Is Israel racist? I visited to get the facts straight

THE WRITER visits the 2000-year-old Pilgrimage Road, connecting the Temple Mount from its southwestern corner, to Jerusalem’s southern gates of the time via the Pool of Siloam.

Critics told me that I ought to visit Israel and see with my own eyes how racist the country really is. So I went – twice. Once, in the middle of a war.

When the October 7 attacks happened, my immediate reaction was deep sympathy for Israel. I assumed everyone, including the media, would feel the same way I did. To my surprise, within a day, the narrative throughout the mainstream media flipped. Israel became the bad guy. Many people chose to take the side of the murderers and rapists. Since the terrorist attack, black Americans have been pressured to stand with Hamas under the pretense that Israel is an “apartheid state.”

I am black, Christian, and American. And I unapologetically stand with Israel’s right to defend itself.

I know the truth about Israel, and the truth is that it simply wants to exist in peace. That’s not Hamas’s goal. They’ve stated their goal plainly: to “fight the Jews and kill them.” This is not new – they’ve been saying it since 1988. It’s in their charter. And nothing has changed in 35 years.

Former Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal recently stated in an interview, “We reject the two-state solution; October 7 proved that liberating Palestine from the river to the sea is realistic and has already begun.”

FORMER HAMAS head Khaled Mashaal poses during an interview with Reuters in Qatar, in 2020. During the current war, an Al-Arabiya anchor criticized him for harming Israeli civilians and asked him if he would apologize. (credit: NASEEM ZEITOON/REUTERS)

FORMER HAMAS head Khaled Mashaal poses during an interview with Reuters in Qatar, in 2020. During the current war, an Al-Arabiya anchor criticized him for harming Israeli civilians and asked him if he would apologize. (credit: NASEEM ZEITOON/REUTERS)

Supporters of the terrorist organization have been doing everything within their power to silence me. I’ve received hundreds of hateful messages, including death threats. The vicious, radical trolls of the Internet are accustomed to using fear to keep black people in their place and to control the way we think. I refuse to be sidelined in this fight against propaganda. As someone who has spent the last three years exposing organizations like Black Lives Matter, this fight is nothing new to me.

Throughout 2020, America faced months of domestic terrorism from Marxist groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa. The arson, vandalism, and looting following the death of George Floyd caused billions of dollars in damages – often in predominantly black neighborhoods.

Yet, the black Americans who were adamantly against the mayhem are still scolded, excommunicated, and attacked. Factual research should be enough to free more people from the lies; however, the overpowering media narrative still manipulates many black Americans to side with the terrorists.

A recent TikTok trend even popularized Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America,” with many users sympathizing with the terrorist leader. How can actions so blatantly evil be perceived in a positive light? The answer is simple: propaganda paired with the absence of historical knowledge. That combination is what fueled the flames of Black Lives Matter, turned blind eyes during the Holocaust, and is now fostering support for Hamas.

The voices of black Israelis are being ignored

HAMAS SYMPATHIZERS claim that dark-skinned people are oppressed in Israel, but the black and brown residents of Israel deny any validity in that statement. I met black Americans who love living in Israel. I could see the frustration in their faces when I asked them why people claim that Israel is a racist country.

They weren’t just annoyed by the allegation. They’re upset that false statements are made without the input (and in direct contradiction) of the people actually experiencing life in Israel. The voices of black Israelis and black Jews are often overshadowed by the voices of teenage Americans regurgitating Marxist talking points that they heard on Tiktok, including claims that Israel is an apartheid state – which is an easily debunked lie. The lone Jewish state is one of the most diverse places in the world. They’re prepared to respect anyone who doesn’t want to kill them.

In America, Jews and blacks have stood shoulder to shoulder, from Selma to Chicago, in the quest for black civil rights. And let’s not forget the ultimate sacrifice made by James Chaney (black), Andy Goodman (Jewish), and Michael Schwerner (Jewish) in Mississippi.

These young men lost their lives trying to ensure black Americans’ right to vote. Their deaths weren’t in vain, as they became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Act, a monumental leap forward in our nation’s journey toward equality.

So, when you hear allegations of animosity between Jews and black Americans, or suggestions that Jews in Israel harbor racist attitudes toward black people, you have to question where that’s coming from. It doesn’t add up. Israel itself, born out of the ashes of persecution, has been a beacon of hope, welcoming Jews from around the globe, including tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews and others of African heritage.

It’s important to debunk the false narratives about Israel and racism because we’ve already seen the grave consequences that come with allowing antisemitic propaganda to go rogue.

I watched 47 minutes of recorded video from Hamas’s October 7 massacre. I’ve never seen evil embodied so clearly before. Babies burned alive. Parents murdered in front of their children. Wives raped in front of their husbands. The people of Israel witnessed horrors that would cause most people never to smile again. Yet, propagandists continue to add salt to Israel’s wounds by denying (or even justifying) these horrific acts and shifting the blame to Israel.

Between the Jewish community and my black ancestors, it’s hard to say who has been lied about and lied to more often. Those who stand with Israel will be on the right side of history. My two trips to Israel made that more apparent to me than ever.

The writer is a PragerU personality and Gen Z cultural and political commentator.