An American pro-boycott umbrella group has linked the death of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis to Israel, claiming that the IDF trains US officers in ‘racist’ tactics.

Commenting on the death of George Floyd after he was pinned to the ground by a white police officer last week, the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) tweeted to its 51,000 followers on Thursday: “The Israeli military trains US police in racist and repressive policing tactics, which systematically targets black and brown bodies.”

The USCPR, whose "anti-racism principles" including standing "against Zionism as a political system that privileges the rights of Jews over the rights of others", represents hundreds of local advocacy groups across the US. 

Quoting a 2016 Amnesty International article about cooperation between some American law enforcement officials and Israel’s national police, the USCPR tweet appeared to suggest that the deaths of other black people in incidents involving US police were further examples of officers applying racist lessons learnt from the Israelis.

It said: “The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are examples of racialized, systematized violence.”

George Floyd, a 46-year-old unemployed black man, died after he was pinned to the floor by his neck by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25. The death has sparked widespread outrage and prompted riots in cities across the US.   

Former Knesset member Einat Wilf wrote in response to the USCPR tweet: “Ah yes, of course. Because there is absolutely nothing in American history to explain police brutality against black men.

"It has to somehow involve Israel. I thought only Palestinians lacked agency, now American cops lack it too — their actions determined by Zionist puppeteers.”