A controversy brewing in St. Louis progressive activist circles sheds light on how the anti-Israel movement’s effort to demonize Israel by hijacking the Black Lives Matter agenda is intensifying.
At issue is an offensive poster and cartoon featuring the image of a prominent St. Louis Rabbi Susan Talve. Both were circulated last week on social media by
HandsUp United, a “social justice organization” based in Ferguson, Missouri.
The anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace is supporting the effort to demonize Rabbi Talve, and the vile anti-Israel cartoonist Carlos Latuff has created a cartoon meme that is spreading.
This is all part of an effort to turn Black Lives Matters into an anti-Israel movement, an increasing focus of anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activists.
Targeting St. Louis Rabbi Susan Talve
Rabbi Susan Talve, who leads St. Louis’ Central Reform Congregation, is a
well-known and nationally respected figure in St. Louis’ interfaith community and in the Ferguson protest movement. Last year, she was
named one of America’s most inspiring rabbis by the
Forward.
For years she’s taken a leading progressive position on racial issues in the United States. Since the Michael Brown fatal shooting in Ferguson, just outside St. Louis, in August 2014, she’s also voiced opposition to racial profiling and policing policies at numerous public events.