“Black Lives Matter” and “Am Yisrael Chai” (The Jewish People Live) have more in common than many modern progressives or Zionists would like to admit. Just as the old spirituals of African slaves drew inspiration from the delivery of the Israelites from bondage (think, "Go Down Moses"), so too there are striking – if surprising – affinities between the contemporary African-American and Jewish struggles for freedom and dignity.
By exploring what African-Americans mean by their statement of defiance, we can illuminate our own; and by demonstrating our commonalities, we can reinvigorate the fightback against the hijacking of progressive politics by the anti-Israel movement and, increasingly, by a worldview that slanders Jews in the name of progress.
Indeed, to many progressives, the comparison between blacks and Jews might sound obscene, even heretical. Modern progressive thought orbits around the theory of intersectionality, which interprets society through the prism of the politics of "privilege" and structural oppression. In its hierarchy of victimhood, Jews are classified as innately privileged, and blacks as inherently oppressed: any analogies are offensive and by definition absurd.
“Black Lives Matter” began life as a hashtag against police violence; “Am Yisrael Chai”, as a Talmudic dictum that the patriarch Jacob (Yisrael) never died, because he lives on through his children, Bnei Yisrael. The former spread as the name of an activist movement against anti-black violence; the latter, as a Jewish mantra passed through the generations for thousands of years, and more recently as a song by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and the anthem of the struggle to liberate Soviet Jewry. How could the two possibly be mirror images?
The Obvious Truth, Despite Deniers
Firstly, the fact that black lives matter is obviously true – but there remain deniers who continue to abuse black lives. The dissonance created between the very obviousness of the statement and the fact that it is not universally held to be self-evident is jarring. It forces outsiders to confront their own naive assumption, cultivated from a place of privilege – from lives blissfully untouched by anti-black racism – that everybody accepts the dignity of black lives. Indeed, the fact that many feel compelled to reaffirm this statement in the first place should unnerve us.
It’s obvious that the Jews live, but there remain many who oppose the existence of the Jewish people.
Likewise, it is obvious that the Jews live, especially when Jews say so themselves. But there remain many who oppose the existence of the Jewish people. From Islamists to neo-Nazis, the desire to annihilate the Jews is alive and well. The scope of this prejudice is magnified when one considers left-wing anti-Zionism, with its desire to strip Jews of the most historically effective mechanism for defending their existence – sovereignty. If one opens a German dictionary under “existenzrecht” (right to exist), “Israel’s right to exist” is the top example. The Jewish people lives, but our continued survival cannot be taken for granted. The fact we feel the need to remark upon it, and sing it on a loop with such joy, should remind Gentiles of its precarious foundations.
Ramifications
Secondly, the slogan “Black Lives Matter” is a means of forcing society to take that truth to its logical conclusions. If black lives matter, public policy must change until black lives are no longer undervalued, for example, as measured in casualties of police violence or incarceration rates. It is inadequate to espouse a general belief in equality: structural injustices need to be addressed in real, practical terms.
With “Am Yisrael Chai”, we can also compel Gentiles to recognize the real-world implications of Jewish survival. If one identifies with the slogan that the Jewish people live, one must logically support the non-negotiable security of the Jewish state – where nearly half of the world’s Jews actually live. It means fighting against demands to sabotage or dissolve the Jewish state, which would restore Jews to their traditional role of a vulnerable minority exposed to hostile societies. Not as a favor, but as a matter of justice.
Particularism
Thirdly, although “Black Lives Matter” is derived from the broader truth that all lives matter, the political hijacking of the general proposition highlights the need for the particularist version. Progressives have been outraged by the saying “All Lives Matter”, not because some lives don’t matter, but because with the exception of horrifying cases like the recent Dallas shooting of police officers, there is no serious, structural challenge to the value of white lives. Collapsing this with a demand for black dignity, which a practical and not theoretical worry, downplays the systematic oppression of black people throughout history.
Jews would be outraged to hear a German politician, say, “The People of Israel live, the People of Germany live – all peoples live!”
Similarly, Jews would be outraged to hear a German politician, in Governor O’Malley-style, nonchalantly say, “Ja, ja. The People of Israel live, the People of Germany live – all peoples live!” Of course the German people lives – it has never suffered genocide. Through “Am Yisrael Chai”, we reaffirm that the historical remarkability of Jewish survival cannot be appreciated if subsumed into a statement that other safe groups are also alive. The Jewish national liberation movement alone – Zionism – comes under incessant, vitriolic assault.
