She truly is shameless: in a podcast interview with liberal political commentator Sally Kohn, faux feminist Linda Sarsour flat-out lied when confronted with a question about whether you can be a Zionist and a feminist. The relevant part is from 14:00.
Note how Sarsour does not directly answer the question. She should have said “no” – because that is her position as she has articulated in a now infamous interview with The Nation.
Can You Be a Zionist Feminist? Linda Sarsour Says No
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In her op-ed, Emily Shire asks, “why should criticism of Israel be key to feminism in 2017?” I think she was being a bit flip there, but I’d love if you can answer her question in earnest.
I was quite surprised and disturbed by her piece. When you talk about feminism you’re talking about the rights of all women and their families to live in dignity, peace, and security. It’s about giving women access to health care and other basic rights. And Israel is a country that continues to occupy territories in Palestine, has people under siege at checkpoints—we have women who have babies on checkpoints because they’re not able to get to hospitals [in time]. It just doesn’t make any sense for someone to say, “Is there room for people who support the state of Israel and do not criticize it in the movement?” There can’t be in feminism. You either stand up for the rights of all women, including Palestinians, or none.There’s just no way around it.
She then suggests that she does not come to the movement and tell people to accept her as a palestinian, but rather has only brought that up after people ask. This is also false. She wastes no opportunity in shoving the fact that she is palestinian in everyone’s face at all movement rallies. For example, see here. Note not just what she says but what she is wearing.
And again, her interview with The Nation was all about how feminists need to criticize Israel about how we treat palestinians. How is that not about placing conditions and not making the palestinian issue first and foremost?
Her accusation that pro-Israel people are not in social justice movements is also patently false. In fact, the exact opposite is true – they are increasingly excluded for being pro-Israel. Take the Chicago Dyke march for example, where Jews were excluded because they carried flags with the Star of David.
She asks pro-Israel organizations where are you on the killing of unarmed Black people? Well, Linda, take the ADL for example.
At the same time, we also know that many of the concerns raised by participants in the Black Lives Matter movement are critical civil rights issues that merit attention. Police brutality, mass incarceration, racial profiling and the school-to-prison pipeline are legitimate topics of discussion both in an educational setting and in the larger community. That is why we have developed educational materials that encourage critical thinking skills among students tied to these and other current events. And it is why we continue to collaborate with other civil rights groups, law enforcement and government officials to address these societal issues.
In perhaps her worst gaffe, she admits that Zionism is that “Jews deserve self-determination and a safe homeland, right? Who doesn’t believe that? I think all of us can agree about that.” So why does she continue to try exclude Zionists? And why does she continue to compare us to White supremacists?
So Linda, cut the bovine excrement. Some of us are following what you say, and finding it rather easy to see where you are lying.
