CHICAGO (JTA) — Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour took to Twitter to clarify recent controversial comments she had made about Israel.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Speaking Friday at the annual conference of American Muslims for Palestine in Chicago, Sarsour had criticized progressive Zionists.
“Ask them this, how can you be against white supremacy in America and the idea of being in a state based on race and class, but then you support a state like Israel that is based on supremacy, that is built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else,” she said.
Sarsour is a surrogate for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, and one of the original national organizers of the Women’s March. She has frequently spoken harshly against Israel and its government.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Sarsour said her comments had been referring to Israel’s nation-state law.
“I was specifically referring to the racist argument at the heart of the nation-state law recently passed by the Israeli government – not the Jewish people. I apologize for the confusion,” she wrote.
The controversial law, passed last year, asserts that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, that national self-determination in the State of Israel is “unique to the Jewish people,” and that Hebrew is the state’s language — while Arabic, previously an official language, is now designated as having “a special status in the state.”
THREAD:
Over the weekend, I made comments about Israel that require context to understand. I was specifically referring to the racist argument at the heart of the nation-state law recently passed by the Israeli government – not the Jewish people. I apologize for the confusion.
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) December 3, 2019
In her tweets, Sarsour said that “We need to be consistent and challenge the State of Israel on its system based on valuing one people over another. We are against a supremacist state in America that values race/class over others & we need to be honest in how we speak about Israel.”
She also dismissed criticism against her comments as an “attempt to paint the Left in USA & UK as antisemitic to disrupt potential transformative campaigns & opportunities for true progress for our nations.”
Sarsour’s comments at the conference had drawn criticism on social media, including from Jonathan Greenblatt, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
“She slanders the founders of Israel as supremacists, invoking a centuries-old anti-Semitic trope when she describes them as having believed that Jews are ‘supreme to everybody else,’” Greenblatt wrote Tuesday of Sarsour’s comments.
If she doesn’t want the left to be painted as antisemitic, it would help if she weren’t so damned antisemitic.
If you need to. Karif’s what you said then you said what you really meant dems and satmar are anti Jewish ask pure hell tell you
I finally agree with her. We indeed are superior. How many rockets did Israel send into to civilian populations of “Paliwood” How many suicide bombers did Israel send into Paliwood. How many murderers does Israel keep on their payroll? How many times did the Paliwoods intentionally destroy archeological findings that show jews lived here 1000s of years. etc. etc. etc.
There is not a disease that I don’t wish on her. She has made a career of hating Jews, Israel, and virtually anything associated with us. Now, I haven’t the slightest desire to be liked by her, or respected. Her thoughts about me have zero standing. But she engages in persistent support of anything that demeans and damages Israel, and Jews even outside of Israel. As a supporter of terror, I will daven daily for her demise and elimination. And the leftists who pay attention to her will be secondarily part of my tefilos.
Now for a response to her evil remarks. United States was a country built in an empty land (actually native Americans were here first, but that is a different discussion). It survives on immigration, at least until it got out of hand. The founding principles never identified it as anything but a democracy. It was not intended to be connected with any nationality, religion, etc. Israel was founded to be a Jewish state. Even so, it follows democratic values, and affords citizenship and voting rights. But it has no need to change its primary mission of being a Jewish state. Oh, Linda doesn’t like that. Linda, go to whichever Muslim country you wish, sign up for a suicide mission, get blown up alone before ever getting started, and leave us alone. As long as your foul mouth keeps on inciting terror, we will all wish the worst for you, and your supporters can all follow.
Linda——- It was G-D Almighty who proclaimed numerous times that Israel is the land of the Jewish.the Return has begun. Many honorable Muslims there realize that, and are selling- -even more would if not for the corrupt PLO thugs.
Nobody can stop G-D’s wonderful plan as it unfolds before everyone’s eyes.
Even the adl an arm of the dnc had to condemn you know it’s bad then
Are Yidden & Israel superior to fire bombing, lazy uneducated arabs of course. Just stop and smell the roses. Look what has been accomplished in 71 years of Statehood, a dessert made to bloom, technology that never existed, demand for Israel’s water technology all over the world, a world leader in medicine. Jews, Israelis have contributed to the betterment of humanity the world over. Sarsour you unmitigated piece of shit, wake up and smell the roses all over the beautiful Eretz HaKodesh. You don’t like Israel, then stop using and benefiting from all the advancements that we Yidden have contributed to mankind. Strap on a suicide vest and do the world a favor. If Israel is so bad stop going to Israeli hospitals to be saved.
I cannot imagine why anyone is on Twitter.
A yingele I know loves her tichel. He thinks she is a tzenua