Uniqueness
Fourthly, “Black Lives Matter” constitutes an explicit demand that race not be taken out of the conversation in the name of inclusiveness and equality. Color-blind policy appears superficially egalitarian, but glosses over the unique injustices plaguing African Americans.
Likewise, one cannot tackle racism without acknowledging that nearly 60 per cent of victims of religious-based crimes in the US are Jews. Moreover, antisemitism is no mere spinoff of racism, but a distinct problem with a unique pathology. It was absurd of President Obama’s to characterize the Jewish victims of the Paris Hypercacher attack as a “bunch of folks randomly shot in a deli”: the victims’ identity was plainly relevant to the political violence. With “Am Yisrael Chai”, we insist that threats to the Jewish people’s existence be understood in context, with roots deep in the Western mindset, to be addressed.
“We understand,” declare the founders Black Lives Matter, “that when Black people in this country get free, the benefits will be wide reaching and transformative for society as a whole.” This sentiment runs through the core of the Jewish national renaissance: gentile philosopher and ally Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that only when the Jews have their own state, can the world hear what they have to say. For Abba Eban, Israel’s first ambassador to the UN, Zionism would liberate “the Hebrew mind” from “the great handicap and reproach of homelessness”, once more enabling Jewish civilization to contribute to mankind as it did in ancient times.
In recent years, the anti-Israel movement has made inroads in progressive circles. It has enlisted black and LGBT movements to the worldview that the Jews and Israel are oppressive forces. #BlackLivesMatter movement has openly adopted the slogan “From Palestine to Ferguson”.
When so-called progressives reject Jewish aspirations outright, and by adopting the Palestinian narrative wholesale treat Jewish self-determination as the enemy, they render themselves accomplices to the most destructive malice in history.
If progressive Jews fail to challenge these associations, they risk abandoning the intellectual climate to those indifferent to their survival qua Jews. Supporting the rights of the oppressed requires honesty about the real intersections between black liberation and Zionism, even if considered taboo. And once we internalize those vulnerabilities, we can start to forge open that multiracial alliance once more, and strip it back from the enemies of freedom and real social progress.
___________
A Note from the Author
In the opening sentence, I warned that my article was likely to make many people uncomfortable: many self-styled progressives and Zionists, I wagered, would be unnerved to be told of similarities with the other. Nevertheless, I was and remain convinced that my analysis would benefit an open-minded Jewish audience. As somebody who is not black, I have always been confused by the statement "Black Lives Matter"; I hoped that exploring analogies to my people's own statement of defiance would enable me, and readers, to make sense of it. Moreover, I hoped that having unpacked the similarities between African-American and Jewish political platforms, we could develop a toolkit to challenge the co-option of the progressive cause into the anti-Israel struggle, finding creative ways to make allies out of adversaries.
Unfortunately, many of the responses have completely missed the point, as well as being of a nastily ad hominem character. In my article, I compare "Am Yisrael Chai" to the "Black Lives Matter" slogan. I do not draw analogies to the Black Lives Matter movement. For many, this nuanced distinction might appear specious. Indeed, it is difficult to unpack what the slogan might mean from the actions of the movement bearing that name. But in the interest of intellectual honesty, we cannot surrender to that difficulty. We can still try to understand what Black Lives Matter activists are trying to communicate with their slogan, without endorsing the actions done in the name of that sentiment.
If we refuse to make this effort, we risk willingly failing to understand what one of the most vocal activist groups in America wants. That ignorance hurts us, foremost. We also risk surrendering the entirety of progressive public opinion to those who make comparisons between "Black Lives Matter"--slogan and movement-- and the Palestinian struggle. And that distortion will hurt us even more.
(29) Aryeh Baer, August 4, 2016 8:05 PM
Thank you
Thank you Mr. Aslan-Levy for this truly excellent and much needed article. I do note one irony however. You focus on your expectation that progressives will view your comparison as obscene and heretical. So it is interesting that so many of the comments from the opposite side of the spectrum - the AYC crowd - cried heresy. Not sure whether you were naïve or brave to post this article to this audience. Either way I respect and appreciate what you wrote. I wish others could show similar empathy rather than disdain for those outside our daled amot.
(28) Adam Levick, August 1, 2016 12:05 PM
Empirical research contradicts premise of BLM
Hi Eylon. I know you said you're not comparing the movements, only the slogans. However, you may be interested in learning that the basic premise of BLM is untrue. Two recent comprehensive studies have determined that there are no racial disparities in police shootings. Here's one: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/upshot/surprising-new-evidence-shows-bias-in-police-use-of-force-but-not-in-shootings.html?_r=0
(27) madeline, July 31, 2016 8:18 AM
Thank you!
