Pro-Palestinian Activist Linda Sarsour Picked To Speak At CUNY Graduation
Linda Sarsour Image by Getty Images
By Aiden Pink April 26, 2017
Muslim-American political activist Linda Sarsour has been selected to deliver the commencement address at the City University of New York’s School of Public Health, drawing criticism from some Jewish leaders.
Sarsour, who is scheduled to speak at CUNY on June 1, was one of the organizers of the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. in January, and helped raise tens of thousands of dollars to repair a vandalized Jewish cemetery in St. Louis. She also is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, once tweeted that “nothing is creepier than Zionism” and said that “people who support the state of Israel and do not criticize it” cannot be part of the feminist movement.
The president of the Zionist Organization of America, Morton Klein, called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to block Sarsour’s invitation to speak, calling her a “a bigot and divider.”
“Sarsour claims to care about bigotry — except when it is directed against Jews,” Klein wrote.
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter at @aidenpink.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
