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Malzberg panel chlo valdary and kristian davis bailey
Chloé Simone Valdary is a pro-Israel political activist and a Zionist. As of 2015, she is a Robert L. Bartley Fellow at the Wall Street Journal.
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Personal life
Valdary grew up in New Orleans, in a family that belonged to the seventh-day Sabbatarian Christian Intercontinental Church of God. As of 2014, she was a senior majoring in International Studies at the University of New Orleans.
Activism
Valdary founded a pro-Israel student group, Allies of Israel, while a student at the University of New Orleans. According to The Times of Israel, Valdary "garnered widespread attention" with an article she wrote in Tablet in which she argued that pro-Palestine activists misappropriate the narrative of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Valdary blogs for the Times of Israel.
Valdary says that she became interested in Israel after viewing Freedom Writers, a 2007 film about a teacher who uses material about the Holocaust to help her inner-city students understand the racism they face in their own lives. She regards Pastor Dumisani Washington of Christians United for Israel and Brooke Goldstein of The Lawfare Project as her mentors in pro-Israel activism.
According to Pennsylvanian State Representative Anthony H. Williams and others, Valdary was subjected to racist attacks by prominent voices in the "anti-Israel" movement who favor Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of the Jewish State. Tikun Olam blogger Richard Silverstein wrote that Valdary (who is African-American) was a “house slave” and that the “Israel Lobby is her Master” while adding that “They finally did it: found a Negro Zionist: Uncle Tom is dancin’ for joy!” Williams sharply criticized Silverstein, stating that "attacks from [Silverstein's] allies are offensive enough, but Silverstein’s racial slurs are beyond the pale" and that "his racist intent with such loaded language could hardly be more clear."
Valdary is also a well known commentator on issues relating to race. In April 2015, Through PragerU, Valdary lectured on the issue of race in a video that garnered over 800,000 views.
Valdary has written articles for The Jewish Press, CAMERA on Campus, The Times of Israel, and Israel National News.