Calling Black Lives Matter (BLM) “a movement that advocates the murder of Jews,” the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, today launched a social media campaign calling upon major US sports leagues, such as the NBA, MLB, and NFL, to withdraw their support of BLM organizations. This came after a series of BLM organizations declared their support for the horrific Hamas massacre that took the lives of over 1,400 Israelis on October 7.
“It is of vital importance to support the lives of all Americans, certainly Black Americans,” said CJV Midwestern Regional Vice President Rabbi Ze’ev Smason, “but opposing racism requires opposing, not supporting, ‘Black Lives Matter,’ a collection of radical organizations that has done dangerous harm to the Black community while inciting anti-Semitic hatred. This is true especially in light of BLM support of the monstrous atrocities committed by Hamas against Israelis and Americans, targeting civilians including women, the elderly, and even infants.”
After Hamas committed atrocities that, per US officials, exceeded even those of ISIS, the BLM Grassroots organization, which encompasses dozens of chapters in American cities, claimed that Hamas “resistance must not be condemned.” BLM Chicago shared an image of a paraglider, of the sort that descended upon a music festival and gunned down over 250 Israelis, declaring that they sided with the murderers. A day later, it deleted the image after international outcry, but said nonetheless that “we stand with Palestine & the people who will do what they must to live free.”
The BLM Global Network Foundation, which claims to be the primary BLM organization, neither condemned nor disavowed the rhetoric of the other BLM organizations. It merely declared that they have no official connection to organizations with which it collaborated for years.
“The collective that has arrogated the term ‘Black Lives Matter’ is one of the leading anti-Semitic organizations making Jews unsafe,” observed CJV Vice President Rabbi Dov Fischer. “Instead of advancing civil rights, they join with terrorists seeking global jihad against Jews. It is unconscionable that American businesses, especially sports teams in leagues that rely upon fans of all ethnicities and backgrounds, would provide financial support to cheerleaders for terror.”
