On the day that honors the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., anti-Israel activists have exploited his memory to promote their own political agendas, many of which alienate Jewish Americans. Language long used to demonize Jews is being adopted across a range of ideological movements – contributing to a rise in intimidation, exclusion and attacks against Jewish communities nationwide.
These trends show how King’s legacy is being distorted and abused in contemporary activism to fuel anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and damage the historically strong and collaborative black-Jewish alliance.
Anti-Zionists are hijacking MLK Day events
Organizations that claim the language of civil rights are increasingly using MLK Day to exclude Jews from civic participation.
Alliance San Diego disinvited Rabbi Hanan Leberman, an American-Israeli rabbi who served in an Israeli counterterrorism unit, from giving a benediction blessing at this year’s All Peoples Celebration because of his “Zionist views.” The event’s organizers present their mission as an “inclusive democracy where everyone can participate fully with dignity.”
The San Diego Board of Rabbis and Cantors condemned the decision: “There was never a litmus test for Jewish clergy to speak at this event. This year’s decision sends a message that there are conditions placed on our participation in public life, that our identities must be edited or disavowed to be deemed acceptable.”
Across multiple cities, some anti-Israel activist groups have repurposed MLK Day programming into ideological teach-ins marketed to families with children as young as 6. NYC Educators for Palestine hosted a “Palestine Teach-In.” New York City Public School Alliance president Karen Feldman called the event an “attempt to indoctrinate young people into hating Jews.”
Philadelphia Educators for Palestine, the Students for Justice in Palestine Coalition, Racial Justice Philly and the Asian Arts Initiative promoted a program called “From Philly to Palestine: How Our Struggles Intertwine.” An event flier falsely claimed that U.S. federal aid to Israel is responsible for a lack of state funding for public schools.
These incidents reflect a broader trend in which Jewish participation is increasingly conditioned on political conformity unrelated to the purpose of public commemoration.
Tropes against Jews re-emerge across ideological lines
Black-Jewish alliances were forged in response to shared explicit threats from organized extremist movements. Cooperation during the civil-rights movement in the 1960s emerged in response to violent attacks, discrimination and inflammatory rhetoric against black and Jewish Americans. White supremacists, especially the Ku Klux Klan, were the main instigators. Earlier alliances formed because of threats posed by Nazi and fascist movements in the United States and Europe.
A bomb planted by the KKK severely damaged the administrative offices of the Beth Israel Synagogue in 1967 in Jackson, Miss. The white supremacist group also detonated a bomb in front of the home of the congregation’s rabbi, Dr. Perry Nussbaum, a civil-rights activist. Following the synagogue bombing, the Greater Jackson Clergy Alliance—the first racially integrated association of Protestants, Catholics and Jews in the state—marched in the Walk of Penance to the synagogue to show support. White supremacists bombed and burned down dozens of churches, mainly black churches, in the 1960s.
The same synagogue was recently set on fire by a 19-year-old white attacker. The arsonist intentionally targeted the city’s only synagogue, calling it a “synagogue of Satan.” This language has historically been used by extremists to justify attacks against the Jewish people. In recent years, this vile message has been amplified by Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, as well as Black Hebrew Israelite groups and QAnon conspiracy theorists. Far-right American political commentator Candace Owens has recently spread the phrase.
Local church leaders again offered support to the Jewish community following the arson attack. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, echoed the words of MLK: “We should be even more vigilant and accepting of one another and all that we bring to the table.” Synagogue president Zach Shemper defiantly stated: “We’re still here, and we’re not going anywhere.”
King’s legacy twisted to fit anti-Jewish narratives
Some activists frame hateful conduct against Jews as legitimate political expression, influencing shifts in attitudes among younger black Americans. These activists promote warped views of Jews and Israel. Compared to all Americans, blacks ages 18 to 34 are more likely to say that acts of hate against Jews in the United States are a legitimate form of protest in response to Israel’s two-year war with Hamas in Gaza (36% vs. 23%) and justify Hamas terrorism while condemning Israel’s actions (13% vs. 7%). Black Americans are also slightly more likely to support Christian nationalism (34% vs. 30%).
King’s public record stands in stark contrast to contemporary trends. Following the looting of Jewish stores in New York by blacks in 1964, he responded: “I solemnly pledge to do my utmost to uphold the fair name of the Jews. Not only because we need their friendship, but mainly because bigotry in any form is an affront to us all.
Speaking at the 1968 Rabbinical Assembly Convention just 10 days before he was assassinated on April 4, King powerfully declared:
Points to consider:
1. King’s legacy is being distorted to exclude Jews.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy was rooted in building coalitions, moral courage and shared civic space. Events in his honor now are being perverted to justify excluding Zionists—meaning Jews—from rallies, commemorations and MLK Day events. Alliance San Diego disinvited Rabbi Hanan Leberman from offering a benediction blessing because of his “Zionist views.” Some activists are rewriting King’s legacy to fit their political agendas.
2. Civil rights lose meaning when Jews are silenced.
Civil rights movements depend on the ability of minorities to participate openly as themselves. When Jews are told they must disavow Israel or change their identity to be accepted, they are not merely excluded but silenced. A civil-rights framework that conditions participation on ideological conformity strips Jews of civic voice and undermines the universal principles it claims to uphold.
3. When intimidation replaces persuasion, peaceful protests can become violent.
The civil-rights movement was built on nonviolent protest aimed at moral persuasion, not coercion. Recently, activists have disrupted prayer services, harassed communities and intimidated individuals at public events—chanting support for violence outside two New York City synagogues and storming a Minnesota church. Pastor Jonathan Parnel said “it’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship.” The activists justified their actions as political expression. When protest tactics rely on fear or exclusion rather than conscience and dialogue, they abandon the nonviolent tradition that gave the civil rights movement its moral force.
4. Extremist rhetoric thrives when leaders stay silent.
Social media allows hate, lies and conspiracy theories to spread at lightning speed around the world. Too many community leaders do not answer the call to step up and speak out, a value deeply held and expressed by King. Silence allows conspiracy theories and the demonization of minorities to circulate unchecked. When religious and civic leaders decline to confront hatred directly, extremists interpret inaction as permission. History shows that bigotry rarely fades on its own; it gains strength when those with influence refuse to challenge it.
5. Praying with our feet meant standing together, not pushing Jews out.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel famously described marching with King in Selma, Ala., as “praying with my feet,” highlighting that moral action and shared struggle were inseparable. That vision assumed that Jews belonged fully in the fight for civil rights. When Jews are pushed out of public spaces, the ethic Heschel embodied is not being continued. It is being abandoned.
