Geico, the second-largest car insurance company in the United States, canceled an event with anti-Semitic activist Linda Sarsour after backlash from Jewish groups, the Times of Israel reported Thursday.
"We apologize to our employees, customers, and others for our initial plan to invite Linda Sarsour to speak at our internal event," Geico said in a statement. "Geico does not condone hatred of any kind, and we do not stand for or with anyone who does."
The company had invited Sarsour, who calls herself a pro-Palestinian activist, to speak at a "diversity event" for Middle Eastern North African Heritage Month.
Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign denounced Sarsour, who supports the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. She also has been affiliated with anti-Semitic extremist Louis Farrakhan and once participated in a conference call for his supporters. The left-wing Women's March organization in 2019 forced Sarsour to step down from its board after facing pressure because of her anti-Semitism.
Sarsour has written that "nothing is creepier than Zionism," expressed support for Palestinian terrorists, and compared Zionism to "white supremacy."
Jewish groups blasted Geico for hosting Sarsour.
The far-left speaker's "extensive record of trafficking in incendiary, anti-Semitic comments about the Jewish people and Israel makes her utterly unfit to be the face of Geico's 'diversity and inclusion' campaign," the American Jewish Committee tweeted.
News of Geico canceling the event comes on the same day two people were murdered in the fourth terrorist attack to hit Tel Aviv in just over two weeks.