Women's
March Loses Donor, More Affiliates Over Anti-Semitism Concerns
by IPT News • Dec 26, 2018 at
1:40 pm
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First, two high-profile liberal actors broke from the national Women's March because of a
pattern of anti-Semitism involving march leaders. Then a number of local
Women's March organizers either broke with the group or made it clear that
they operated independently after a Tablet investigation provided detailed accounts of the
anti-Semitism repeatedly exhibited among March leaders Tamika Mallory,
Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez. The story also uncovered some questionable
financial structures established after the leadership pushed other founders
aside.
The National Organization for Women (NOW), perhaps the most prominent
feminist organization in the country, announced Friday that it would no longer provide
financial support to the Women's March "until the current questions
regarding leadership are resolved."
A petition urging March leaders to step down has gathered
more than 8,000 signatures.
NOW is not fully severing ties. It "will participate and organize
members to attend the March" on Jan. 19, the statement said. But the
announcement remains significant as the first major sponsor to cut
financial support.
The controversy took off last spring when Mallory and Sarsour would not condemn an anti-Semitic sermon by Nation of
Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, whom both have praised in the past. Sarsour
followed that up by giving a speech saying the Anti-Defamation League, a
Jewish advocacy group, was liable for police shootings of unarmed black
people in America.
The Tablet investigation described an "organizational
structure ... [involving] complicated financial arrangements, confusing
even to experts."
In early meetings, Mallory and Perez denounced Jewish wealth, the Tablet
reported. Its story said the two women argued that "Jewish people bore
a special collective responsibility as exploiters of black and brown
people." It also indicated that, in addition to supporting
anti-Semitic, anti-gay Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the Women's
March has turned to the Nation to provide security. That means donor money
from groups like NOW might have gone to the Nation of Islam.
The New York Times published an account similar to the Tablet
investigation on Sunday. In trying to claim that she and her colleagues
condemn anti-Semitism, however, Mallory told the paper "white Jews, as
white people, uphold white supremacy" even if "ALL Jews are
targeted by it."
There won't be a march next month in Chicago, which organizers canceled altogether. State marches in Washington and
Rhode Island also broke from the national Women's March, the Chicago
Tribune reported. In Houston, organizers changed their name to
"Houston Women March On."
"We believe no universe exists in which it is acceptable to support
anti-Semitism, racism, or discrimination against LGBT people," a
statement explaining the name change said.
The national Women's March still enjoys support from dozens of sponsors and
partners, including Planned Parenthood, Emily's List, the ACLU, the
Human Rights Campaign, Moveon.org and some prominent unions. NOW's cutting
of financial support may break the ice for others to follow, or they, like
Planned Parenthood, might defiantly continue to align with the march's
problematic leaders.
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