Linda Sarsour, a co-chair of the Women’s March, apologized Tuesday for the group's failure to adequately condemn anti-Semitism. Her apology comes after the original founder of the event called for the resignation of Sarsour and the group’s other leaders over their unwillingness to address their ties to anti-Semitism.
“We should have been faster and clearer in helping people understand our values and our commitment to fighting anti-Semitism. We regret that,” she wrote. “Every member of our movement matters to us — including our incredible Jewish and LGBTQ members. We are deeply sorry for the harm we have caused, but we see you, we love you, and we are fighting with you.”
Please read this statement from @lsarsour on behalf of our organization: https://t.co/SmTfJLG7lp
— Women's March (@womensmarch) November 20, 2018
Notably, she did not explicitly condemn anti-Semitic leader Louis Farrakhan in her statement.
The statement comes after Women’s March founder Teresa Shook called for Women’s March co-chairs Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez to resign their posts over their failure to denounce anti-Semitism and other “hateful, racist rhetoric.”
Sarsour, a Muslim activist, has been criticized for both her ties to Farrakhan and her own comments about Jews and Israel.
Nothing is creepier than Zionism.Challenge racism, #NormalizeJustice. Check out this video by @remroum http://t.co/q282BYT8
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) October 31, 2012
When we write the history of Islam in America, the Nation of #Islam is an integral part of that history.
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) April 28, 2012
Recently Sarsour came under fire for accusing American Jews of dual loyalty to Israel.
Accusing Jews of dual loyalty is one of the oldest and most pernicious antisemitic tropes. No surprise to see it coming from @LSarsour. How long will progressive leaders continue to look the other way in the face of this hate? pic.twitter.com/cY6Mg7KhB4
— AJC (@AJCGlobal) November 16, 2018
In a defiant open letter regarding her ties to Farrakhan Sunday, Sarsour did not condemn him outright, but said that she and Tamika Mallory "have been CLEAR that Minister Farrakhan has said hateful and hurtful things and that he does not align with our Unity Principles of the Women's March that were created by Women of Color. Minister Farrakhan will tell you himself that he does not belong to nor adhere to our progressive movement or yours."
"We are being stripped of our agency when every few months we are asked to condemn the Minister about words that we did not say, nonetheless the words of a man who did not consult us on his words," she continued. "We are being held to standards that no one would hold themselves to."
Women's March Co-chair Tamika Mallory has also faced scrutiny over her attendance at “Saviour’s Day” where Louis Farrakhan said Jews “were responsible for all of this filth and degenerate behavior that Hollywood is putting out, turning men into women and women into men."
She later said that she did not expect her attendance there to be controversial. She did not apologize for her attendance at the event, but said she had “heard the pain” of her friends.