The Women’s March Finally Dumped Linda Sarsour – And Replaced Her With Someone Worse
Image by Getty Images
On Monday, the Women’s March made a shocking announcement: it had cut ties with three of its four founders––Linda Sarsour, Bob Bland, and Tamika Mallory. Sarsour and Mallory had become controversial figures due to allegations of anti-Semitism, including a cozy relationship with rabid anti-Semite and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
Monday’s announcement should have been a turning point for a movement that has been tainted by the recurring strain of anti-Semitism. Instead, in a move both remarkable and disheartening, the Women’s March has managed to find yet another anti-Semitic Muslim woman to serve on its board.
Consider Zahra Billoo, an attorney and the executive director of the San Francisco chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations. Billoo’s hateful and anti-Semitic tweets, particularly in relation to Israel, were brought back into focus when she was “promoted” to board member within the Women’s March.
In a June 2012 tweet, Billoo wrote, “Apartheid Israel kills children as a hobby.”
Apartheid Israel kills children as a hobby.
— Zahra Billoo (@ZahraBilloo) June 23, 2012
In February 2015, Billoo responded to the Obama administration program to counter radical Islamic terrorism in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack by writing, “DHS and FBI should launch CVE [Countering Violent Extremism] programs targeting Israel supporters because Zionism is a very real threat to our national security.”
DHS and FBI should launch CVE programs targeting Israel supporters because Zionism is a very real threat to our national security.
— Zahra Billoo (@ZahraBilloo) February 9, 2015
Billoo also made direct comparisons between the Jewish State of Israel and the terrorist Islamic State, posting on Twitter, “Who has killed, tortured, and imprisoned more people: Apartheid Israel or ISIS?”
Who has killed, tortured, and imprisoned more people: Apartheid Israel or ISIS? pic.twitter.com/y94rDyqV6i
— Zahra Billoo (@ZahraBilloo) September 6, 2016
She disparaged Zionists and even accused the FBI of recruiting for the Islamic State, writing, “I’m more afraid of racist Zionists who support Apartheid Israel than the mentally ill young people the #FBI recruits to join ISIS. #CVE.”
Unfortunately, Billoo’s racist tweets do not stand alone. They seem to reflect the views of most prominent Muslims in America on the Left.
In addition to Sarsour and Billoo, Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan continually step on the anti-Semitic rake. Both have made statements widely interpreted as accusing Jews of dual loyalty. And like Sarsour, both support the controversial movement to boycott Israel, which many view as anti-Semitic in its commitment to delegitimizing the world’s only Jewish state.
And then there’s former Congressman and current Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who was the first Muslim elected to Congress – and also had ties to Farrakhan.
We keep seeing the same archetype — and it’s disheartening, not least because not all Muslims are anti-Semitic.
Why does the Left refuse to promote American Muslim leaders who reject hatred and bigotry in all forms?
It’s a strange and complex question to have to ask of a group that claims to hold the moral high ground on all things, and I won’t presume to answer it here.
What must said now is that we cannot allow anti-Semitism to become normalized in America.
The Left’s apparent alliance with American Muslims who hate Israel and are openly anti-Semitic is doing a great disservice to all Americans, including Americans who are Muslim like me, and is damaging to the fabric of our country.
Decent American Muslims on both sides of the political aisle have spent the last 18 years since the September 11th terrorist attacks working to combat violent extremism within our own communities, and to rebuild bridges with our fellow countrymen and women.
We should continue in this unifying endeavor and firmly reject the unholy Leftist/anti-Semitic alliance.
Siraj Hashmi is a commentary video editor and writer for the Washington Examiner. He previously served as assisting editor for Red Alert Politics and was an associate producer at SiriusXM Radio. You can find him on Twitter @SirajAHashmi.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
