Views To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 29200 Northwestern Highway, #110, Southfield, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Hwy., #110, Southfield, MI 48034. 8 | JULY 2 • 2020 1942 - 2020 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week jn Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher ahorwitz@renmedia.us F. 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Steinhardt How to reach us see page 12 Thank You I just wanted to say thank you for your recent article “Learning from History” in the Jewish News. I praise you for using your position, your voice and your privilege to speak to others from similar backgrounds to advocate for the Black com- munity. I have seen many statements over the past two weeks voicing some form of support, but many have lacked the sincerity of recognizing the role that white (or white- passing) people have played in our regional history, and the roles we must assume going forward in order to enact real change. Many statements of support have been void of actionable options that point readers to ways to get con- nected and actually help. Your article provided both. And you didn’ t pull your punches. Thank you for being an ally for Black lives. Our commu- nity is stronger when there is not just equality, but equity for every member of that com- munity. There’ s a lot of work to be done, but the load is lighter when we all take it on together. — Carie Branch Hamtramck Regarding the “Editor’ s Note — Healing Ourselves” Contrary to Andrew Lapin’ s assertion, Black Lives Matter’ s original 2016 platform began with bald-faced anti-Semi- tism from the get-go. It has never retreated. The mere removal from the internet of its embarrassingly hateful position on the existence of Israel, without renouncing its vicious message to Jews, is not clarification, it’ s conceal- ment. Many Jews today are conned by BLM’ s PR move. Melina Abdullah, the co-founder of BLM’ s Los Angeles chapter, has a record of appearing at Nation of Islam events and praising the anti-Semitic hate group and its leader, Louis Farrakhan. When Facebook decided to remove Farrakhan over his hateful rhetoric toward Jews, Abdullah came to his defense. “Facebook and Instagram’ s decision to ban The Honorable Minister Farrakhan along with known white-supremacists rep- resents the ultimate in false equivalencies,” Abdullah complained. “As a Black com- munity, we should be very wary when others attempt to silence our leaders. I continue to appreciate the Minister’ s fearless leadership and intense love for our people.” The platform of BLM, which has existed since 2016, could have been written by Hamas. It declares that the Jewish people of Israel perpetrate genocide against Palestinian Arabs and that Israel is an apartheid state. “The U.S. 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,” reads the “Invest/Divest” section of their charter “A Vision for Black Lives.” That same BLM platform supports Omar Barghouti’ s anti-Semitic BDS movement. Barghouti, the co-founder of BDS, has said the sole pur- pose of BDS is the euthanasia of the Zionist dream of Israel. Those vandalizing statues across the world claim that they’ re fighting hate, but their targets have often been the men and women who courageously stood up to racism and hatred. The stat- ue of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, stands in Los Angeles. When mobs swept through the area, looting Jewish stores and defacing synagogues with “BLM” and “Free Palestine” graffiti, the statue of a man who risked his life to resist fascism and bigotry was one of their tar- gets. Jews have got to be literate enough to read the hand- writing on the walls. We Jews helped start the NAACP and walked with Dr. King. We ask, where is the reciprocity? When will they finally stand with us to support Israel? At this time of unrest, it is worth remembering an op-ed by Congressman John Lewis in the San Francisco Chronicle in January 2002. In that op-ed commemorating Martin Luther King Day, Congressman Lewis recalled the wise and prescient words of Dr. King spoken at Harvard a few weeks before his death: “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews; you’ re talking anti-Sem- itism.” — Ed Kohl Co-President, Michigan Jewish Action Council West Bloomfield LETTERS from page 5