Anti-Semitism and the 2019 Women’s March

As we enter 2019, organized protests and demonstrations remain a powerful tool to bring public attention to the wide variety of political and social issues present in the United States and throughout the world. Following in the footsteps of the inaugural Women’s March in 2017, the third Women’s March took place in January, with an estimated total of 650,000 to 735,000 participants across 319 locations in the US. The marches varied in size, ranging from the 200,000 estimated protesters in Los Angeles to 50 in Martha’s Vineyard. As in previous years, these marches were accompanied by dozens of sister marches internationally. These numbers are strikingly lower than the first march, which by conservative estimates drew upwards of 3 million participants. This drop is reflective of a standard trend in political and social movements which have seen lessened participation as they lose media coverage and their spot in popular culture.

However, the controversy surrounding the prevalence of anti-Semitism in the leaders of the Women’s March organization has also caused many protestors and sponsors to reconsider their support. The Women’s March has positioned itself as a central force in the new, supposedly intersectional wave of feminism but has failed to address its indisputable ties to the brazenly anti-Semitic organization Nation of Islam, currently led by Louis Farrakhan. Both Tamika Mallory and Carmen Perez, co-chairs of the Women’s March, have posted on social media praising him despite his long history of anti-Semitic statements, which include calling Hitler a “very great man” and claiming that the “synagogue of Satan” is “deceiving and sending this nation to hell.”

Linda Sarsour, another organizer of the Women’s March, participated in Farrakhan’s 2015 rally alongside Mallory and Perez. Despite ample opportunity to do so, they did not address Farrakhan’s statements until public pressure to do so was revitalized by actress and activist Alyssa Milano’s inquiries into anti-Semitism in the movement. However, this raises a question as to why it took the activism of a non-Jewish woman to get the Women’s March leadership to address an issue that the Jewish community had been rallying against for over a year. Furthermore, the organization’s comments, which were not written by any of the leaders in question, simply stated that they “do not support or endorse” any of the specific comments made by Farrakhan instead of denouncing him or his actions in the slightest. This statement falls short of a true apology and formation of an action plan to become more inclusive of Jewish people in the future.

Within the same statement, the Women’s March said that it is important “to remember that many on the right are thrilled to use any tool they can to divide and undermine our movement,” in reference to the fact that support for their movement is fracturing over their history of anti-Semitic stances.

However, the seemingly harmless comment actively posits the blame on conservatives and undermines the experiences of many Jewish women who encounter anti-Semitism within supposedly liberal and progressive circles. These diversionary tactics insinuate that we should accept anti-Semitism in return for the preservation of the Women’s March movement; this is patronizing and unacceptable. Despite such a lackluster defense of its behavior, the organization continues to tokenize Jewish women on their social media platforms in a futile attempt to prevent criticism and maintain the appearance that they are inclusive. In the run-up to the march this year, they posted an image of a woman holding up a sign which reads “Jews Reject Trump” with the tagline of “Jewish Resistance.” This post drew massive criticism because they used a Jewish woman as a political tool for the benefit of their organization. Minority groups are often tokenized and used as symbols of progress within an organization or movement while they are actively being dehumanized and oppressed.  

This is symbolic of a larger issue: the unwillingness of many progressive and feminist groups to address the underlying anti-Semitism in their ranks. This phenomenon is especially visible on social media, where people will often only uplift the voices of Jews in the direct aftermath of a tragedy that garnered national media coverage. Once the memory of the event has faded from the spotlight, Jewish activists often struggle to bring attention to their experiences, especially due to the prominent viewpoint that the privilege lighter skinned Jews experience minimizes the struggles that they face with antisemitism.  Additionally, the experience of Jewish people during the Women’s March was reflective of the disillusionment of many minority groups who sought to have their voices amplified by the platform of the Women’s March. The march’s leaders have relied upon the tokenization of minority groups to uphold their reputation of inclusivity. We can not fall for the rhetoric that the sacrifice of the inclusion of Jewish people and other minority groups is justified for the greater advancement of women, and we must seek to combat these ideas by actively listening to and amplifying the voices of minority groups within our communities.

by ELIZA STOKES