44 | SEPTEMBER 17 • 2020
D
uring the week of Sept. 7, in
recognition of the ever-evolving
relationship between America’
s
Black and Jewish communities and in
opposition to racism and antisemi-
tism, the National Urban League and
American Jewish Committee (AJC) part-
nered to mark Black-Jewish Unity Week.
The organizations observed the
week with a series of events aimed at
“fostering a deeper cultural and histor-
ical understanding and appreciation”
between the two communities.
A key objective of Black-Jewish Unity
Week was urging Congress to pass the
National Opposition to Hate, Assaults,
and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act,
which would improve hate crime report-
ing through law enforcement trainings,
the creation of reporting
hotlines, increasing resources
to liaise with affected com-
munities and public educa-
tional forums on hate crimes.
On June 27, 2019, the bill
was introduced in the Senate
by Sen. Richard Blumenthal
(D-Conn.), read twice and referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary, where it
remains today.
U.S Rep. Brenda L. Lawrence
(D-Mich.), whose suburban Detroit dis-
trict includes large Black and Orthodox
Jewish populations and who is also the
leader of the Congressional Caucus
on Black-Jewish Relations, knows how
groundbreaking a week like this is.
“This week solidifies the reason why
I started the Black-Jewish Caucus,”
Rep. Lawrence told the JN. “Our shared
history, our history of being African
American, being
enslaved and fighting for
rights and freedoms, and
the unfortunate history
of the Jewish community
and the Holocaust.
“Look at the way we’
ve
taken our oppression
and struggle and made it a rally call for
today’
s justice, for reform, for fighting
against racism and antisemitic hatred.”
‘
VALUES WE DO NOT SHARE’
The context of the shared week takes on
particular resonance right now, amid
a divide in some Jewish groups over
whether to support Black Lives Matter
and associated movements.
NCSY, an Orthodox youth group,
recently removed its name from a New
York Times ad in support of the Black
Lives Matter movement that had been
signed by hundreds of Jewish groups.
“BLM’
s platform includes values we do
not share,” NCSY International Director
Rabbi Micah Greenland told the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency. “Moreover, the BLM
movement has become a political issue,
and NCSY does not involve itself in
political matters.”
NCSY’
s removal means that no main-
stream Orthodox Jewish group remains
among the letter’
s 600 signatories.
When contacted by the JN, the Detroit
chapter of NCSY deferred comment to
a PR representative, who in turn point-
ed to a June 1 statement made by the
national Orthodox Union expressing
outrage over the death of George Floyd.
The statement did not mention Black
Lives Matter. Rabbi Tzali Freedman,
Regional Director of NCSY Central East,
also told the JN that NCSY is an apoliti-
cal organization.
Movement for Black Lives, an umbrel-
la organization loosely affiliated with
the Black Lives Matter movement, was
roundly criticized by Jewish groups in
2016 for inserting lan-
guage into its charter that
accused Israel of perpet-
uating “genocide” against
Palestinians. The latest
version of that charter,
released a few weeks ago,
does not include the lan-
guage, and the Black Lives Matter move-
ment has become far more decentralized
in 2020, with 16 distinct chapters in the
U.S. and Canada.
Nevertheless, some Jewish critics of
BLM continue to link it to the 2016
M4BL charter and to other accusations
of antisemitism.
Rep. Lawrence strongly disputes the
charge. “Black Lives Matter is absolutely
not antisemitic,” she told the JN.
Some synagogues have also been van-
dalized during recent BLM-spearheaded
protests. Lawrence condemned these
actions.
“I condemn any vandalism to any syn-
agogue. and I would stand in front of a
Rep. Brenda
Lawrence
ALEXANDER CLEGG/JEWISH NEWS
Jews in the D
Jews
t e
jews and racial justice
Finding Unity
Amid tensions, Black and
Jewish groups mark “Unity Week.”
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
continued on page 46
AntiSemitism
the
Project