MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MAY 29: Police stand guard following a night of rioting sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 29, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Earlier today, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was taken into custody for Floyd’s death. Chauvin has been accused of kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he pleaded with him about not being able to breathe. Floyd was pronounced dead a short while later. Chauvin and 3 other officers, who were involved in the arrest, were fired from the police department after a video of the arrest was circulated. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) tweeted on May 28 that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) train police officers in the United States to be racist.
The tweet read, “The Israeli military trains US police in racist and repressive policing tactics, which systematically targets Black and Brown bodies. The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are examples of racialized, systematized violence.”
The Israeli military trains US police in racist and repressive policing tactics, which systematically targets Black and Brown bodies. The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are examples of racialized, systematized violence. https://t.co/DJ7T2qh6RL
— #DefendMasaferYatta USCPR (@USCPR_) May 28, 2020
Author Einat Wilf, who formerly served in the Knesset as a Labor Party member, tweeted sarcastically in response, “Ah yes, of-course. Because there is absolutely nothing in American history to explain police brutality against black men. It has to somehow involve Israel. I thought only Palestinians lacked agency, now American cops lack it too — their actions determined by Zionist puppeteers.”
Ah yes, of-course. Because there is absolutely nothing in American history to explain police brutality against black men. It has to somehow involve Israel. I thought only Palestinians lacked agency, now American cops lack it too – their actions determined by Zionist puppeteers. https://t.co/PJoq2Kbv3J
— Dr. Einat Wilf (@EinatWilf) May 29, 2020
Pro-Israel activist Aboud Dandachi, who is also a Syrian refugee in Canada, tweeted, “Then you should be able to point to numerous instances where the Israeli police utilized the very same methods on Arab-Israelis. Hello? Hellooooo? What, no examples at all? Crickets?”
https://twitter.com/abouddandachi/status/1266206911252357120?s=20
Bryan Leib, former national director of the Americans Against Anti-Semitism watchdog, said in a statement to the Journal, “These false accusations by the Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Amnesty International are disgusting and completely false. It’s true that special operations teams in local and state law enforcement like SWAT do train with Israel but the average police officer has never received training from Israel! Will Twitter and Jack Dorsey be ‘fact checking’ these modern day blood libels being spread about Jews?”
According to Jewish Virtual Library, senior U.S. law enforcement officials have received training from the Israeli military on counterterrorism efforts since the 9/11 terror attacks.
The USCPR tweet comes after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin appeared on a video pinning George Floyd, 46, face down on a street by putting his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck on May 25 during an arrest; on video, Floyd can be heard saying several times that he couldn’t breathe. When paramedics arrived, Floyd was unresponsive and later was pronounced dead at a hospital. Chauvin was fired, then arrested on charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter on May 29.
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