Black is back at Rambam, with anti-BDS tips

Edwin Black, a man on the frontlines of the battle against the BDS movement, last week returned to Rambam Mesivta in Lawrence for the third year in a row.

Two years ago, Black’s Rambam talk focused on the BDS movement; last year he presented an in-depth analysis of the Farhud, the outbreak of mob violence against Baghdad Jewry in 1941.

This year, he gave practical tips for fighting anti-Israel sentiments on college campuses and the world at large.

Moments into his discourse, a group of Rambam seniors, posing as Black’s confederates, started shouting him down, chanting “Free Palestine” and “Peace Not Apartheid.” Black then presented arguments against those types of claims and focused on the significance of having facts as the strongest weapon against those who protest against Israel.

With his trademark, “Get to the Head of the Class” style of speaking, Black was both entertaining and informative. What’s more, in keeping with Rambam Mesivta’s Mission Statement of “being prepared for the world, not afraid of the world,” he gave the students the materials they need to engage the world and represent the State and Nation of Israel. Black, whose columns have appeared in The Jewish Star, has gained international recognition for his scholarship and his bestselling books, “IBM and The Holocaust,” “Financing the Flames” and “The Farhud.” His work “Financing the Flames” systemically exposed the hypocrisy and nefarious nature of how American dollars are funneled to terrorists and organizations bent on the destruction of Israel. He was one of the first people to expose the New Israel Fund and B’Tzelem as wolves posing as sheep in an effort to destroy Israel from within.

Before addressing the school, Black was introduced by Rabbi Yotav Eliach, Rambam principal and one of the country’s leading Middle East experts. He shared some thoughts with the students as well as a video featuring Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz making the case for Israel.