Women's March leader Linda Sarsour slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) Monday for being a "typical white feminist upholding the patriarchy" in response to a House resolution condemning anti-Semitism.
Sarsour posted the criticism of Pelosi and progressives who support her in a lengthy Facebook post after House Democratic leadership announced plans to vote on a resolution. The four-page resolution, which started circulating to members of Congress on Monday night, is an apparent response to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D., Minn.) anti-Semitic comment on Sunday.
"This is why we wanted Congresswoman Barbara Lee to be the Speaker of the House and 'progressives' were like nah, Pelosi is a leader and omg you should see how she claps. What a clap!" Sarsour wrote on Facebook. "Nancy is a typical white feminist upholding the patriarchy doing the dirty work of powerful white men. God forbid the men are upset - no worries, Nancy to the rescue to stroke their egos."
She went on to claim Democrats are only helping Republicans divide the Democratic Party. They are giving President Donald Trump an "easier path towards 2020," she said.
"I reject this. I will speak out. I won’t be silent. I am not following this. They don’t speak for me as a Democrat. No more double standards," Sarsour said. "You want a resolution? Condemn all forms of bigotry. All forms of bigotry are unacceptable. We won’t let them pin us up against each other. We stand with Representative Ilhan Omar. Our top priority is the safety of our sister and her family."
House Democratic leadership is expected to take action on Thursday, and the resolution will also include language condemning anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Sarsour has her own personal history with anti-Semitism. She and Women's March organizer Tamika Mallory have ties to rabidly anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who blamed "wicked Jews" for trying to use him to criticize Women's March leadership.
Teresa Shook, the founder of the Women's March, called out leaders Bob Bland, Mallory, Sarsour, and Carmen Perez in a November Facebook post. The march leaders have "steered the Movement away from its true course," Shook said.
"I have waited, hoping they would right the ship. But they have not. In opposition to our Unity Principles, they have allowed anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform by their refusal to separate themselves from groups that espouse these racist, hateful beliefs," Shook said.
Sarsour defended Omar last month on Twitter when she was called out for anti-Semitism, saying Republicans wanted to "marginalize prominent voices who dare speak up for Palestinians."
"Marc Lamont Hill, Tamika Mallory, Angela Davis, Michelle Alexander, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar - it’s a pattern," Sarsour tweeted. "End goal of the right is to marginalize prominent voices who dare speak up for Palestinians. They work to make us radioactive. Untouchable. We need to resist."