In a major blow, The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has joined the long list of groups that have broken with the Women’s March over allegations of anti-Semitism, JNS reported Tuesday, citing Democratic sources.
The move comes a day after Women’s March co-president Tamika Mallory refused to explicitly condemn Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan on the ABC show, The View, in a heated exchange with hosts Sunny Hostin and Meghan McCain, who grilled Mallory about the hate preacher’s anti-Semitic views.
The Women’s March leader was questioned by McCain, who said, “I would never be comfortable supporting someone who (said) … ‘I’m not anti-Semite, I’m anti-termite. It’s the wicked Jews, the false Jews that are promoting lesbianism, homosexuality,” quoting Farrakhan.
“We did not make those remarks,” replied Mallory. “What I will say to you is that I don’t agree with many of Minister Farrakhan’s statements.” Asked about his views about Jewish people, Mallory remarked, “As I said, I don’t agree with many of Minister Farrakhan’s statements.”
“You condemn them?” asked McCain. “I don’t agree with these statements,” replied Mallory, prompting McCain to retort, “You won’t condemn it.”
“We applaud the Democratic National Committee’s decision to withdraw from the Women’s March and take a principled stand against anti-Semitism,” Josh Block, CEO & President of The Israel Project, said. “The group’s national leadership has repeatedly refused to condemn in no uncertain terms Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and his ideology of hate that dehumanizes Jewish people. This is an unacceptable position for an organization that claims to be progressive and inclusive. In an encouraging sign, we have seen more and more organizations break with the Women’s March over their failure to distance themselves from virulent anti-Semitic positions. You cannot defend human rights while singling out Jewish people for discrimination.”
“When will others still associated with the Women’s March national leadership recognize that this is a toxic tie-up, and that people like Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, and others – who took over this march with their own agenda – are not appropriate leaders, but in fact purveyors of intolerance and discrimination who undermine civil discourse,” Block added.
A list of sponsors for the 2019 national Women’s March was published over the weekend and several groups that previously supported the initiative had dropped out of the event, which is set to take place on January 19. The groups that withdrew their support for the national leadership included the Southern Poverty Law Center and Emily’s List, a political action committee that aims to help elect pro-choice Democratic female candidates to office.
Additional sponsors, including the National Council of Jewish Women, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Organization for Women, the Human Rights Campaign, and Greenpeace, were also gone.
The Women’s March leaders Mallory, Linda Sarsour, and Carmen Perez are under intense pressure from local branches of which several have disbanded, defected or distanced themselves from the national leadership over allegations of anti-Semitism.
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