The Chicago chapter of Black Lives Matter (BLM) received considerable criticism this week after posting a message that appears to celebrate the Hamas attack on Israel. The picture posted on social media came as the death toll in the attack reached more than 1,100 and the bodies of 40 murdered infants, some decapitated, were found in southern Israel.
The BLM chapter’s page posted an image of a man with a parachute flying the Palestinian flag with the text “I STAND WITH PALESTINE” underneath. The caption reads “That is all that is it!”
The image of the paraglider was reminiscent of some of the most shocking violence this past weekend. Hamas terrorists flew the parachutes into a peace music festival in southern Israel, killing almost 300 civilians. A further unknown number were taken hostage.
I want every single Jew who marched with Black Lives Matter to take a good look at this. https://t.co/0c4wK6VIe6
— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) October 10, 2023
The same BLM organization’s social media page also posted a number of cartoons on their page blaming Israel for the attack. One said that the current situation “isn’t about Hamas – this is about Palestinians’ right to resist 75 years of Israeli settlers colonizing their native land.”
The BLM chapter’s post received considerable criticism on social media. It was joined by a post by the La Fuerza (The Force) Student Association at California State University in Long Beach, which posted a flier for a “Day of Resistance: Protest for Palestine” on Tuesday. The image shows protesters with a man in a paraglider in the background.
Furthermore, another university organization, Students for Justice in Palestine is planning a National Day of Resistance on Thursday at a number of colleges.
The statement by Black Lives Matter also came after 31 associations tied to Harvard University issued a statement blaming Israel for the attacks by Hamas.
“We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” the letter read.
“Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison,” it continued. “Israeli officials promise to ‘open the gates of hell,’ and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. Palestinians in Gaza have no shelters for refuge and nowhere to escape. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence.”
