Muslim American activist tells DC pro-Israel rally: ‘I stand before you as a friend of the Jewish people’

Addressing the pro-Israel rally in Washington, Dillard University president Dr. Rochelle Ford proposes that Christians be the support that the Jewish people need, while at the same time despairing over the deaths of the many innocent people.

She harkens to the long history of cooperation between the Black and Jewish communities.

“We must lean into love, be empathetic,” says Ford. As a Black woman with indigenous roots, she says, “We live in fear that the help might not get to the people who need it most.”

She says, “We must help each other to fight the easy and natural urge to give into the blind and natural urge to hate… We stand with you against antisemitism and [for] bringing the hostages home,” says Ford.

Anila Ali, a Pakistani-American Muslim and women’s rights activist, follows Ford, saying, “I stand before you as a friend of the Jewish people.”

“I am here to affirm to my Abrahamic brothers and sisters that you are not alone,” says Ali. Explaining that Islam prohibits all the horrific acts Hamas committed on October 7, she ends her remarks, saying, “Am Yisrael Chai.”