I read the article #BlackLivesMatter #AmYisraelChai by Eylon Aslan-Levy and I didn't know how to reach out to him to thank him for writing such a wonderful article, so I hope you can pass along my gratitude. I am university student where issues such as Black Lives Matter is constantly discussed and many of my classmates are involved in the movement. Jewish students on campus (usually democrats/progressive students) have often expressed to me that although they support BLM and other similar anti-racist movements that they as Jews are often kept out of the conversation or told their opinions don't matter when it comes to racism because they are Jewish, which saddens me deeply. Mr. Aslan-Levy's article perfectly summoned up the actuality that Jews involved in progressive movements face and it gave me hope that there is a way to show that BLM and Zionism are not mutually exclusive and that actually, can go together. His article was well thought out and incredibly respectful to the different struggles faced by both African Americans and Jews and that recognizing the suffering of another people does not minimize the suffering of another. I am so sorry that there were so many hateful comments posted below his article. I assure those readers that for Jews actually involved with BLM and progressive causes, the article was a very accurate reflection of the situation and that pro-Israel students on college campuses are working to reach out to African American students on campus to talk about intersectionality between Zionism and BLM, we hope there will be understanding and success in these efforts. Thank you again to Mr. Aslan-Levy
Lillian, August 3, 2016 6:38 PM
BLM
Black Lives Matter has its Marxist web site up for anyone to view. Being a Socialist, Communist is not progressive. It's naive at best, and robs from those who work the hardest to give to those who don't. BLM is anti semitic and anti Israel.
(26) Anonymous, July 29, 2016 11:44 PM
Incredible
People see what they want to see, this has always been true. I like "all lives matter", and I particularly like blue lives matter. I thought it was disgraceful at the DNC that the Black Lives Matter Group felt it necessary not to remain silent for the Police Officers who where killed during the called for moment of silence. What ever happened to two wrong don't make a right
(25) Nancy, July 28, 2016 7:53 PM
What about Sandra Bland?
She was pulled over by a police officer for failing to turn on her directional signal. That was a mistake in judgment on her part. However, it is still a mystery as to why she was arrested. It is a downright tragedy that she was found dead in her prison cell. What happened here? Would the same set of circumstances have occurred if she had been a white woman?
(24) Ellen Jensen, July 28, 2016 7:36 PM
Too quick to decide what is meant by All Lives Matter
Here the slogan All Lives Matter is taken to belittle people stating that Black Lives Matter. In some articles and reactions people who said to support Black Lives Matter, called upon others to attack police officers. So some people started 'Blue Lives Matter'. Others claimed that for many activists 'Black Lives Matter'ed only when the other person involved was not considered Black, or was a police officer. Some police officers also claimed that most Black people who were murdered were killed by other Blacks. For me, All Lives Matter means, that no matter whether the person is Black, Hispanic, Chinese, a police officer, a Jew, a Christian, and killed by someone from their own group or another, their lives matter. It never is unimportant, and it never should be a reason to go out and kill innocent people, especially not those who keep law and order.
(23) David Levine, July 28, 2016 7:24 PM
The BLM movement is in large part an anti-Semitic movement (as is the "civil rights movement" of today generally). The go out of their way to tie themselves into the murderers of Jews throughout the world, and not just in the Middle East). There is NO comonality between us and them, period and the antics of people like them for the past 40 years made me a Republican, somehting I thought I'd never become when I was young.
(22) Anonymous, July 28, 2016 7:16 PM
Despicable
I have read articles on this site for over 15 years. This is the worst I have ever seen.
I am hoping the author is simply ignorant of the real situation here. BLM is a racist group aligning itself with the anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian factions.
They are using racial division to justify improper behavior and fight authority. The overwhelming majority of black lives are killed by other blacks, not white police. The Washington Post recently released data showing whites were more likely to die in a police confrontation than blacks.
Shame on you.
