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Geico Cancels Event with Linda Sarsour after Backlash from Jewish Groups

Geico said it has uninvited Linda Sarsour, an accused antisemite, from speaking at an internal event about diversity after facing scrutiny for the choice.

The insurance giant announced on Thursday that it had canceled the event after Jewish groups denounced the decision to include Sarsour, a former co-chairwoman of the Women’s March who stepped down for her past remarks and relationship with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. She had previously been slated to speak at a Geico event celebrating Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month.

We apologize to our employees, customers, and others for our initial plan to invite Linda Sarsour to speak at our internal event. … On Tuesday, we quickly canceled the event,” the company said in a statement. “Geico does not condone hatred of any kind, and we do not stand for or with anyone who does. We are not aligned with any form of exclusion.”

The controversy was sparked by an email sent out earlier this week sourced from Geico’s “Diversity and Inclusion Planning Center.” The insurance company experienced backlash for the announcement soon after.

The American Jewish Committee, one of the most prominent Jewish organizations in the United States, said that Sarsour’s “extensive record of trafficking in incendiary, antisemitic comments about the Jewish people and Israel makes her utterly unfit” to be part of the diversity and inclusion initiative.

The organization later thanked Geico for canceling Sarsour’s appearance.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, also blasted Geico for the move. He said Sarsour is “a person who peddles in antisemitic tropes while slandering and delegitimizing Israel.”

Another group, StopAntisemitism.org, said it was “horrified” that Geico would pick an “antisemitic bigot” like Sarsour to represent the Middle East and North Africa. Even after Geico canceled the event, the group was looking for answers as to why she was ever involved in the first place.

“Who vetted the initial partnership with Linda Sarsour? Does this mean you have fully cut ties with her?” the group tweeted, among other questions it asked about the decision.

Sarsour has faced intense scrutiny for her past remarks and associations. In 2019, she told an American Muslims for Palestine conference that Israel is built upon Jewish supremacy.

“How can you be against white supremacy in America and the idea of being in a state based on race and class, but then you support a state like Israel that is based on supremacy, that is built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else?” she told students at the event to ask liberal Zionists.

Sarsour has also attended events with Farrakhan, who is a virulent antisemite. In 2018, Teresa Shook, a co-founder of the Women’s March, accused Sarsour and other march officials of steering the Women’s March “away from its true course.”

“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.

The Washington Examiner asked Geico for comment.