Debunking Myths of Jewish Slave Trade Role
(This is Article 5 of the seven-part series, “Bridges of Liberation: Jewish & African Paths to Freedom.” The full disclaimer regarding the author’s independent views is contained in the preceding article: Article 1: We Want You Back).
We have previously explored the unifying principle of Zionism as Pan-Africanism (Article 1), and detailed the profound Jewish moral contribution to the anti-slavery movement (Article 2). We have established Zionism as an indigenous, reactive, anti-colonial movement, fundamentally identical to Pan-African repatriation efforts (Articles 1–3). We have established that Zionism and Pan-Africanism share the principle of indigenous return (Article 1), and that this alliance must confront all forms of imperialism, including the vast legacy of Muslim/Arab colonialism (Article 4).
Introduction: Bridges of Liberation: Jewish & African Paths to Freedom
Article 1: Bridges of Liberation: We Want You Back
Article 2: Bridges of Liberation: Jewish Contributions to Anti-Slavery
Article 3: Bridges of Liberation: Exodus in African & Jewish Liberation
Article 4: Jewish Support for African Independence
Antisemitic myths falsely portray Jews as dominant in the slave trade, ignoring historical facts and their overrepresentation in abolitionism. As an advocate for Jewish history with publications like Malice, Murder and Manipulation and honors from Poland and Latvia for promoting dialogue on genocide and heritage, I debunk these shadows, highlighting Jews’ moral legacy as a guiding light against bondage, while drawing parallels to modern solidarity.
Myth vs. Reality: Jewish Role in the Trade
Claims of Jewish overinvolvement stem from distortions; Jews were a tiny minority in trade hubs like Liverpool (The owners of the infamous Zong ship were non-Jewish). In the Americas, Jewish slave ownership was minimal and often contextualized by their own marginalization.
To truly understand the history of slavery in Africa, one must confront the reality of the Trans-Saharan and East African slave trades, enterprises overwhelmingly run by Arab and Muslim powers, which spanned centuries and involved the enslavement of millions of Black Africans—long preceding and outlasting the Atlantic trade. By focusing solely on the marginal role of Jewish individuals in one specific, temporary slave route (the Atlantic), anti-Zionists ignore the elephant in the room: the continuous legacy of Muslim imperialism and the far greater role of Black slavers in Africa who sold captives to both Arab and European markets.
The Modern Myth’s Architect: Farrakhan and the NOI
The contemporary canard that Jews were disproportionately slave masters was manufactured and weaponized by Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI). This ideology was codified in the NOI’s publication, The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews—a document widely denounced as an elaborate fabrication of history.
Farrakhan’s entire career has been marked by blatant antisemitism, including referring to Jews as “wicked,” comparing them to termites, and praising Hitler. His influence extends directly into the progressive political space: activists like Linda Sarsour have faced severe scrutiny and criticism for their past associations with Farrakhan and events organized by the NOI.
Mamdani’s anti-Zionism, which insists on tearing down the Jewish state based on the manufactured myth of Jewish “colonialism,” is nothing less than a sophisticated extrapolation of this NOl-spawned hate. By adopting the rhetorical framework born from Farrakhan’s antisemitism—which seeks to delegitimize Jews by assigning them the maximal historical sin—Mamdani acts as a political protégé. He takes the manufactured historical lie and turns it into a present-day political attack, proving his campaign is not rooted in justice, but in rabid antisemitism.
The Lie of the Headlines: The Western obsession with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, far from being a universal sign of justice, is merely a reflection of this antisemitic obsession. The only reason most people in the West pretend to be interested in the Palestinians is because they are really interested in the Jews. Had Israel not been a Jewish state but a Muslim or Buddhist state, the conflict would not have been worth more than a single line at the bottom of the homepage. Since Jews are involved, however, it never leaves the headlines of the world’s papers. Mamdani is cynically playing on this, exploiting his voters’ moral energy for his hate campaign.