(21) Anonymous, July 28, 2016 6:00 PM
Ridiculous assumptions
I grew up during segregation and I can tell you that today's black movement is not about civil rights. Rev Al Sharpton and Rev Jesse Jackson and others tell young people that this is a racist country. They have affirmative action, the whole top level of gov't is black, black members of congress, etc. They Jews and side with Palestinians because they think Palestinians are people of 'color' and actually believe that Jews steal and owned them. Less than 1 percent of Jews during the slave period were slave owners. Yet, it's the Muslims to this day that bought and sold them. Jews died for black civil rights. But you wouldn't know it today. The Black Lives Matter tried to segregate their demonstrators by color at the DNC convention and told white activists to get out. U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) just gave a speech likening Jews to termites and saying Jews steal lands. Wake up. I've never met an intelligent liberal Jew.
(20) Anonymous, July 28, 2016 5:52 PM
ALL Lives Matter
The Black Lives Matter movement is a disgrace to the American way of life. They are strictly trouble makers who do not allow anyone but black (aka, African-Americans) into their meetings and put white reporters at the back of the room - IF they are allowed in at all. And to associate Judaism with BLM is a disgrace.
Ya'akov
(19) Brad, July 28, 2016 5:18 PM
Disgusted
Black Lives Matter is a racist group which spreads hate. Based on false narratives and outright lies, the group aims to right historic wrongs with violence and hypocrisy.
Jewish values place life, all lives, at the height of importance in our value system. I read wish for inspiration and solid Jewish thought.
To say I am disappointed is an understatement.
Disgusting.
(18) Ed, July 28, 2016 5:04 PM
a place of privilege
The conclusions of this article are incorrect. Using the Jewish history to validate BLM is what this is about. Saying I am naive and come from "privilege" and "no structural challenges" is far from correct.
There is much fallacy in this article. Stateing the prison population is more black than white, stats do point that out, BUT, the authors conclusion that those incarcerated are somehow ALL innocent of crime is beyond intellectual honesty. Look at Chicago, where black on black crime is out of control. This is not the result of white privilege, rather the popular black leaders making profit on keeping the masses uneducated, and keeping them downtrodden Family units i the black community have broken apart, with 71% of births to unwed mothers. SHAME.
The values of my past have been lost and there was a reason for them, a reason to have 2 parents ( having 2 moms or 2 dads in todays society is ok) A child needs nurturing.
That is not happening in black or white (although to a lesser extent) today. Wake up...for black lives to matter, the very citizens of the black community need to pull together, teach morals, positive goals, end drug trafficking, end the shootings. Take pride. Stop blaming me, and stop comparing the plight to Jews, it is offensive, and coming from a place of black privilege does not enable you to twist truths
(17) Shawn Lopez, July 28, 2016 5:01 PM
Black Lives Matter is funded by George Soros
(16) Steven Katz, July 28, 2016 4:37 PM
Jewish lives matter too
I never understand when A Jewish person insists on defending black people. Jews have done every good thing there is to do for Blacks and not only dont they appreciate it as a group, they expect it as a right. The love black people have for Jews was shown to me as I went to school (Yeshiva) in black neighborhoods for 6 years.Not one day passed without heil hitler being yelled at me at least once.
As an adult in college I remember Jews being blamed for everything by black groups on the Brooklyn College campus from the Atlanta child murders to slavery to (include topic here.) Never gratitude. Never respect. If you answered Happy Chanuka after being greeted with a sneer Merry xmas, you were looked at like a molester.
Now theres talk about white people paying black peoples rent to assauge their guilt. I cant wait until jewish organizations start raising millions for this
(15) Avi Keslinger, July 28, 2016 4:13 PM
blue lives matter
BLM is a radical leftist organization whose inflammatory rhetoric has caused a wave of murders of police officers. Chazal say that if not for fear of the police people would swallow each other alive. This dictum, as well as the extreme anti-Israel and anti-Jewish (once again we are scapegoats) line espoused by BLM should make us doubly oppose this movement.
Leah, July 28, 2016 4:42 PM
Agree
I so agree with you. BLM does not seem to care about anything except blacks killed by police. They have only come out in support of thugs and when facts come out that prove that the thug was in the wrong, they have already done as much damage as possible.
(14) mohoosier, July 28, 2016 4:08 PM
Bad Comparison
There couldn't be two sects that are further apart than BLM and The Jews. To try and compare them in any way is a horrible slap in the face to the Jews who have suffered for thousands of years at the hands of evil societies.
