Need to hold Women’s March supporters accountable
Echoing concerns raised in last week’s cover story, on Jan. 18, in a column by Michelle Goldberg in The New York Times regarding efforts by the Women’s March Inc. to counter adverse publicity about associations by top staff with Louis Farakhan and his anti-Semitic rants, the reader is told, “Leaders of the Women’s March Inc. added three Jewish women to a steering committee” (“Jews torn over Women’s March,” Jan. 17). “Two of the four national chairwomen, Tamica and Mallory Linda Sarsour, met with a group of 13 rabbis after which nine of them encouraged Jews to join this year’s demonstration,” according to the report.
I believe that, in the public interest and especially that of the Jewish community, the names of these individuals should be made public. There is a crying out for accountability of Jewish religious and secular leaders. It seems to me that this would be a good place to start.
There should be an open discussion about associations with known anti-Semites and the appropriate response to it.
LYLE RYTER
Rockville
So many challenges facing the Jewish community
As Jews, we have many problems internally and externally (“Beware anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Israel rhetoric,” Jan. 17). Among external concerns, there are anti-Jewish and anti-Israel groups that include the Ku Klux Klan, the Nation of Islam and many Muslim organizations, as well as professors who encourage the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Internally, we face self-hating Jews who also espouse BDS and those who support the New Israel agenda that wants no wall separating Jewish Israelis from Palestinians.
Jews of Greater Washington, wake up now.
PHILLIP WENDKOS
Silver Spring
