WASHINGTON — The Zionist Organization of America called on New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to retract her praise of Linda Sarsour.
Gillibrand wrote a flattering piece about Sarsour in Time Magazine last week.
Grateful. Honored. Blessed. For every little girl in every corner of this world, this is for you. https://t.co/ui4qAYmqhu #Time100 pic.twitter.com/GKNjo3Vqb8
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) April 20, 2017
“I mean this is truly horrifying that Sen. Gillibrand is praising a woman who has said Muslim women who have criticized parts of Islam, as you know, she said, they must have their vaginas taken away,” ZOA’s Mort Klein told The Daily Caller. (RELATED: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Profiles Linda Sarsour For ‘Time 100’ — Gets Demolished On Twitter)
The Zionist trolls are out to play. Bring it. You will never silence me.
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) October 12, 2015
ZOA sent a letter to not only Gillibrand’s office to make a retraction but also to Gov. Andrew Cuomo over Sarsour’s scheduled commencement speech at the City University of New York. TheDC sent an inquiry to Gillibrand’s office and did not receive a response on the matter.
The definition of courage. #Palestine pic.twitter.com/VchvSQMGCi
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) October 12, 2015
New York Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind told CBS New York , that it is “nuts” a taxpayer-funded institution like CUNY would invite a supporter of Sharia law to speak at their commencement.
“She is someone who associates with radical Islamists; supports them; shows support for them. She is someone who has said, clearly, she thinks throwing rocks at cars in Israel is a good thing,” Hikind said. “I mean, it’s just nuts. It makes no sense. It’s crazy to have this woman be the person who’s going to speak to the students.”
Klein agreed saying Mayor Bill de Blasio’s wife “should not be on the same podium Linda Sarsour –especially in a city that’s one of the biggest Jewish cities in the country.” He added, “It’s the biggest in the country and one of the biggest in the world.”
ZOA plans to send a letter to Mayor de Blasio and his wife to not attend the commencement.
As for CUNY, it has no plans to change its commencement speaker.
“The program has not changed,” Ayman A.E. El-Mohandes, dean of CUNY’s School of Public Health, told CBS News.
The school went on to say that former President Barack Obama advocated for Sarsour as a “champion of change,” and claimed she helped Muslims in St. Louis raise money to repair a recently vandalized Jewish cemetery in the area.