Making Themselves the Story

How the MSM marginalizes Black pro-Israel voices

L-R IBSI Founder & CEO Dumisani Washington, IBSI COO Valerie Washington, Pastor Donna McDowell, Pastor Lucius McDowell of Agape International Ministries, Inc. in Hampton, GA hosting the Israel Summit 2024: Africa & Black America’s Prophetic Call to Zion, February 2024.

Since the Israel-Hamas war spurred by the events of October 7th, IBSI has been contacted by several mainstream media outlets. Each outlet wanted our comments as Black American Israel supporters. Each journalist expressed the desire to balance the national conversation which is dominated by news like the 1,000 Black (progressive) pastors demanding that the White House force a ceasefire. And, as if each journalist was reading from the same script, every interview descended into an ideological debate. This is because when we answered a question or explained a position with which the journalist disagreed, the journalist would push back or lecture us on our folly. In other words, they were not journalists but activists. Here are three examples.

Journalist No. 1 engaged us in two separate, lengthy phone conversations where we defended Israel’s right to defend itself including waging a military campaign against Hamas in Gaza; stressed that the Israeli army goes to unprecedented lengths to avoid civilian casualties and that Hamas intentionally places women and children in harm’s way; cited historic Black support for Israel which underscored the same principles we were articulating; drew parallels between Hamas attacking Israelis and Boko Haram attacking Nigerian Christians, and much more. We emailed links to articles and academic papers that confirmed everything we said, both out of thoroughness and because we were met with incredulity. Now, some four or five months after those interviews, we can safely assume that there is no article forthcoming.

Journalist No. 2 began the conversation by explaining she was a Black Christian who also supported Israel and that she personally wanted to bring balance to the Israel conversation in the media. That sentiment faded as she focused on “Israel’s illegal occupation of Gaza” and was visibly frustrated that IBSI had a different opinion — which we thought was the point of the interview. We were mistaken.

Journalist No. 2: But Israel controls what goes in and out of Gaza. It’s an occupation.

IBSI: Both Israel and Egypt vigilantly guard their borders with Gaza largely because Hamas, which rules Gaza, is a terrorist organization that has killed Israelis and Egyptians.

Journalist No. 2: You keep saying Hamas rules Gaza. What does that mean? Israel is the one in control.

IBSI: Hamas is a wealthy terrorist organization whose top three leaders are worth over $11 billion and live in luxury in Qatar. Their men in Gaza control all food, water, electricity, gas, medical supplies…they take everything from the people and leave them with the leftovers.

Journalist No. 2: …but Israel…Israel…it sounds like you’re just blaming Hamas for everything.

The conversation further collapsed from there. Journalist No. 2 was convinced that correctly describing Hamas was simply making excuses for Israel. Of course, she could never explain what Israel needed excuses for without repeating Hamas-generated talking points. It seemed to offend her when we refuted Hamas’ disinformation.

Journalist No. 3 had a slight variation of the theme. She listened politely to our position and then wanted to discuss Israeli politics.

Journalist No. 3: You’ve said a lot about Hamas but you haven’t criticized the Israeli government.

IBSI: We criticize Hamas because it’s a terrorist organization that slaughters or otherwise oppresses men, women, and children, including the people of Gaza. There is no comparison between Hamas and the Israeli government. That is absurd.

Journalist No. 3: But what about Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government? And what about the settlements in the West Bank?

IBSI: First, no Israeli political party is a genocidal regime as is Hamas. Next, whether Likud or Yesh Atid, or any other party, the Israeli people are the ones who decide their leaders. IBSI stays out of Israel’s politics and rarely comments on the internal affairs of any foreign nation. We are Americans. We criticize our own government. Further, we do not see settlements in Judea and Samaria as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. Hamas attacked Israeli communities in the south, nowhere near the “settlements” in the West Bank. To Hamas, all of Israel is a “settlement.” All of Israel — Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Galilee — is “the occupation.”

Again, months later, no article was published.

This article is not a list of grievances or some sort of lament about the MSM. Biased media coverage is a fact of life, and the Black community knows this full well. I am sharing IBSI’s experiences for two reasons:

1. To explain what the mainstream media does to Black voices it doesn’t approve of, and

2. To illustrate why one rarely sees Black support for Israel in the MSM

As I shared with each journalist, IBSI has the pleasure of working with or corresponding with nearly 200 Black pastors and community leaders across the country. We host a monthly IBSI Pastors Presents in which we unpack various topics related to Israel and the Black community. We host a weekly Forum on Israel, Africa, & Black America (started last summer) that is now viewed by over 1,000 each Monday at 8 PM Eastern. We also host live events across the country at which a growing number of Black Americans come up to us to thank us for the work we do. Of course, MSM press — even a hit piece — would help us get the word out faster. But IBSI is unconcerned with fast. The work of Black-Jewish/Africa-Israel solidarity must be done with patience and accuracy. There is much knowledge and information that has been intentionally buried by anti-Israel actors. IBSI uncovers the truth and shares it to empower the people. Truth always takes longer to travel than lies, but truth will ultimately stand the test of time. As JoDavi says in We Must Rise, lies will always fall to the ground.