Jesse Jackson, the American civil-rights leader, former aide to Martin Luther King Jr and a two-time Democratic Party presidential candidate, whose relationship with American Jews was marked by both cooperation and controversy died on Tuesday aged 88.
Jackson rose to national prominence as a protégé of King during the civil rights movement. His political influence grew through his vision of a “rainbow coalition” uniting minorities and disadvantaged Americans. During his 1988 presidential campaign, Jackson urged Democrats to “build a quilt” like his grandmother’s to unite the country, invoking Jerusalem and its Jewish, Christian and Muslim roots as an example of shared heritage.
Jackson’s relationship with the Jewish community, however, was often strained.
Weeks into his first presidential campaign in 1984, Jackson came under intense criticism after referring to New York as “Hymietown” – “hymie” being an offensive term used against against Jewish people – in remarks to reporters that were later published in The Washington Post. Jackson initially denied the comment, but then apologised publicly, including during a visit to a New Hampshire synagogue. The controversy damaged his campaign.
He also faced criticism for initially refusing to distance himself from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who had made repeated antisemitic and anti-Israel statements, during his 1984 campaign. Jackson later called some of Farrakhan’s remarks about Israel “reprehensible”, but Farrakhan continued to express support for Jackson during his second presidential run, causing further rifts with the Jewish community.
Despite the backlash, Jackson’s second presidential campaign in 1988 was more successful. He won 11 primaries and caucuses, at the time becoming the most successful black presidential candidate in US history.
In 1979, before his bid to become president, Jackson met with Palestine Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat in Beirut and called the PLO the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, at a time when the US government did not engage with Arafat.
At other times, Jackson sought to build ties with Jewish communities. He spoke out on behalf of Soviet Jews, raising their plight with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and supported Jewish residents of Skokie, Illinois, during planned neo-Nazi marches in 1978.
In later years, some Jewish leaders worked with Jackson on interfaith and communal issues.
“America has lost a towering pillar of the civil rights movement, and I have lost a cherished friend,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and senior rabbi of the Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, NY, stated.
“For over 30 years, it was my privilege to share an extraordinary relationship with him in working to rebuild the historic alliance between the Black and Jewish communities,” he wrote.
US President Donald Trump, who said he had known Jackson for decades before entering politics, called him “a good man, with lots of personality, grit and ‘street smarts’.”
“He was very gregarious – someone who truly loved people,” Trump stated, adding that he provided office space for Jackson and his non-profit, the Rainbow Push Coalition, in the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street in New York City in the late 1990s. Trump also credited Jackson with supporting criminal justice reform and economic development initiatives.
“Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him,” Trump wrote. “He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences.”
Jackson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the US’s highest civilian honour, in 2000 and transformed his work into a high-profile TV presence.
Controversy followed him at times in his later career, including revelations that he had fathered a child with a staff member and public criticism of Barack Obama. His son, a former Congressman, Jesse Jackson Jr, later served time in prison after pleading guilty to misusing campaign funds.
Jackson announced in 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and had largely withdrawn from public life in recent years. The Rainbow PUSH Coalition said in November that he had been hospitalised.
Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline; six children; and several grandchildren.
“Our father was a servant leader – not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.”
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