Multiple progressive Jewish organizations based in Washington D.C. have announced they will not endorse the upcoming national Women’s March citing the leaders’ anti-Semitism as the reason for their decision.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRCGW) and Zioness — both of whom identify as progressive organizations — cite Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory as the reason for refusing to support the D.C. march. The groups specified that they support the local marches going on in other cities that are not associated with the national organization. (RELATED: LA Times Columnist Dismisses Women’s March Leader’s Anti-Semitism)
Demonstrators protest during the Women’s March along Pennsylvania Avenue January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women’s rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. (JOSHUA LOTT/AFP/Getty Images)
The JCRCGW does not endorse events that take place on Shabbat, which the march will later this month. Despite not even entertaining the idea of endorsing the event as a result of the day it’s being held, they opted to issue a statement explaining that even if the event didn’t fall on Shabbat, they wouldn’t partner with them anyway.
Guila Franklin Siegel, the Associate Director of the JCRCGW, told The Daily Caller:
For us the real addition that we make to the conversation is by clarifying that even if it wasn’t on Shabbat it’s not something that we could officially endorse even though we understand this is a very personal decision for women and that it’s because, and we have to say this, because if we were in Baltimore, or New York or Philadelphia we would be in a very different situation but for us not speaking out about our local march means not speaking out about Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour.
She added, “We’re in a situation where we completely support the message of our local march but attending the march means joining in with a crowd that is going to be led by women whose behavior we find and actions we find unconscionable.”
Siegel also mentioned to TheDC that the National Council for Jewish Women will not endorse the march, but TheDC was unable to independently confirm this.
Zioness, a progressive Zionist organization, has also opted not to support the march. Their stand came almost immediately following a Tablet Magazine investigative report that revealed explicit examples of anti-Semitic comments made during the first meeting between the founders of the march.
Perez and Mallory accosted a Jewish woman in attendance at the planners’ first meeting over an anti-Semitic claim that was pushed by Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan, despite being proven false. (RELATED: REPORT: Women’s March Full Of Anti-Semites, Has Ties To Nation Of Islam)
Both of them and Sarsour have supported Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam despite Farrakhan’s known anti-Semitism. Back in October, Farrakhan compared Jewish people to termites.
LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 21: Women’s March Co-Chairwomen Tamika D. Mallory (L) and Linda Sarsour speak during the Women’s March “Power to the Polls” voter registration tour launch at Sam Boyd Stadium on January 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
They wrote in a Facebook post, “Zioness will not participate in any events associated with Women’s March, Inc. until Sarsour, Mallory, Perez and Bland are removed from leadership.
“We will proudly rally our thousands of unabashedly progressive, unquestionably Zionist activists to participate in marches across the country that have formally disassociated themselves from the national Women’s March, Inc. group,” the post continued.
Zioness released a follow-up on the march asking for their followers “help to ensure that as Jews and Zionists, we have a seat at the table to advocate for the progressive policies we want to see enacted.”
The Women’s March did not respond to The Daily Caller’s request for a comment.