GEICO apologizes after featuring antisemite Linda Sarsour as the public face of Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month

The email dated April 5, 2022, is addressed to a Roger Schartner whose now-deleted LinkedIn profile listed him as an SIU investigator for GEICO.

The email encouraged recipients to "Sign up for GEICO's Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month Celebration Featuring Linda Sarsour," and to "Join the Diversity & Inclusion Planning Center."

The image went viral on Wednesday night on social media.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted, "Shocked a company like @GEICO is reportedly partnering with Linda Sarsour, a person who peddles in antisemitic tropes while slandering and delegitimizing Israel. If true, GEICO must act fast and reverse course."

On Thursday morning, Geico sent out an apology to their employees and customers saying they had canceled the event adding, "Geico does not condone hatered of any kind and we do not stand for or with anyone who does."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement Friday in defense of Sarsour—together with 60 other organizations, many of which including CAIR are regularly critical of the Jewish state and have a history of antisemitc comments—condemning GEICO for canceling Sarsour.

The statement read in part, "GEICO must immediately delete its false, defamatory and unacceptable attack on Linda Sarsour, who has vocally advocated for justice for all people and repeatedly fought against Islamophobia, antisemitism, xenophobia, and all other forms of hatred."

Sarsour herself, responded to GEICO's apology by claiming the change of direction was a "smearing of pro-palestinian voices" and posted on Twitter, "It’s true. @GEICO, without consultation from me, THEIR invited speaker for their DEI initiative capitulated to the usual right wing voices who work every day to silence pro-Palestinian voices. Found out on twitter. Way to say #RamadanMubarak & Happy Arab American Heritage Month!"

Sarsour failed to acknowledge the multiple terrorist attacks that have rocked Israel over the past few weeks.

Antisemitic "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D- MN), supported Sarsour and retweeted criticism against GEICO, yet also failed to address the ongoing terror attacks.

Greenblatt previously said of Sarsour, "She slanders the founders of Israel as supremacists, invoking a centuries-old anti-Semitic trope when she describes them as having believed that Jews are 'supreme to everybody else.'"

He added, "She then compares American Jews’ support for Israel to domestic white supremacy. This is morally offensive and utterly dangerous. Millions of Jews have been murdered in the name of white supremacy, incl. 12 in US last year alone."

At the time of publication, the image in question could not be found on GEICO's website or social media platforms.

Stop Antisemitism tweeted, "We are horrified a respectable company like @GEICO would choose to feature antisemitic bigot @lsarsour to represent the MENA region. Sarsour had to step down from the Women's March due to her open Jew hatred! What was Carl Tims thinking here?!"

Sarsour was ousted from the leadership of the Woman's March in 2019, along with co-founders Tamika Mallory and Mari Lynn "Bob" Bland, after their past antisemitic comments began costing the group financial support and endorsements. Sarsour had also previously praised convicted cop killer Assata Shakur and been a spokesperson for progressive causes.

Despite her rhetoric, Sarsour continues to be part of high-profile Democratic Party events.

The Zionist Organization of America said in a statement 2019 that "Sarsour is the one who stands with terrorists and bigots, including Louis Farrakhan. Sarsour shared a platform with and praised Rasmea Odeh – a Palestinian-Arab terrorist responsible for murdering Jewish students; praised an Arab kid holding rocks to throw at Israelis as 'the definition of courage,' and tweeted her support for the intifada – the knifing, bombing and shooting campaigns in which Palestinian-Arab terrorists murdered and maimed 12,000 Jews."