ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA IN THE MEDIA   Ethiopian-Born Ex-‘Miss Israel’ Calls BLM ‘Jew-Haters’ as Mort Klein Did Years Ago Before Reform’s Rabbi Jacobs & Conservatives Blumenthal Attacked Mort for it By Amelie Botbol (OCTOBER 22, 2023 / JNS) The Chicago chapter of Black Lives Matter (BLM) posted an image of a paraglider in mid-flight with a Palestinian flag on Oct. 10. The tweet was perceived by many as a glorification of terrorism and a celebration of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, which left 1,400 people dead, at least 4,100 wounded and more than 200 held hostage in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s first Ethiopian-born beauty queen, Yityish Aynaw, expressed her indignation and disappointment with the organization in a viral Instagram video. “It was an obvious allusion to Hamas terrorists who reached the south [of Israel] with parachutes,” said Aynaw. “With this post, they told the world they were backing Hamas over us. I was in shock. How could an organization that supposedly fights for human rights openly support terrorism the way they did? Shame on you, BLM.” In the video, Aynaw, her hands crossed over her chest, uses the phrase “I can’t breathe,” a reference to the last words uttered by Eric Garner in 2014 after being put on a chokehold by a New York City police officer, which became a BLM rallying cry. The organization has since gained tremendous traction, going from just a hashtag to a largely decentralized international movement with over 40 chapters, a net worth of $42 million and nearly 4 million followers on the main BLM global network Instagram account. “The hate that we are experiencing has nothing to do with supporting Palestinians. We are hated essentially for being what we are: Jews”, said Aynaw. “If Martin Luther King was alive, he would be ashamed of what organizations such as BLM have become: Jew-haters and terrorism supporters.” Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS: “Two and a half years ago, after reading BLM’s charter, in which they refer to Israel as a genocidal apartheid state, I warned that BLM was openly anti-Israel, antisemitic, anti-white and even anti-America.” Prominent Jewish leaders like Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, the CEO of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, have failed to condemn the organization for fear of being ostracized, said Klein. In her video, Aynaw reminds BLM that Israel is the last standing democracy in the Middle East and should be commended, not singled out or isolated, for its actions against Hamas. “Israel is the only one who currently stands between Hamas and the West. We need international support to win this fight and organizations like BLM should not stand in our way,” she said.   CONTINUE READING   DONATE     Share This Email Share This Email Copyright © Zionist Organization of America 2023, All rights reserved. Zionist Organization of America | 633 Third Ave, 31 B, New York, NY 10017 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]