In Meeting with ZOA’s Mort Klein, Rev. Sharpton Agreed to Urge Abbas to End Palestinian’s Pay-to-Murder Jews Policy

Also said he’d talk to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries & Black Caucus about Abbas’ Pay-to-Slay Jews Policy

Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:

Last week, ZOA President Morton Klein met in New York City with longtime African American leader Reverend Al Sharpton, the co-founder of the National Action Network (NAN). (Others attending the meeting were NAN General Counsel Michael Hardy, Esq. and Howard Teich, Esq., who is a Board member of NAN, and of prominent Jewish and other charities. The meeting was cordial, warm and friendly, and lasted almost two hours. After the meeting, Rev. Sharpton posted the following summary and picture on Facebook (and similar statements on twitter and Instagram):

“Meeting at NAN Corporate w/ Morton Klein (National President of Zionist Organization of America) about the Taylor Force Act and his info of what’s going on in the Middle East. I told him after the briefing that I would discuss these issues w/ the Congressional Black Caucus leadership and follow up after their input. I had never heard of this Act. NAN Board member Howard Teich and Atty. Michael Hardy attended the briefing. We also discussed a Middle Eastern trip.”

ZOA President Morton Klein with Rev. Al Sharpton, reading an article on the Taylor Force Act

(L to R) Mort Klein; Michael Hardy, Esq., General Counsel, NAN; Howard Teich, Esq., Board member, NAN; and Rev. Sharpton

After talking about our mutual friends in the Jewish and African American communities such as Black rapper/actor Ice Cube (who strongly condemned antisemitism and praised ZOA’s fighting for Israel and Jews when he spoke at a recent ZOA Gala), we discussed many of the issues in which we’ve both been involved. We felt a strong rapport when we talked about Rev. Sharpton’s Israel trip with Jewish leader and my friend Mort Zuckerman and my work for Black civil and voting rights (helping Blacks to register to vote in the 60’s). Rev. Sharpton also talked about his friendly relationship with leaders of the ADL. I then told him that I grew up in Black neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Almost all of my friends were African Americans: we played ball together; went to movies and walked to school together; and I was regularly in their homes (which had TV sets) almost as much as my own apartment (which had no TV). In talking with Rev. Sharpton about ZOA’s last gala with President Donald Trump, I was proud to tell him that I was introduced at the gala by my dear friend Dr. Kiron Skinner, a top African American government official and professor (former Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department and Taube Professor at Carnegie-Mellon University). I also proudly mentioned my friendship with Dr. W. Delano Meriwether, M.D. (the first African American accepted to Duke University medical school), whom I met when he and I both worked for the Federal Government in Washington, DC. He was the head of the U.S. government flu immunization program, and I was a senior economist working on health policy in the Office of the Secretary of HEW (now HHS). (Remarkably, Dr. Meriwether was also a U.S. Olympics track star.)

Donor Society and National Board Member Zoom Event*

“Arab Terrorism in Israel and The Dangers Posed by a Nuclear Iran”

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MK Dan Illouz

Former Director of ZOA Israel

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

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Founded in 1897, ZOA played a key role in the Jewish State's re-establishment. Today, ZOA is the leading major American Jewish organization courageously defending Israel and the Jewish people; fighting against all forms of antisemitism, including anti-Jewish boycotts; and promoting the Jewish people's lawful right to live in and settle historic Jewish lands. ZOA exposes that a Palestinian state would endanger Israel's existence; presents the facts about the Arab/Islamic war against Israel; and combats the anti-Israel lie that Israel is an "occupier" of her own land. ZOA spearheaded long battles to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and apply civil rights protections to Jewish students. ZOA provides free legal assistance and programs to pro-Israel students at numerous college campuses. ZOA's bold, unapologetic voice has a significant impact on public discourse and policy.

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