1,000 rabbis call for Sarsour to apologize for anti-Semitic tweets

Linda Sarsour called to apologize for her recent anti-Semitic remarks.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A group of over 1,000 rabbis demanded Thursday that Linda Sarsour apologize for her recent anti-Semitic remarks.

Last Wednesday New York City councilman Kalman Yeger called out Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for her harsh reaction to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at AIPAC’s annual conference earlier in the week.

After Yeger responded to her tweets by calling her an anti-Semite, one of the anti-Israel activists who denounced him wrote, “Brooklyn council member calls Ilhan Omar an anti-Semite. This is the same council member who has repeatedly said that Palestine does not exist and refers to them as ‘so-called Palestinians.’”

“Palestine does not exist,” Yeger tweeted back. “There, I said it again. Also, Congresswoman Omar is an anti-Semite. Said that too. Thanks for following me.”

Sarsour, a self-described Palestinian American feminist activist who is known for her anti-Semitic statements and pro-BDS views, then lashed out at Yeger, an observant Jew, calling him a “blatant bigot” who denies the “existence of an entire people.” She went on to demand a public apology to “Palestinian New Yorkers” as well as Yeger’s removal from the Immigration Committee.

The rabbis of The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), which advocates for classical Jewish ideas and standards in matters of American public policy, came to Yeger’s defense and called for Sarsour to apologize herself for “peddling in anti-Semitic falsehoods.”

“There has never been a country called Palestine,” said Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, Eastern Regional Vice President of the CJV. “Jews have been connected to the land of Israel continuously for 37 centuries. Find a ‘Palestinian’ writer from the 6th, 16th or 19th Century, and you will find a Jew.”

In 1948, the Palestine Post became The Jerusalem Post, he adds. “‘Palestinian Arabs’ are a late 20th Century creation, concocted for the sole purpose of thwarting the national state of the Jewish people.”

But Sarsour’s demand for an apology by Yeger is being backed by top New York officials, including the city comptroller Scott Stringer, who tweeted, “I condemn this irresponsible and divisive rhetoric unequivocally. We will only achieve peace if we acknowledge each other’s inherent dignity. Council member Yeger should apologize now.”

Sarsour tried organizing a protest in front of Yeger’s office on Thursday, which garnered a handful of people, and 200 counter-protesters, who came out to support their councilman. In addition, as reported by Yeshiva World News, since Twitter exploded with the accusations and counter-accusations, Yeger has received threats against himself and his family.

Jewish-Muslim relationsLinda Sarsour