Building Allies: The Necessity To Boost Israel Outside Our Circles

When the Black Lives Matter movement began in earnest in 2014, many Jews and pro-Israel allies, rightfully aghast at the antisemitism among many of the nascent movement’s leaders, distanced themselves. This meant that when a movement began, looking for allies and supporters, the pro-Israel community as a whole was nowhere to be found, and if it was there, its support was qualified. But the pro-BDS cause was there with bells on. 

More recently, in early June, when anti-racism and anti-police brutality rallies in the United States spread to Canada, the pro-Israel movement found itself in a quandary: how do we respond to a movement where anti-Jewish and anti-Israel messages are widespread?

The answer, as I see it, is to claim the moral argument back. Hatemongers like Louis Farrakhan and his ilk are able to stir anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hatred, in part, by portraying Jews and Israel as the oppressor of Blacks, and therefore as part of the enemy. And when Jews hear such words, we naturally recoil. But what if we refuse to let Farrakhan and the extremist elements in the anti-racism movement define us, and rather than backing away, we find Black community leaders — the vast majority of whom are not antisemitic — and publicly and loudly stand with them.

Not every member of the pro-Israel community supports the causes and aims of the anti-racism movement regarding police brutality, but there are many who do. As individuals, they have been speaking out, but they need organizational support. Supporting the cause of the anti-racism movement does not equate to supporting its most extreme elements, and if we paint with a wide brush, it allows our enemies to define us.

We have a track record of success with the Muslim community that can and should be emulated.

The pro-Israel community has done a tremendous job in recent years in identifying and promoting powerful voices of allies in the Muslim community. Canadian Muslims like Raheel and Sohail Raza, Tarek Fatah, Aboud Dandachi, Salim Mansur, Tahir Gora and others, have been stalwart allies to our cause, important ambassadors in their respective communities and have shown that being Muslim and Zionist is not mutually exclusive. 

When anti-Israel organizations are well funded, well armed and out for the jugular, the pro-Israel community needs to work overtime in winning over allies. We’ve done it before, and we can do it now.