NBA Star, American Israeli Rapper Discuss Black-Jewish Relations

Former NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire and American-Israeli rapper Nissim Black discussed how to bridge the gap between the Black and Jewish communities at a session during the Maccabee Task Force’s (MTF) Virtual Academy on Sept. 13. The session was part of a strategy MTF has pursued to engage Black communities on campus. Outreach strategy has included bringing student leaders from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on trips to Israel.

Stoudemire and Black are Black. Both converted to Judaism and made aliyah. Stoudemire noted that the Black and Jewish communities have post-traumatic stress disorder: with Blacks it’s the slave trade and with Jews it’s the Holocaust. “I think it’s something where both communities are still somewhat recovering from [these atrocities],” Stoudemire said.

Black agreed, noting, “We continue to see racism reshow itself. We continue to see … anti-Semitism daily.”

Black said that for Black people in America, “We have to teach our kids that you can’t go outside with your pants down to the floor and hoodies on.” He also said that Jews may have to deal with “a certain amount of distrust in business” because of Jewish stereotypes.

Stoudemire noted that Jews have 10 tribes “that are somewhat lost or missing.” He has been teaching online, college-level courses through his education platform STAT Academy about the 10 lost tribes of Israel. In his course, he discusses how there originally were 12 tribes when the Jews entered the land of Canaan, and 10 were driven into exile after foreign invasions. He considers Black people to be descended from one of those tribes.

The former NBA standout said learning centers should be built so that descendants of the lost tribes — including Black people — could learn about their connection to the Jewish people. “These ideas are quintessential … so people can understand where everyone stands,” Stoudemire said.

Black called for more dialogue between the two communities, stating that some people feel distrustful of those who are not People of Color and sometimes Jews “blend in” and forget that they’re a minority until an instance of anti-Semitism occurs.

“We have to teach our [Black] kids that you can’t go outside with your pants down to the floor and hoodies on [and Jews may have to deal with] a certain amount of distrust in business” because of Jewish stereotypes. — Nissim Black

He added that it’s important to determine who is willing to find common ground. “Identify your players that are ready to go out there and fight and sit them down and have a dialogue,” he said.

Black also acknowledged that he didn’t know about the Holocaust until he started to learn about Judaism. He also has had conversations with people who don’t know anything about the Atlantic slave trade, and suggested that anti-Semitism and racism stem from a lack of knowledge. “That’s why that dialogue part is so important,” he said, adding that it’s important “to talk about each other’s struggles instead of just our own.”

Stoudemire said that he has spoken with actor Nick Cannon and former NBA star Stephen Jackson after both came under fire in July for anti-Semitic remarks. He said these types of dialogues are important because otherwise “it’s always going to be a situation of confusion.”

He emphasized that dialogue is especially important on college campuses, where anti-Semitism and racism have been a problem. “There’s still an ideology of Palestine being taken advantage of [on campuses],” Stoudemire said. “Obviously people are not very well informed about what’s happening [with the Israel-Palestinian conflict].”

Black said that it was important for people in the Black and Jewish communities to use their platforms on social media. “One of the biggest things … is that more and more people see and recognize that there are different Jews with different views,” he said. “That will sort of reshape that conversation. My thing is to make the most noise as I possibly can to uplift God and the Jewish people.”