Chloe Valdary is an impressive young women. Just 19, and a student of
international relations at the University of New Orleans, she has started a pro-Israel student group on her campus called
Allies of Israel This is particularly remarkable because the University of New Orleans campus has less
than 100 Jewish students.
From the
United With Israel Website:
Chloe is a special young woman, who was raised to believe in
the “notion of walking before G-d in an upright and just manner,” as
well as the principle of speaking the truth, “no matter how unpleasant
it may be to dissenting naysayers.” Also, Chloe was brought up to greatly value the study of history. One of the books in her family’s library is Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews.
As she studied history, Chloe, as an African American woman, saw many
parallels between her own peoples’ history and that of the Jewish
people. According to Chloe, “Both of our peoples were enslaved for
extensive periods of time and so from a historical standpoint, we share
that history. […] The awareness of my history and my people’s history inevitably led me to the point I am at today.” Thus, these ethics that Chloe was raised with are what prepared her to become the pro-Israel activist that she is today.
In response to this brave and articulate young woman, Seattle blogger Richard Silverstein references the most trite and offensive stereotype, posting a despicable comment on his Facebook page "They finally did it: found a Negro Zionist: Uncle Tom is dancin' for joy!"
This is offensive on so many levels. Silverstein's lilting "step 'n fetch it" language is demeaning to all. That he purports to know what the African American community believes- and that he implies that they are of one mind and speak with one voice is condescending. And his implication that Chloe is some how under the "control" of a nefarious "They"- the implied world wide Zionist conspiracy, is again beyond the pale. His abject ignorance of the historic context of African American support for Zion- the historic homeland of the Jewish people (
Bayard Rustin?
Dr. Martin Luther King, anyone?) is appalling
How many people can Richard Silverstein offend in 140 characters or less? That this is a typical pattern of behavior for
Richard Silverstein doesn't make it excusable.
This article, written by Chloe Valdary and originally published in the
Times of Israel is what set off the latest tantrum from Silverstein: Discussing anti-Israel professor Judith Butler, Chloe writes:
Therefore, in the literal sense, Butler indeed
advocates for ethnic cleansing. This is the extrapolation of her
doctrine to its logical conclusion. Cohabitation is her highest moral
order. Even if the people one is cohabiting with want to kill you.
Cohabitation is the ends. Ignoring the facts on the ground, denying a
people their right to an identity, and therefore discriminating against
them, and lying about Palestinian society, these are all the means.
This will inevitably lead to genocide and murder, and therefore, ethnic
cleansing, the exact opposite of what Butler claims to want.
But we who live in the real world filled with
tyrants and dictators who desire to murder and annihilate populations
from off the face of the earth are not duped by the pseudo-intellectual
ramblings of a confused professor who contradicts herself at every turn.
Indeed, we cannot afford to be swayed by her musings. We will not adopt
her inane circular arguments at the expense of our children’s lives. We
recognize anti-Semitism when we see it and it is no less odious when it
comes from a prominent figure in academia.
So in this endeavor for morality and justice,
we, the proud Zionist community of America, rose up. We lit up the phone
lines of the Jewish Museum in New York and demanded that this event be
canceled. We organized on social media, we emailed, we protested. We,
this people, with a history, and a creed, and a culture, and a cause,
which we intend to perpetuate with every fiber of our being, rose up and
affected positive and meaningful change. And we have every intention to
continue this fight for the right to be free.
Typical Silverstein. Faced with intellectual analysis and logic, he responds with crude insults, even expressing his disbelief that Chloe could have written the post herself.
Be strong Chloe. And thank you for your efforts. You inspire multitudes.
UPDATE:
As of this afternoon, Richard Silverstein has removed all traces of this post from his Facebook page. Likely he realized the delicious irony of calling someone else an "Uncle Tom"
