Ms. Sarsour is back in the news again, due to The New School’s plan to feature Ms. Sarsour on a panel later this month, that the New York Post aptly described as follows: “It’s the very definition of Orwellian: a panel titled “Anti-Semitism and the Struggle for Justice” that’s actually meant to promote Israel-bashing.” (“The New School’s Fake Panel ‘To Combat Anti-Semitism’,” New York Post, Nov. 19, 2017.) 

While looking into the New School’s Sarsour travesty, we ran across a shocking letter signed by extremist “Jewish leaders” defending Linda Sarsour from purportedly being “falsely maligned, smeared and attacked.”  The letter also states,”We condemn the recent attacks” against Linda Sarsour, “these attacks are dangerous…undermine core Jewish values of compassion, humility and human dignity…we will not stand by as Sarsour is falsely maligned, harassed and smeared…we publicly state our commitment to work alongside her for a more just and equal society.”

The letter’s signers include: HIAS President Mark Hetfield; HIAS Rabbi Jennie Rosen (HIAS receives tens of millions of dollars of government grants to resettle Muslim immigrants in America, and has changed its name from Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society to HIAS, apparently to reflect that they now concentrate on bringing Muslims to America-as opposed to its former mission to bring Jews to America ); J Street leaders Jeremy Ben-Ami, Victor Kovner and Rachel Lerner (this is sadly not surprising: J Street features leaders of the anti-Israel boycott movement (BDS) at J Street’s conferences); and leaders of the New Israel Fund (NIF has funded hostile-to-Israel groups that promote anti-Israel BDS); National Council of Jewish Women; Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; IfNotNow; Open Hillel (a group that demands that college Hillel houses must be “open” to sponsoring anti-Israel events); and similar groups.  Other signers include gay leader Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum (who ironically signed in support of Linda Sarsour despite Sarsour’s hateful anti-feminist-Zionist tweets including her tweet that Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s “vagina should be taken away” and the Arab world’s horrific treatment of gays) and Tony Kushner (who stated “it would have been better if Israel never happened” and writes plays that propagandize against Israel).  

Tellingly, the Jewish extremists’ “letter for Linda” never specifies even a single false smear or attack that Linda Sarsour has purportedly been subjected to. 

And that’s because the condemnation of Linda Sarsour is based on Ms. Sarsour’s own, repeated, vile statements and activities.

As ZOA has previously documented, Sarsour openly supports the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel; opposes the Jewish State of Israel’s right to exist; expresses her unbridled hatred on Twitter with statements such as “Nothing is creepier than Zionism” and “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is a waste of a human being”; posted a photo of a young Arab child with rocks in both his hands approaching Israeli soldiers, and praised this as “the definition of courage”; tweeted in response to the justifiable concerns raised by New York City Council Member Rory Lancman and others “The Zionist trolls are out to play. Bring it.”; and tweeted her support for the intifada.  Intifadas are essentially anti-Semitic pogroms: Palestinian-Arab terrorists murdered and maimed thousands of Jews in the intifadas.  Yet, Sarsour described the intifadas as “invaluable on many fronts.”

Sarsour also recently proudly shared a podium with convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh – who murdered two Jewish college students in a 1969 supermarket bombing in Israel, was a member of designated terrorist group PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), and was being deported for concealing her terrorist crimes on her U.S. immigration forms.  Sarsour said she was “honored to be on this stage with Rasmea.”

Sarsour has also stated that if you are a Zionist, then you cannot be a feminist, which of course is false.  There is no conflict between Zionism and feminism.  Sarsour also demeaned and condemned one of the world’s most courageous and outstanding feminists, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former devout Muslim who has bravely spoken out radical Islam’s role in legitimizing abhorrent practices such as genital mutilation, and who faced death threats for her advocacy.  Sarsour disgustingly tweeted that Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s “vagina should be taken away” and that she does not “deserve” to be a woman.

It is painful indeed to see these Jewish groups use their Jewish platforms to defend and work with Linda Sarsour, a sympathizer to violence against Jewish Israelis, and an unrepentant enemy of Israel and the Jewish people.