One would have thought the Arab American Association of New York, an organization that receives grants from the city treasury, would have drawn some inquiry after its executive director, Linda Sarsour, tweeted a photo of a young Palestinian boy holding rocks in his hands as he faced Israeli soldiers. She labeled the picture “the definition of courage” and later responded to criticism from an elected official by tweeting “Zionist trolls are out to play. Bring it on. You will never silence me.”
Except for some notable exceptions, however, the episode seems largely to have faded from the public’s radar screen. Certainly we have seen nothing to suggest the City Council is reconsidering its support of an organization whose director champions life-threatening activities on the part of children.
The controversy began after Ms. Sarsour tweeted the aforementioned picture with the “definition of courage” tagline. She was taken to task by Queens Councilman Rory Lancman, who countered with “No, the definition of barbarism.” Brooklyn Councilman Carlos Menchaca then expressed his support for Ms. Sarsour on both Facebook and Twitter with the words “I’m with you, my sister!”
New York State Senator Simcha Felder said that while Ms. Sarsour’s comments appear to be directed at “Zionists,” the “whole separation of Zionism from anti-Semitism is a creation of our enemies. For anyone to think for one minute that this woman loves Jews but hates Zionists, they have to be out of their mind.”
New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind noted that “When you pick up a rock and you throw it, which happens on a regular basis, you are potentially endangering the lives of people and causing death, which has happened.”
Mr. Hikind added that he “would hope that Councilman Menchaca would take a look at what he is saying. It is insane to take that position, because when you encourage people and in any way defend that kind of behavior then you become complicit in the acts that are being carried out.”
To be sure, Ms. Sarsour is a bit player in the larger scheme of things. Nevertheless, one can be reasonably sure that had any other ethnic or religious group been the target of Ms. Sarsour’s vitriol, we would not yet have heard the end of it.