BLM began in Ferguson under a coordinated and calculated LIE - Hands Up Don't Shoot!. A Grand Jury proved this to be not only false but entirely false once "witness" after "witness" retracted their "eye witness" accounts, some admitting they weren't even there! But, with wonderful media coverage and repetition of the false narrative the coordinated protesters got their wish and BLM was born. Blacks in the United States enjoy more amenities and freedoms than any other race at this point in history, and they hold the highest positions in the Land...so what are they wanting? I don't see the Jews protesting. So, what is this all about? It's about lawlessness and anti-culturalism. The Judeo-Christian framework is no longer acceptable to a growing sector of our country. But, make no mistake - this is not a movement in the Jewish communities, but it comes from the violent inter cities of every major city in the US. A large percentage of Blacks want to live life in a completely unacceptable manner that violates the very principals of a civil society. To give any credence to this threatens our very fabric. We are a society founded upon Laws, regardless of race, religion or creed. We must not shrink back any more and accept the petty excuses and blame game of those that wish not to follow our way of life. Those of us that get up every day, go to work, obey the law, and provide for our families are completely overwhelmed and frustrated with being forced to take care of more and more Americans that refuse to take care of themselves and want to point at me as the problem. Really??
Please come to the US and drive through the inner cities of our major cities and then go back and rewrite your article.
(13) Avigail, July 28, 2016 2:31 PM
Offensive Comparison
As others have expressed, comparing the Jewish plight to a movement that encourages violence towards law enforcement is INSULTING and inaccurate.
dale, July 28, 2016 3:27 PM
BLM and the Jewish wandering...
i agree much, while the Jews have been so much tolerant and patient with the world who wants them extinguish into darkness to the point that it almost brought them to their demise, the BlackLivesMatters is a much more different thing!!! it encourages violence,revenge,rampage,riots, civil disobedience etc... to have its message be heard so PLEASE GET YOUR THOUGHTS Together Eylon Aslan-Levy...
(12) Dave Cole, July 28, 2016 2:22 PM
I disagree !
The comparison of Black lives matter to the Jewish struggle is Like a childhood joke "your mother and my mother are both mothers, therefore we must be related" Nonsense! The author is comparing the likeness of "gun wounds", though one is self inflicted and the other a result of an assassination attempt. No! No!
(11) Anonymous, July 28, 2016 2:19 PM
Jews of Color Also Matter
This was a good article but it presented Blacks and Jews as two different groups with no overlap. Please don't forget Jews of color, a small but growing group, with the cultural richness discriminatory history of both.
(10) Shelly, July 28, 2016 2:13 PM
BLM=Anti Israel
The black lives matter group has aligned itself with pro-Palestinian groups. As a previous commenter wrote, when Jews march in protest, they do not shout racial slur's toward any group. For example, black lives matter folks shouting "kill the pigs", "fry the bacon", etc. There is hatred towards the Jews because the Jews themselves were victims of hate, not so long ago. But the Jewish people prevailed because education was important as was living the golden rule. When shoes were forbidden entry into universities and schools, they did not protest. They simply build their own. Take accountability and responsibility for yourselves. ALL LIVES MATTER AM YISRAEL CHAI !!!
(9) Ruven Golan, July 28, 2016 2:01 PM
BLM summary
First BLM should advocate blacks stop killing each other
(8) Paul Kessler, July 28, 2016 1:36 PM
Big Difference
I suggest one great flaw in your theory. Compare crime statistics,
blacks at top, Jews at bottom. As much as Jews have suffered and to this day antisemitism a cancer, we continue to do good and contribute to society rather than use as justification or excuse for bad action.
jon, July 28, 2016 1:51 PM
i don't think the author is saying they are the same
he is just drawing some interesting parallels that Jews, especially progressive Jews who clearly support BLM, can use to learn about the Jewish people. That's why this article is on aish.com to begin with
(7) Ari Ben Yosef, July 28, 2016 1:22 PM
Black Lives Don't Matter to BLM
If Black Lives Matter really cared about Black lives they would be speaking out about the only applicable statistic: It would take 40 years for the police to kill as many Black men as were murdered by other Black men in 2012 alone.
(6) Nancy, July 28, 2016 11:41 AM
To Goldy Rosenberg
Admittedly, this is off topic. However, I wanted to say I was glad to see your name here. Your wonderful sister in Lakewood was my very first partner in torah and I think about her often. I hope she and everyone in your family are doing well. I will always appreciate the contribution she made to my Jewish education. Good Shabbos.
(5) YOSEF22ADAR, July 28, 2016 7:59 AM
http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/07/10/the-adl-and-blacklivesmatter/
(4) Bobby5000, July 27, 2016 1:21 PM
Identifying the issues
There are several distinct issues.
