Black-Jewish Relations Intensified And Tested By Current Political Climate

When Jewish couple Mikey Franklin and Sonya Shpilyuk hung a "Black Lives Matter" banner from the window of their condominium, they hoped to voice their solidarity with the social justice movement. Instead, the backlash to their small act of resistance was swift. Two days later, their car was egged and toilet paper was strewn across a tree in front of their property. A handwritten message, carefully spelled out in block letters, admonished Franklin and Shpilyuk for their banner and warned the couple to "enjoy the mayhem." At the bottom of the letter was a yellow Star of David and the word "Jude," German for Jew.

With hate crimes on the rise, old coalitions between blacks and Jews are being rekindled and tested. According to a recent survey by the (ISPU), 57 percent of Jews support Black Lives Matter, the second highest percentage of any faith group following