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

