deleted, an 
anti-Israel platform piece from 
its website. There are certainly 
some vicious anti-Semites and 
anti-Zionists who associate 
with the BLM movement or 
organization, but that must not 
move us Zionists away from 
our principles of Zionist activ-
ism.
If BLM itself came out 
officially with an anti-Israel 
statement on their website, I 
would be the first to condemn 
it because Zionism is all about 
Black Lives Matter. 
The Jewish people and 
Zionists live by the verse from 
Exodus 3:16-17: “I have noticed 
you and what they are doing to 

you … And I have said, ‘
I will 
take you out of slavery and suf-
fering to the Land of Canaan … 
(to the Holy Land – Israel!). 
” 
 This is both the Zionist 
dream of ending the millennial 
oppression of the Jewish people 
in foreign lands, and it is the 
vision that gave hope to our 
black brothers and sisters in 
their years of suffering in their 
“Egypt” — in America — and a 
vision of a better country.
In Egypt, God said, Jewish 
lives matter. Now that the 
Jewish people have the Jewish 
State, and we have strength and 
a modicum of acceptance in 
America, it is time for us to say: 
“Black Lives Matter.” 
Our Zionism has taught us 
how important this narrative 

is, and we have succeeded. We 
have found our Zion and it is 
strong. Now let us Zionists give 
hope to those who are fighting 
to remove the “Egypt” from this 
country and let us be allies with 
them to find their Zion.
In those rallies I have attend-
ed, specifically in Detroit, the 
leaders of the black commu-
nity have emphasized how 
destructive violent protests and 
looting have been to the cause. 
This also is consistent with the 
way the Jewish people moved 
toward establishing Israel.
Zionism is about purpose, 
focus and building and not 
about violence and destruction. 
In fact, the early founders of 
Israel quashed rogue elements 
that took the focus away from 

the cause. Black Lives Matter 
must mean the same discipline 
for the sake of fighting racism 
and injustice.
The great Supreme 
Court Justice and Zionist 
Louis Brandeis said, “Let 
no American imagine that 
Zionism is inconsistent with 
patriotism.” For the sake of our 
Jewish and Zionist tradition, let 
no American say that Zionism 
is inconsistent with the fight 
for true patriotism. Black Lives 
Matter and Zionism matter 
in the battle for racial justice 
and equality for our African 
American brothers and sisters. 

Rabbi Asher Lopatin is the JCRC/AJC 

executive director.

And I believe every part of those 
statements. I specifically didn’
t 
write some of the specifics that 
other’
s signs said because I can’
t 
genuinely say I’
ve done enough 
research on each individual topic 
to state my opinion. Just like 
how if I didn’
t research a specific 
topic before an election, I would 
not blindly vote on that topic. 
But I fully support peaceful 
protests that have the goal of a 

better world. And the Oak Park 
protest was one of them. I also 
believe that black people matter. 
I specifically didn’
t state “black 
lives matter” or “BLM” because, 
while I believe in a lot of the 
things the movement stands for, 
I cannot agree with everything 
the organization itself stands for 
or supports, and I’
m not a fan of 
some of the leaders’
 viewpoints 
on Israel and anti-Semitism. 

I did not bend a knee when 
everyone else did because I 
wasn’
t sure if I could as a Jew, so 
I erred on the side of caution. 
But no one said anything nega-
tive to me about it. 
I joined the protest/march 
because I care about my black 
neighbors. I joined the protest/
march because I care about my 
black classmates. I joined the 
protest/march because I care 

about my black friends. I joined 
the protest/march because I care 
about black Jews.
I joined the protest/march 
because I care. 

Menachem Roetter, 25, is from Oak 
Park. He is a full-time student at the 
University of Detroit- 
Mercy working on a 
bachelor’
s degree in Addiction Studies. 
He also works at the local restaurant 
Kravings. In his spare time, he advo-
cates for Agunot.

PROTESTS from page 6

ZIONISM from page 6

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