No to Linda Sarsour

May 16, 2017 by Susan Rosenbluth

Dear Friends of Israel and the Jewish People,

Our silence or our action will determine if we are going to witness the institutionalization of anti-Semitism in our beloved New York City.

At this moment, Linda Sarsour, an avowed and unabashed champion of boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel,  is being promoted by the Henry Street Settlement (a historical Jewish institution) as a panelist tomorrow at the Lilian Wald Symposium at the Abrons Art Center entitled “Immigrant New York: The New Majority” (protest on Tuesday, May 16^th from 5:30 – 8 p.m. at 466 Grand St., NYC) and is scheduled to be the commencement speaker at the June 1st graduation ceremony of the City University of New York’s School of Public Health (protest on May 25^th from 12 – 2 p.m. at CUNY Administration offices:  217 E. 42^nd St., Midtown, NYC.)   The Brooklyn-born daughter of Palestinian Arab Muslim immigrants was the Executive Director of the Arab-American Association of New York for ten years before she rose to national prominence and became a leader of the Women’s March on Washington.  She received her cloak of legitimacy from Obama who declared her a “Champion of Change” and invited her to the White House ten times as documented by NYS Assemblyman Dov Hikind and reported by Fern Sidman (Jewish Connection, 5/12/17).  Her shrewd crowdfunding effort to repair two desecrated Jewish cemeteries was an ingenious strategy that disguised her anti-Semitism, endearing herself to many in the Jewish Community who are seemingly oblivious to her operationalization of the classic anti-Israel Arab propaganda : “We love the Jews.  It is Zionism we hate.”

http://nypost.com/2017/04/03/linda-sarsour-nycs-queen-of-hate/

At the forefront of the effort to expose Sarsour’s hatred, are New York City Councilman Rory Lancman, New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, Zionist Organization President Mort Klein, former CUNY Trustee Jeff Wiesenfeld, and Rabbi Zvi Romm of the Lower East Side’s Bialystoker Synagogue.   Assemblyman Hikind reported that on April 2^nd of this year, Sarsour appeared on a Chicago stage with convicted terrorist Rasmea Yousef Odeh (she was responsible for a supermarket bombing in Israel that killed two young men and wounded nine others; Israel released her in a prisoner exchange and she has since been deported from the U.S. for committing fraud), and proclaimed Odeh a hero (Jewish Connection, 5/12/17).   Linda Sarsour recently appeared in a photograph with Salah Sarsour, a former Hamas operative who was convicted by Israel for supporting terrorism (Anti-Defamation League, 3/29/13), at a Conference of the Muslim American Society and the Islamic Circle of North America (Daily Caller, 1/12/17).   Linda Sarsour has acknowledged that members of her family are imprisoned in Israel for providing support to the terrorist organization Hamas (New York Times, 8/8/12).

It is critical that we contact (thanks to Mindy Stein for the contact info) the CUNY officials listed below and tell them:

“We are shocked that CUNY invited the hate-mongerer Linda Sarsour who is an unapologetic supporter of an ideology that condones terrorism designed to ethnically cleanse Israel of all Jews and drive them into the sea by any all means necessary.   She diverts attention from the human rights abuses taking place in Palestinian Arab controlled areas by creating the false perception that she is fighting for women’s rights.   Linda Sarsour claims to be a feminist but, in fact,  has degraded women who disagree with her using vicious and obscene language and has advocated for Shariah Law which condones treating women in a manner that is antithetical to the freedoms women enjoy in this country.   Who was responsible for making this decision that is so offensive to so many in this city?”   (We will say that as alumni of CUNY, we are so ashamed!)

“We were also shocked to find out that the commencement of the CUNY School of Public Health is being held on the major Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Shavuos).”

“We demand that CUNY School of Public Health rescind its invitation to Linda Sarsour and re-schedule its commencement.”

James Milliken,  Chancellor of CUNY, 646-664-9100; fax: 646-664-3868; Chancellor@cuny.edu

Dean Ayman El-Mohandes, 646-364-9771; dean@sph.cuny.edu

Susan Klitzman, Senior Associate Dean for Administration; 646-364-9774; susan. klitzman@sph.cuny.edu

Jim Stimpson, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, 646-364-9773;  Jim.stimpson@sph.cuny.edu

Ashish Joshi, Associate Dean of Students, 646-364-9776, ashish.joshi@sph.cuny.edu

General Inquiries 646-364-9600, info@sph.cuny.edu

Silence is not an option,

Lynne Bursky-Tammam and Nessim Tammam

Yom Hashoah Mobilization Committee

hashoah@hotmail.com