In the midst of a global surge of antisemitism, reflections on the 57th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., of the man’s legacy and his support for a secure Israel.
By Jonathan Feldstein
This week, we commemorate the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most iconic figures in American history, known for his tireless fight against injustice and his leadership in the Civil Rights movement. Dr. King’s life and work was rooted in the understanding that all people deserve equal rights, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or background. In the decades since his assassination, while there are many challenges to the full realization of his vision as so well articulated in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, it is commonly accepted that all people deserve equal rights.
While Dr. King is especially well known for his moral clarity regarding Civil Rights, for which he was also honored with a Nobel Peace Prize, less well known are his statements and moral clarity about Israel and the Jewish people. Unfortunately, in the same period that acceptance of universal Civil Rights has become commonplace, there has also been a marked increase in promulgation of denying Israel’s right to exist, and acceptance of an unprecedented rise in antisemitism.
This reality would have deeply disturbed Dr. King today, as noted by his niece Dr. Alveda King on the “Inspiration from Zion” podcast. Alveda King remembers her uncle as a staunch advocate for Israel’s legitimacy, its safety and security, noting his reference to Israel as one of the greatest outposts of democracy in the world, and on behalf of persecuted Jews in the Soviet Union.
Speaking to me on the podcast, Alveda said:
“He also was a strong advocate for Israel. He wrote and spoke about supporting Israel, praying for the peace of Jerusalem. In his own words he says, ‘A no brainer, we have to support Israel.’ He was very clear on his stand.”
As the Civil Rights movement gained momentum, Dr. King found tremendous support and strong allies among American Jews, many of whom joined marches and protests against Jim Crow segregationist laws, and became active in black voter registration and other related causes across the American south. Throughout this time, Dr. King remained committed to his message of love and unity, universal human rights, and nonviolent resistance, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, which became the cornerstone of his activism, guiding peaceful protests against racial discrimination.
Dr. King’s connection to Israel began early and was rooted in his Christian faith. In 1959, King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, traveled to the Middle East, including a visit to the Holy Land. At the time, Israel was a young nation, having gained independence in 1948. Jerusalem was divided with the Jewish and Chrisitan holy sites under Jordanian control. King’s trip came during a period of global interest in Israel’s story of survival and resilience, especially after the Holocaust. For King, a deeply religious man, visiting the Holy Land – where Jesus lived – was a spiritual pilgrimage.
So moved by this trip, King was inspired to follow up by leading a mission of as many as 5000 black Americans to Israel. It’s also believed that in his famous and what would be his final, “Mountaintop speech” the night before he was assassinated, he was referencing Israel and being in Jerusalem.
Dr. King saw parallels between on the one hand the Jewish people’s inspirational struggle for a homeland and the young Jewish state reaching out to newly independent African countries, and on the other hand, black Americans – today African American – in their fight for equality. These parallels of the struggles for freedom, resonated from readings from the Bible’s Book of Exodus relating to the redemption of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.
Both Jews and blacks he believed, were battling for dignity and equality in the face of persecution. In a 1968 speech at the Rabbinical Assembly, ten days before his murder, King was unequivocal in his support for Israel. “Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity.” He understood Israel’s need for safety in a hostile region and supported its right to exist as a Jewish state. At the same time, he called for peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, consistent with his belief in resolving conflicts nonviolently.
Exemplifying the unity between black and Jewish Americans in the Civil Rights movement, many Jewish leaders and activists marched alongside King in places like Selma, Alabama, and worked together on a grassroots level. Dr. King spoke out against antisemitism, recognizing it as a form of hatred that needed to be eradicated. His trip to Israel and his statements reinforced this alliance, showing that his vision for justice extended beyond America’s borders.
Dr. King’s experiences in and support of Israel highlight the global scope of his mission. He saw the struggles of different peoples as interconnected, whether it was black Americans facing Jim Crow laws, or Jews seeking a safe homeland or their freedom from persecution in the USSR.
On December 11, 1966, Dr. King addressed an estimated 50,000 people by phone across the US, lending his moral clarity in support of Soviet Jews. Referring to the three million Jews in the Soviet Union, King said:
“No person of goodwill can stand by as an onlooker while there is a possibility of the complete spiritual and cultural destruction of a once flourishing Jewish community. A denial of human rights anywhere is a threat to the affirmation of human rights everywhere.
“While Jews in Russia may not be physically murdered as they were in Nazi Germany, they are facing every day a kind of spiritual and cultural genocide. Individual Jews may in the main be physically and economically secure in Russia, but the absence of opportunity to associate as Jews in the enjoyment of Jewish culture and religious experience becomes a severe limitation upon an individual.
“These deprivations are a part of a person’s emotional and intellectual life. They determine whether he is fulfilled as a human being. Negroes can well understand and sympathize with this problem. When you are written out of history as a people…you are denied an aspect of your own identity.”
King concluded that “We cannot sit complacently by while our Jewish brothers in the Soviet Union face the possible extinction of their physical and spiritual life.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was more than a civil rights leader; he was a unique global thinker who sought universal justice and whose inimitable voice – and message – is sorely missed.
While one can only speculate today as we mark another anniversary of his assassination, what greater impact he might have had had he lived longer, what we do know is that Dr. King’s vision of a secure Israel and a peaceful Middle East is as relevant today as it was in the 1960s.
- Feature picture:
‘The King and I’. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century and friend of Dr. Martin Luther King who joined the iconic civil rights leader at numerous protests is seen here with King at Arlington National Cemetery, February 6, 1968 (Photo by John C. Goodwin)
About the writer:
Jonathan Feldstein - President of the US based non-profit Genesis123 Foundation whose mission is to build bridges between Jews and Christians – is a freelance writer whose articles appear in The Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Townhall, NorthJersey.com, Algemeiner Jornal, The Jewish Press, major Christian websites and more.
While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves. LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).