A recently resurfaced video of the recently deposed head of the BLM movement underscores the movement’s viciously anti-Israel history. A closer look reveals that BLM’s agenda not only calls for the destruction of the only Jewish state but they are also dedicated to tearing down the US.
BLM head: “End Israel”
The Black Lives Matter movement has a long history of anti-Israel activism including endorsing the anti-Semitic Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement. This boiled over when a 2015 video of BLM cofounder Patrisse Cullors resurfaced in which she called to “end Israel.”
“Palestine is our generation’s South Africa, Cullors said. “If we don’t step up boldly and courageously to end the imperialist project that’s called Israel, we’re doomed.”
Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors called for the end of #Israel in 2015 during a panel at Harvard Law School.
“Palestine is our generation’s South Africa. If we don’t step up boldly and courageously to end the imperialist project that’s called Israel, we’re doomed” pic.twitter.com/1jajYrPzun
— Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) May 31, 2021
The remarks were made at a panel discussion in April 2015 hosted by the Human Rights Program at Harvard law titled, “Globalizing Ferguson: Racialized Policing and International Resistance.” At the discussion, she advocated for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement and support for Rasmeah Odeh who served time in an Israeli jail for her part in murdering Jews.
Cullors’ support of Palestinians was noted by Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, who tweeted that Cullors “has the same goal as Hamas, the PLO, and Iran’s ayatollah. Whatever their differences, they are all antisemites [sic] who yearn to drive the Jews into the sea.”
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BLM history of hating Israel
Cullors has never hidden her hatred of Israel. After touring the country in 2015, she told Ebony Magazine, “This is an apartheid state. We can’t deny that, and if we do deny it we are a part of the Zionist violence. There are two different systems here in occupied Palestine,” Cullors said. “Two completely different systems. Folks are unable to go to parts of their own country. Folks are barred from their own country.”
That same year, she told “The Laura Flanders Show” that black Americans felt a “kindred-ness” with Palestinians because of their “eerily similar” experiences.
“We are in deep solidarity with them, and frankly believe that Palestine is the new South Africa,” she said at the time.
Extreme opposition to Israel is built into the BLM agenda. Their platform includes a section on Israel and “Palestine”, using the words “apartheid” and “genocide.”
“The U.S. justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliance with Israel and is complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people,” BLM wrote in its platform. They go on to call Israel an “apartheid state,” condemning Jewish “settlements” and the “apartheid wall”, a security barrier that has succeeded in drastically reducing Arab terrorism.
This is explicitly stated on their Twitter page, which says, “Black Lives Matter stands in solidarity with Palestinians. We are a movement committed to ending settler colonialism in all forms and will continue to advocate for Palestinian liberation. ( always have. And always will be ).”
This tweet, coming out at the height of the Hamas rocket barrage, encapsulates BLM hatred for Israel. As such, it was quickly picked up by the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement.
Black Lives Matter stands in solidarity with Palestinians. We are a movement committed to ending settler colonialism in all forms and will continue to advocate for Palestinian liberation. ( always have. And always will be ). #freepalestine
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) May 17, 2021
Tear down the US
The connection between the two seemingly disparate causes, Palestine and BLM, was explained by Mike Gonzalez of the Heritage Project who unpacked the explained, “settler colonialism is a distinct type of colonialism that functions through the replacement of indigenous populations with an invasive settler society that, over time, develops a distinctive identity and sovereignty.” Gonzalez explains that according to BLM and the extreme left-wing, Israel and the United States are egregious forms of settler colonialism and must, therefore, be dismantled.
“Israel is not fighting the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank,” Gonzalez explained. “Israel’s battle today is with Hamas. By siding against Israel, BLM is siding with Hamas. Saying that has become as controversial as saying that BLM is Marxist, but only because the press corps is intent on covering for BLM. Both statements are true.”
“The reasons BLM takes the side of Hamas, however, may have little to do with postcolonialism, and much more to do with its desire to bring down the United States and the entire West.”
Cullors resigned her position at BLM last Thursday over allegations that she had used her position at the head of the massively funded organization to fund a lavish lifestyle including personal real estate purchases of four high-end homes for $3.2 million.
Cullors claimed the accusations about her purchases were attempts by the right-wing to defame her character. She is leaving the organization “to focus on a book and TV deal.” Under her leadership, the organization raised over $90 million following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd. BLM reported finishing 2020 with a balance of more than $60 million, after spending nearly a quarter of its assets on operating expenses, grants to black-led organizations, and other charitable giving.
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