In a powerful display of unity and solidarity, a delegation of Black Rabbis marched in support of Israel in Washington, D.C. on November 14, 2023. We were represented by Chief Rabbi Capers Funnye from Chicago, Rabbi Baruch Yehudah from New York City, and Rabbi Elijah Collins, the first Black rabbi of Ahavas Sholom, who led a busload of his parishioners from Newark, NJ. This event marked a poignant moment where faith, activism, and cultural diversity converged on a shared platform to advocate for peace and justice in the Middle East.

Chief Rabbi Funnye said, “We marched with Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Joshuah Heschel in the 1960s and we continue to march today. The Israelite community that we represent has always stood for justice and against all forms of hatred.”  We advocate for a just peace between Jews and Palestinians. We call for the immediate release of all hostages. And, we pray for the end of this war.

Rabbi Baruch Yehudah made clear, “One does not have to agree with all of Israel’s foreign policy to condemn the murder of innocent civilians. We have been fighting antisemitism all of our lives.” The participation of Black Rabbis simultaneously challenges racist stereotypes about the “whiteness” of Judaism.  The world must acknowledge that this is not a conflict between people of different races: Jews and Palestinians are both Semitic people. We are both descendants of Abraham. We must come to see and love each other as brothers.

Rabbi Collins said that he has been working with Jews, Christians, and Muslims to find the common ground that unites all people.  As he put it, “God chose us to be a ‘light unto the nations’; therefore, in moments of darkness like these, we must let our light shine.”