True Legacy: Abolitionist Vanguard and the Orwellian Deception
Yet, even from this position of social and political weakness, the Jewish people extended their moral power. Their deep memory of enslavement—codified in the Torah—provided the intellectual firepower for the entire abolitionist movement. Key figures like Granville Sharp and William Wilberforce relied heavily on Jewish scriptural citations to condemn slavery as an offense against God. This same ethical conviction persisted in America, where rabbis like David Einhorn preached vehemently against the practice. This unwavering moral inheritance endures today, fueling Jewish critiques of modern “slave trades,” such as the jihadist conquests currently occurring across Africa.
This is where the Orwellian twist of the greater conspiracy takes hold. The lies fabricated by figures like Farrakhan are not confined to the fringes; they are taken up, refined, and disseminated by antizionist educators—many of whom are funded by foreign states like Qatar (as addressed in Article 4). This system intentionally inverts reality: the Jews, victims of historical enslavement and genocide, are twisted into the “colonial oppressors,” while the perpetrators and funders of real, centuries-long imperialism escape scrutiny. The goal is to make the Big Lie the new truth.
The Hypocrisy of Deconstruction
The anti-Zionist argument, championed by Mamdani, insists that Israel must be “deconstructed” because it is a “colonial project.” Mamdani, however, reserves this deconstructionary fire for the world’s sole Jewish state, exposing the rabid antisemitism that motivates him.
The Colonizer Libel and the Inversion of Reality: The idea that a people who placed the Land of Israel at the center of their entire civilization, religion, and metaphysical system—whose language, prayers, and history are inextricably tied to the land—are somehow alien to that land is absurd. This colonizer libel is a complete inversion of reality; it attempts to erase the indigenous roots confirmed by millennia of continuous presence and non-Jewish historical record. Mamdani’s version of colonization is so broad that it refutes the very fabric of America itself.
If Mamdani truly believes in decolonization, he would be morally obligated to call for the deconstruction of every nation founded on settler conquest, including:
The United States: A state founded on European conquest and the systemic erasure of Native Americans. The American celebration of Thanksgiving—a colonizer holiday—while simultaneously condemning Israel as colonial is the height of cultural and historical hypocrisy.
Spanish America: Every country in Central and South America founded on the Spanish conquest of indigenous empires.
Canada: A country whose very name, derived from the Iroquoian word kanata meaning “village” or “settlement,” signifies an act of settlement that Mamdani deceptively labels as “colonialism” when used by Jews.
The Apartheid Libel: The accusation that Israel practices apartheid remains substantively false. While real limitations exist on Palestinian movement and self-governance in the West Bank, this situation is not the result of inherent racism but of expanding security needs, necessary provisional arrangements dating back to the Oslo Accords, and bilateral diplomatic agreements that were never completed due to antizionist rejectionism. The resemblance to apartheid is therefore superficial—a matter of appearance rather than cause—used as a political weapon.
The most profound hypocrisy lies here: Mamdani’s anti-colonial crusade is a sham. While leaders in countries like Canada and Australia routinely perform land acknowledgments that recognize their land was stolen—a standard Mamdani ignores for the US and other settler states—he singles out Israel as the only illegitimate nation. This selective rage proves it is a pretext for attacking Jews, not a sincere call for universal justice.
This racial hypocrisy is championed by low information demonstrators in America and Canada. These students—historically and factually illiterate—parrot Mamdani’s calls for “decolonization” and the destruction of Israel as a colonial state, yet they never once call for the deconstruction of their own countries, their own homes, or the wealth and privilege they stand upon. They contribute to their own demise, failing to see that the deconstruction of their life and society is the logical extension of the ideology they espouse. They are manipulated by vastly intelligent, nefarious actors like Mamdani, who is himself an utter hypocrite and liar: he demands decolonization while his own non-Black background places him firmly in the settler-colonial class in both Uganda and South Africa. His silence on actual African colonizations and open territorial disputes, including the extreme race-regulated state of South Africa, proves he has zero concern about genuine colonialism; his sole objective is to vilify and attack Israel.
Legacy: Integrity Over Lies
Jews’ anti-slavery role exemplifies human decency, inspiring alliances against oppression. Mamdani’s refusal to apply his anti-colonial logic universally reveals him as a fraud whose attacks on Zionism are profoundly racist, intended solely to delegitimize the sovereign identity of the Jewish people.
