U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Fla., recently led a bicameral letter to Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser urging her to rename Black Lives Matter Plaza.
“Since the devastating October 7th terrorist attack against innocent Israelis and Americans, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization has demonstrated support for Hamas, the Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for the violence. BLM chapters across the nation have circulated disturbing anti-semitic rhetoric and images on social media, encouraging the spread of pro-Hamas propaganda,” Rubio’s office noted. “In 2020, following the BLM protests and riots, a plaza directly in front of the White House was renamed the ‘Black Lives Matter Plaza.’ Continuing to honor terrorist sympathizers with a plaza in our nation’s capital is a slap in the face to all Americans, especially Jewish and Israeli Americans.”
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and U.S. Reps. Scott Franklin, R-Fla., John Rutherford, R-Fla., and Michael Waltz, R-Fla., were among the more than 20 Republicans who signed the letter.
The letter is below.
Dear Mayor Bowser:
We write to urge you to immediately rename “Black Lives Matter Plaza” and remove the street painting that reads “Black Lives Matter” due to that movement’s celebration of violent antisemitic terrorism.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, murdering more than 1,300 innocent civilians and taking more than 100 hostages, including American citizens. Shockingly, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement expressed support for the murderers. For instance, the Chicago BLM Chapter posted an image of a Palestinian terrorist paragliding into Israel to kill Jews with the caption, “I stand with Palestine.” Further, the D.C. chapter of BLM posted that Israel is guilty of “apartheid,” while sharing posts that cast doubt on the atrocities that took place on October 7, including the beheading of babies. Moreover, BLM Grassroots, BLM’s main “on the ground assembly of chapters” and the ideological leader of BLM right now, also threw its support behind these murderous attacks.
These posts are meant to delegitimize Israel and rationalize brutal attacks on the Jewish people. It is hard to escape the conclusion that these statements are motivated by an ugly animus against the Jewish people. BLM Grassroots said the Hamas attack “must not be condemned but understood” as resistance to “75 years of settler colonialism and apartheid.” Those 75 years account for the entire existence of the Jewish state.
You stated after the attacks that you “reject terrorism in all its forms” and that “antisemitism has no place in our institutions, our country, our world or our hearts.” We wholeheartedly agree with this statement. We further believe that movements that celebrate violent anti-Semitism should not be honored by the government with a plaza, especially one located directly outside of our nation’s White House.
BLM continues to openly celebrate the antisemitic Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel. This stance is irreconcilable with American values. America must clearly affirm its stance against antisemitism, wherever it appears. We therefore urge you to immediately rename the Black Lives Matter Plaza, to remove the associated street painting in the plaza, and to end the city’s celebration of this terrorist sympathizer group.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Author
