Chloé Valdary
Chloé Simone Valdary is a pro-Israel political activist and a Zionist.[1][2]
Personal life
Valdary grew up in New Orleans, in a family that belonged to the seventh-day Sabbatarian Christian Intercontinental Church of God.[3] As of 2014, she was a senior majoring in International Studies at the University of New Orleans.[4]
Activism
Valdary founded a pro-Israel student group, Allies of Israel, while a student at the University of New Orleans.[4][5][6] According to The Times of Israel, Valdary "garnered widespread attention" with an article she wrote in Tablet in which she argued that pro-Palestine activists misappropriate the narrative of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.[3] Valdery blogs for the Times of Israel.[3]
Valdary says that she became interested in Israel after viewing Freedom Writers, a 2007 film about a teacher who uses material about the Holocaust to help her inner-city students understand the racism they face in their own lives.[3] She regards Pastor Dumisani Washington of Christians United for Israel and Brooke Goldstein of The Lawfare Project as her mentors in pro-Israel activism.[3]
According to Pennsylvanian State Representative Anthony Hardy Williams and others, Valdary was subjected to racist attacks by prominent voices in the "anti-Israel" movement who favor Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of the Jewish State. Tikun Olam blogger Richard Silverstein wrote that Valdary (who is African-American) was a “house slave” and that the “Israel Lobby is her Master” while adding that “They finally did it: found a Negro Zionist: Uncle Tom is dancin’ for joy!” Williams sharply Silverstein, stating that "attacks from [Silverstein's] allies are offensive enough, but Silverstein’s racial slurs are beyond the pale" and that "his racist intent with such loaded language could hardly be more clear."[7][6][8][9]
Valdary was also criticized by Max Blumenthal, who described her as “beyond sickening” and “irrationally hateful” and a “non-Jew” who represents “the future of Zionism.”[7]
Valdary has written articles for The Jewish Press, CAMERA on Campus, The Times of Israel, and Israel National News.[10]
Political views
- On racism in Israel: “Israeli society, like any other society, has issues with discrimination, but in terms of systematic discrimination, like apartheid in Africa or Jim Crow, that does not exist in Israeli society.”[3]
- On two-state solution: "Valdery opposes a two-state solution, favoring a 'Jewish one-state solution' in which all citizens in Israel and its territories can vote, but 'the culture, the personality' of Israel is Jewish."[3]
External Links
- Chloe Simone Valdary: Freedom Fighter, Zionist, African American, interview with Sheryl Kay, Communities Digital News, July 14, 2014.
- Dear J Street: Time to End the Hypocrisy by Chloé Valdary, Jewish Press May 9th, 2014.
References
- ↑ Fattal, Isabel (29 October 2014). "Why African-American Firebrand Chloe Valdary Wants To Ignite a Zionist Renaissance". Tablet. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ↑ "British MPs Vote to Recognize Palestine". PJ Media. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Weiss, Anthony; Moster, Miriam (9 September 2014). "Chloe Valdary: Christian, black, rising star of pro-Israel campus activism". Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Chloé Valdary". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ↑ "Non-Jewish New Orleans University Sophomore Creates “Allies for Israel”". The Algemeiner. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Marcus, Lori Levanthal (14 January 2013). "African-American student starts Pro-Israel Group in New Orleans". The Jewish Press. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Williams, Anthony (11 April 2014). "The Racism of the Israel Bashers". New York Post. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ↑ Stand with Chloé Simone Valdary by William A. Jacobson Legal Insurrection, Sunday, April 13, 2014.
- ↑ Civil Rights Leader Accuses ‘Israel Bashers’ of Racism by Shiryn Ghermezian, Algemeiner Journal, April 13, 2014.
- ↑ Chloé Simone Valdary, Biography, Huffington Post.