Chloé Valdary
Chloé Simone Valdary is a pro-Israel political activist and a Zionist.[1][2] As of 2015[update], she is a Robert L. Bartley Fellow at the Wall Street Journal.[3]
Personal life
Valdary grew up in New Orleans, in a family that belonged to the seventh-day Sabbatarian Christian Intercontinental Church of God.[4] As of 2014[update], she was a senior majoring in International Studies at the University of New Orleans.[5]
Activism
Valdary founded a pro-Israel student group, Allies of Israel, while a student at the University of New Orleans.[5][6][7] 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.[4] Valdary blogs for the Times of Israel.[4]
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.[4] She regards Pastor Dumisani Washington of Christians United for Israel and Brooke Goldstein of The Lawfare Project as her mentors in pro-Israel activism.[4]
According to Pennsylvanian State Representative Anthony H. 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 criticized 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."[8][7][9][10]
Valdary is also a well known commentator on issues relating to race. In April of 2015, Through PragerU, Valdary lectured on the issue of race in a video that garnered nearly 800,000 views.[11] [12] [13]
Valdary has written articles for The Jewish Press, CAMERA on Campus, The Times of Israel, and Israel National News.[14]
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.”[4]
- On two-state solution: "Valdary 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."[4]
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.
- ^ JNS (August 18, 2015). "Documentary on Campus Anti-Semitism Draws Big Crowd Near Chicago". Jewish Business News. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g 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.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b Marcus, Lori Levanthal (14 January 2013). "African-American student starts Pro-Israel Group in New Orleans". The Jewish Press. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ^ 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.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl7Q36V9pg4
- ^ http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/28/dont-judge-blacks-differently-black-student-activist-says-black-rioters-should-be-judged-like-other-races-with-no-excuses/
- ^ http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/race-politics-from-the-classroom-to-the-un/
- ^ Chloé Simone Valdary, Biography, Huffington Post.
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.
- Chloe Simone Valdary on Twitter. https://twitter.com/cvaldary