The Women’s March has come under fire in recent months due to its leaders’ handling of allegations of anti-Semitism, with celebrities and activists openly criticizing the organizers’ actions.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, JTAUpdated: JANUARY 15, 2019 19:01WOMEN’S MARCH organizers Carmen Perez, Tamika D. Mallory and Linda Sarsour take the stage during a protest called March for Racial Justice in New York City. (Reuters)(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Democratic National Committee has dropped its partnership in the Women’s March over anti-Semitism concerns, the Jewish News Syndicate reported Tuesday night.The Women’s March, slated for January 19, has come under fire in recent months due to its leaders’ handling of allegations of antisemitism, with celebrities and activists openly criticizing the organizers’ actions.The controversy started when organizer Tamika Mallory attended a speech by, and then praised, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has a long history of making anti-Jewish and homophobic statements. Though the organizers eventually disavowed Farrakhan’s antisemitism, many felt their response took too long and did not go far enough in denouncing him.More recently, a report on Tablet online magazine said that Mallory and fellow organizer Carmen Perez had made antisemitic statements at two Women’s March planning meetings, claims the organizers deny.These complaints are in addition to a series of antisemitic statements made by Women’s March co-chair Linda Sarsour.A number of organizations have dropped out as March sponsors, including the National Council of Jewish Women, the Southern Poverty Law Center and EMILY’s List. Last week, the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a major Reform congregation in New York, announced it was disassociating itself from Women’s March, Inc.Earlier this week, the Women’s March named three Jewish women to its 32-member teering committee.The Jewish members are transgender-rights activist Abby Stein; Union for Reform Judaism staffer April Baskin; and Jewish-diversity activist Yavilah McCoy.Stein, a transgender woman who was formerly hassidic, has worked to raise awareness for transgender people as well as those leaving haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Judaism. Baskin is the former vice president of Audacious Hospitality for the Union for Reform Judaism and a former president of the Jewish Multiracial Network. McCoy is the founder of Ayecha, a Jewish nonprofit that advocates for Jews of color.
