Latin@s, Israel and Palestine: Understanding Anti-Semitism

This article was just published on the web site of the National Institute for Latino Policy, in response to two earlier pieces, one claiming that "Hispanics" are the group most hostile to Israel, the other describing racism in Israel and ending with the assertion that because of what Jews have gone through, Israelis should "know better."

Puerto Rican garment workers, 1953

I am a Puerto Rican Jew, born of Ukrainian Jews fleeing war and repression to become sweatshop organizers in 1910s New York, and landed gentry from Naranjito, turned working class migrants in 1930s Harlem and the Bronx, landing in the same garment shops a generation later. I'm also a lifelong activist historian who embraces complexity and has spent decades building alliances between people who misunderstand each other.

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