By Amy Zewe—
The ongoing civil unrest and social media bombardment of race relations and social justice has since drowned out the leading headlines of COVID-19 we all endured since March. But, in this shift of topics, the Jews and Israel somehow remain a center target of blame.
This absolutely stuns me.
Alan Dershowitz—prominent Harvard Law professor, prolific writer and defender of Israel with known left-of-center leanings—wrote a piece a few years go addressing a term for the strain of cancer that seems to infect every social justice call and every popular cause to liberate some oppressed group that ends up blaming Israel or Jews for its problems.
Intersectionality—not a term he coined, but one he successfully defines and dismantles and applies to social justice movements of today.
In The Washington Examiner Dershowitz wrote: ‘Intersectionality’ is a code word for anti-Semitism” (Aug. 2017)
What do the terrorist group Hamas and the anti-violence group Black Lives Matter have in common? What does the democracy of Israel have in common with the anti-Semitic Ku Klux Klan? What does the Islamic Republic of Iran, which throws gays off rooftops, have in common with gay rights activists? What do feminists have in common with radical Islamic sexists who support the honor killing and genital mutilation of women? Nothing of course. Unless you subscribe to the pseudo-academic concept of intersectionality. Intersectionality — the radical academic theory, which holds that all forms of social oppression are inexorably linked — has become a code word for anti-American, anti-Western, anti-Israel and anti-Semitic bigotry.
I often have referred to this concept as “appropriation” of a cause.
We have seen this often in recent history—from the Women’s March Movement in 2016 through the LBGTQ activism and certainly the Black Lives Matter movement.
Now, please do not misconstrue me here. I am not saying valid issues within women’s interests groups don’t exist. Or that homosexuals haven’t endured unjust persecution. Nor am I saying that racism against black people, or others, is not worthy of exposure and remedy.
What I am saying is that legitimate concern and activism towards ending any of these ills or solving them is high jacked by organizations whose leaderships’ hearts often lie with some other political or power agenda.
And, somehow, the antisemitic movements are first in line with their usurping a cause.
This, as Dr. Dershowitz has revealed, is intersectionality and it is being exposed.
My warning to all Christians and Jews and anyone else with sincere and troubled hearts, be weary of intersectionality and be on the lookout. You do not want your earnest compassion and intentions surrounding legitimate injustices in the US or elsewhere to be capitalized on or leveraged for evil and destruction.
As you consider the injustices you see in your own community or on the world stage, carefully use your critical thinking skills to analyze which organization you might want to participate in to contribute to a change. Perhaps you want to donate money or volunteer time or be part of their outreach by posting and reposting information.
First, find out the following:
1. Who are the leaders?
2. In their efforts to help raise an underserved or oppressed community, are they seeking to tear down another?
3. Are their goals humanitarian or political? (It can be both, just know what they are and be clear on it).
4. Where is the initial funding coming from?
5. What are the facts surrounding the issues? Asnd then validate them.
6. Whom are they ignoring to gain popularity and power (or money)?
I have watched sincere people give time and resources to organizations who commandeer a cause in order to gain power and prestige to simply continue their quest to put down another group—and not even help the initial group they started out with. I also see youth reposting Antisemitic tropes and blood liable (genocide, apartheid, and more) with complete ignorance of how much hurt they are expressing, all while they are attempting to be FOR something good.
Remember in 2016 The Women’s March movement. Linda Sarsour claimed, “You can’t be Zionist and a feminist at the same time.” Moreover, leadership in the Women’s March movement were close friends and cohorts with known and outspoken anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan.
Back to Black Lives Matter (the organization, not the sentiment). Alan Dershowitz penned this article in August, 2016: “Black Lives Matter Must Rescind Its Anti-Israel Declaration”
Until and unless Black Lives Matter removes this blood libel from its platform and renounces it, no decent person — black, white or of any other racial or ethnic background — should have anything to do with it. We should continue to fight against police abuses by supporting other organizations or forming new ones. But we must not become complicit in the promotion of antisemitism just because we agree with the rest of the Black Lives Matter program.
Ben Shapiro, an orthodox Jewish commentator and another prolific writer and speaker has analyzed the activities of many mainstream social justice organizations and found that those surrounding American Race relations, women’s movements, and more, marry up with radical antisemitic causes including radical Islam and political agendas such as socialism all for their own power or enrichment. They normalize their morals and causes to ultimately hurt another group (most often, Jews).
We can all commit to being 100% for justice for all. But we cannot be earnest in this pursuit if we engage with many of the powerful, and now mainstreamed, groups that have no longer hidden their antisemitic agenda and normalize an age-old kind of hate in the name of somehow solving another.
You can find organizations that are true and honest in their pursuit of justice and equality. Project 21 is a great example of an organization working to change racism, but not at the expense of another identity group.
Project21’s website:
Project 21 participants live all over the U.S. and have a variety of careers. What they have in common is a desire to make America a better place for African-Americans, and all Americans, to live and work.
So, if you see a cause that touches your heart, and an organization is married up with a strain of antisemitism, I implore you to find a new group to support.
Dershowitz acknowledges in his 4-year-old article that BLM was comprised of at least 60 sub-groups, many of which have participants that do not know the reality of the attitude behind the collaboration of the leaders.
In Acts 10, Peter is called to Cornelius house—a gentile. Peter really did not want to go. And Peter was a disciple of Christ, a man after God’s own heart. A man ministering to Jews and bringing many to the Gospel, he suddenly recognized his own unrealized prejudice. Cornelius was a gentile. Jews were not to associate with Gentiles. But Peter then realizing his own prejudice said to them, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection.” Peter continued, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”
Proverbs 29:8: Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger. Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.
My goal here is not to steer anyone away from a cause that is making itself evident and for which we cannot tolerate more abuses. My goal here is to ensure your personal integrity for that goal is not abused and stolen as your contribution aids in yet another form of historical and ageless hate—Antisemitism, which so often finds its way into popular mainstream so-called social justice groups.
Shavua Tov. Have a great week.