Being a Liberal Supporter of Israel at the Women’s March

I.     My Problem With the Women’s March Board

My wife and I had a disagreement a couple of weeks ago. We were going to be going down to San Diego for her grandmother’s birthday on January 20. Prior to the birthday party, my in-laws and a few of the family members were going to go to the Women’s March in downtown San Diego. Obviously my presence was requested. I told my wife that I couldn’t go and to please hear me out.

A little background: I support gender equality, including equal pay for women, the right to choose, and pretty much any other gender equality issue you could come up with. I support the rights of immigrants, LGBT rights. I support racial equality and believe systemic racism to be a significant problem. Basically, when it comes to social issues, I’m a staunch liberal. My wife knows all of this. So why did I not want to go? Linda Sarsour. She is on the Women’s March Board according to their site, as Assistant Treasurer.

Embed from Getty Images

If you read Ms. Sarsour’s bio, you’ll find a lot of nice things said about her. Do you know what’s missing in that bio? What’s missing gives you the answer as to why I told my wife I did not want to march. Ms. Sarsour hates Israel. Hates with a capital “H”. Here’s a sampling of some of Ms. Sarsour’s beliefs as it pertains to Israel:

“Nothing is creepier than Zionism.” –Linda Sarsour (via Twitter)

“I want to make the distinction that while anti-Semitism is something that impacts Jewish Americans, it’s different than anti-black racism or Islamophobia because it’s not systemic. . . Of course, you may experience vandalism or an attack on a synagogue, or maybe on an individual level, but it’s not systemic, and we need to make that distinction.” –Linda Sarsour

“Israel should give free citizenship to US politicians. They are more loyal to Israel than they are to the American people.” –Linda Sarsour (via Twitter)

“Regardless of their feelings toward Israel, Jews and non-Jews alike ‘must commit to dismantling anti-Semitism. The existential threat resides in the White House, and if what you’re reading all day long in the Jewish media is that Linda Sarsour and Minister [Louis] Farrakhan are the existential threats to the Jewish community, something really bad is going to happen and we are going to miss the mark on it.’” –Linda Sarsour [emphasis added . . . because when you’re trying to say you want people to commit to dismantling anti-Semitism and then blame the “Jewish media” and exonorate Louis Farrakhan in the next sentence, you need emphasis.]

“I condemn Assad unequivocally but difference with him and Israel is we (The US) don’t fund Assad to murder Syrians.” –Linda Sarsour (via Twitter)

“BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, of Israel] has been used as a tactic to raise awareness for Palestinian people, including women and their children.” –Linda Sarsour

“‘Is there room for people who support the state of Israel and do not criticize it in the movement?’ There can’t be in feminism. You either stand up for the rights of all women, including Palestinians, or none. There’s just no way around it.” –Linda Sarsour

Despite the above, Ms. Sarsour does have Jewish support. No, really, she does. I’m not one of those Jewish supporters of Linda Sarsour and hopefully you can see why. If not, and women’s rights are your main issue, read that last quote. Now ask yourself why Ms. Sarsour targets Israel and not the other entities and/or nations of the Middle East, including Hamas and Fatah, which rule Gaza and the West Bank respectively. Ask yourself why Israel, the one place in the Middle East that actually promotes equal rights for women, is in the cross-hairs for Ms. Sarsour and the BDS movement.

If you can answer those questions, then you’re smarter than I am. Moreover, it is disgusting that, as justification for the BDS agenda, Ms. Sarsour uses women and children, the same women and children who Hamas uses as human shields. Long story short, I didn’t want to participate in a march that had Ms. Sarsour as a Board member.

II.     The Compromise That Led to My Marching

My wife asked me to consider the fact that the march was about something much larger than one person. She reminded me that the vast majority of the people marching likely don’t even know who Linda Sarsour is or that she is a Board member. My request in return was for my wife to think about what marching for an organization that has Ms. Sarsour as a member meant for us. We took a day and came to a compromise. My wife supports Israel and respects my feelings. I support the Women’s March, absent Sarsour, and what the marchers stand for. And I of course respect my wife and her feelings. So the shirt we had made below was the compromise (sorry, no picture of my wife. She’s a private person).

The shirt was my way of getting a message out that Israel’s values are the same as those of the marchers, myself included. Israel is the lone liberal voice in the Middle East. My compromise was that if the Women’s March Board wants an anti-Israeli voice, then they’ll get me, a pro-Israeli voice, at their march. I did not want to start any trouble. Rather, my intent was to support the ideals of the march and also open a few minds with my shirt.

III.     Experiencing the Women’s March

If you are a liberal or remotely close to being one, you have to go to the Women’s March. I was worried that there would be some tension at the march, whether because of counter-protesters or just because of the mass amount of people angry with President Trump. I was wrong. The atmosphere could not have been more positive. Honestly, it was the first time in as long as I can remember where that many people were all cordial to each other. People smiled, asked each other about their signs, and posed for pictures together. It was a great group of people representing all different ages, races, nations of origin, sexual identities, and needs.

And the signs, oh the signs. The above was my favorite because any time you combine making fun of President Trump with the movie Home Alone, you’ve won me over. And for those doubting that this was a purposeful Home Alone reference, I confirmed it with the sign’s holder.

I mean look at this sign. Find me a better sign on ESPN’s College GameDay. I dare you.

IV.     The Reaction to My Shirt

The reaction was mixed. I got some people who read it and smiled, some who read it and shook their heads. I had one woman ask me to stand still so that she could read it. After she finished, she told me what a great shirt it was. All in all, the reaction was more positive than negative by a healthy margin.

If you’re looking for a negative story from the day, I do have one. I saw two women who were adorned with “Muslims for Peace” paraphernalia and Palestinian flag paraphernalia. I went up to them, told them about my shirt before anything, and asked if I could have a picture with them because I thought the image would be a positive one to show that, even though we disagree strongly as it pertains Israel and the Palestinians, we can still find common ground in other areas and march side by side. One of the women started shaking her head “no” before I finished asking. The other one politely declined, saying that Israel was a “substantive issue” and that she didn’t want to be in the picture. No idea what that means, but I didn’t press her. It was clear that their minds would not be changed. We politely parted ways.

The above-referenced story aside, as a Jewish Democrat, I am happy to report that of the thousands and thousands of people I saw, there were maybe 10 people I saw who were there to protest Israel. Also, my shirt neither pleased nor upset the vast majority of individuals. My wife was right. The march was for something far larger than Israel and the Palestinians. It was about the rights of all human beings. I’m glad I was a part of the march in exactly the way I chose to be a part of it.