1. Benefit of Police Enforcement In the 1970's, New York was a cesspool of violence and drug dealing with lax police. Mayor Guiliani made the city far safer, creating areas of prosperity in Brooklyn and Harlem where abandoned houses were. Dangerous people need to be apprehended as in Ferguson. Not infrequently, police delay and lives are lost as in Orlando and France.
2. Bad policeman That said, there are a number of bad policemen who given power misuse it and cannot control their tempers in tough situations. Traditionally, they made up stories and police "investigators" backed them. Now video shows abuses and the "you didn't see what happened before the camera" is insufficient. Few outside the police community accept that Rodney King needed to be beaten. .
3. Too many stops We need to address crime. White collar crime, scams and schemes are largely ignored. Communities do not focus on dangers but on what enforcement will generate revenue and motorists are frequently pulled over for minor issues creating a potential problem. DWI is enforced because the towns loves the fines. We need to return to punishing danger not generating revenue. .
(3) Goldy Rosenberg, July 26, 2016 4:08 AM
Black Lives Have Been Discounted
Jay Shani - -I don't know where you are fishing out your stats from, but there are myriad research studies showing black and white are not treated equal in the justice system (from governmental sources to private research -- the easiest one to see stark numbers on is the marijuana one which shows whites and blacks having equal use rates, but higher black arrests). Having done disaster recovery work, I was shocked that the same goes for disaster recovery projects and dollars. Color of skin, unfortunately, translated into different recovery dollars for survivors! The same holds true for many of the other things you would take for granted as ought to be equal since all lives matter including public works (how many times streets get paved in any given neighborhood, etc.) The USA must confront its still unequal systems. You know the quintessential statue of justice with her blindfold -- perhaps we should enforce it - make sure that justice, law enforcement, child welfare workers and public planners become color blind somehow someday.
Joseph Marmor, July 28, 2016 1:55 PM
Statistics
Just as you accuse Jay of skewed statistics so must your statistics be skewed so that they reflect your ideas. I am sorry but if blacks can't understand that they will be judged as people with the attached responsibilities it will never be better. This movement cares more about reparations than lives. They are opportunists using their peoples tragedies for personal gain. The people they talk about as being victims are not innocent. Yes there have been abuses and those were and are being prosecuted. I have a better idea don't commit crimes and you will not be treated wrongly. Don't dare abuse "Am Yisrael Chai" with BLM.
(2) Jeff White, July 25, 2016 7:56 PM
wholesale??
So Aslan-Levy is against "adopting the Palestinian narrative wholesale" -- but he shows no sign of adopting it 1%. Instead he adopts the Israeli narrative wholesale. He's just putting a better spin on it than the more candid Israel supporter who posted a racist comment below.
A key part of the Israeli narrative is that Israel is a democracy. But the prime minister of Israel openly asserts that he will never permit a fully independent Palestinian state. That means Judea and Samaria, as Israel calls the West Bank, will remain part of the country for at least another half-century.
In that case, the Israeli policy of granting the vote there only to those inhabitants of non-Arab ancestry can no longer be justified, if it ever could be. How else but through "From Palestine to Ferguson" marches can Israel be pressured to end this racist policy and the murders, land theft and ethnic cleansing it makes possible? If Lebanon or Germany or some other boastful “democracy” were ruling millions of Jews but refusing to grant the vote to all but a token handful, the better to rob them, would you not say a few marches are in order?
Dvirah, July 28, 2016 6:29 PM
Palestinian Statehood
If the Palestinians really wanted an independent state no one - not even Israel - could stop them. If they really wanted their own state they would develope independent resources - it can certainly be done whatever the difficulties - and build an internal economy and establish a civilian infrastructure to replace the miilitary one they have now. Israel could not stop them and wouldn't even try. But the Palestinians have not done any of this, so I can only conclude their claims of wanting independence are spurious.
Mickysolo, July 31, 2016 5:34 PM
Palestinian can vote
Just where did you "learn" that Israelis prevent anyone from voting in Judea and Ssnaria? Such utter nonsense is deplorable. Are you stupid or just playing someone stupid?
(1) Anonymous, July 25, 2016 7:14 PM
No comparison between Jews and black lives matter
Absolutely NO comparison is valid despite the author's words. Jews have never brought about the terror, the suffering that blm has imposed on neighborhoods, on cities, on other humans. In many cities and towns, there are areas OFF-LIMITS to Caucasians because blacks/druggies are in charge. Check out Chicago, south of the Congress Expressway - I won't drive there.