GEICO canceled their upcoming event with former Women’s March Inc. leader Linda Sarsour and issued an apology following backlash to the scheduled event.
Stop Antisemitism tweeted out a screenshot they had received of an email sent to GEICO employees on April 5 touting the company’s Diversity and Inclusion event titled “GEICO’s Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month Celebration Featuring Linda Sarsour.” Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt had tweeted that he was “shocked” that GEICO would hold an event with “Sarsour, a person who peddles in antisemitic tropes while slandering and delegitimizing Israel.” As evidence, he pointed to prior reporting from the Journal on how Sarsour said in 2019 that Israel “is built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else.”
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?! pic.twitter.com/rNP7LremqH
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) April 6, 2022
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.
Here’s some background for GEICO: https://t.co/gPr0OKwWxG
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) April 7, 2022
GEICO proceeded to share a statement to Twitter on April 7 announcing that they had canceled the Sarsour event. “We apologize to our employees, customers, and others for our initial plan to invite Linda Sarsour to speak at our internal event celebrating Middle East and North African (MENA) Heritage Month. On Tuesday, we quickly canceled the event.
“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,” they added. “We will continue to celebrate MENA Heritage Month in a way that aligns our values.”
— GEICO (@GEICO) April 7, 2022
Jewish groups celebrated GEICO’s decision to reverse course.
“Glad @Geico heard our concerns and quickly reversed course,” Greenblatt tweeted. “Major companies should not partner with individuals who repeatedly espouse #antisemitic tropes. @ADL welcomes this development.”
Glad @Geico heard our concerns and quickly reversed course. Major companies should not partner with individuals who repeatedly espouse #antisemitic tropes. @ADL welcomes this development. https://t.co/ABQzyDi6py
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) April 7, 2022
The American Jewish Committee tweeted, “Arab American heritage is something all Americans can celebrate. Thank you @Geico for recognizing that you need an appropriate representative to do so.”
Arab American heritage is something all Americans can celebrate.
Thank you @Geico for recognizing that you need an appropriate representative to do so. https://t.co/fJ3GmmC3KR
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) April 7, 2022
Democratic Majority for Israel also tweeted, “Thank you, @GEICO, for reversing your decision. Linda Sarsour has made a series of antisemitic statements and has trafficked in dangerous language. There should be no place for her hateful views.”
Thank you, @GEICO, for reversing your decision. Linda Sarsour has made a series of antisemitic statements and has trafficked in dangerous language. There should be no place for her hateful views. https://t.co/l1YJBJLL4i
— Democratic Majority for Israel (@DemMaj4Israel) April 7, 2022
StandWithUs Israel Executive Director Michael Dickson tweeted, “Many corporations or brands would have doubled-down but you considered the feelings of your customers, reviewed [the] evidence and made the right decision.”
Many corporations or brands would have doubled-down but you considered the feelings of your customers, reviewed them evidence and made the right decision. Well-handled, @GEICO.
— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) April 7, 2022
Ellie Cohanim, former Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, tweeted, “Congratulations to @GEICO! Wonderful to see corporations act like responsible citizens & reject #antisemitism!” Before GEICO announced the cancelation, Cohanim had told the Journal that if GEICO had moved forward with the event it would have signaled “to the world that Jew-hatred doesn’t matter and Jews don’t count.”
Former New York Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who heads Americans Against Antisemitism, praised GEICO for “doing the right thing.” “Let this be a lasting lesson: Linda Sarsour is a shameless racist, antisemite who cannot be cleansed of her hatred without fully repenting,” he tweeted. “Until then, good riddance!”
.@GEICO did the right thing and wasted no time in getting rid of Sarsour’s toxicity.
Let this be a lasting lesson: Linda Sarsour is a shameless racist, antisemite who cannot be cleansed of her hatred without fully repenting.
Until then, good riddance! https://t.co/fUVOnQppwU pic.twitter.com/5AVtI4lO8B
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) April 7, 2022
Stop Antisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez said in a statement to the Journal, “While we appreciate GEICO’s quick response we must ask how this happened in the first place and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. As covered in our 2021 ‘Antisemitism in Corporate America’ report Jews are often erased from [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] initiatives; this incident is amongst many that shows it is imperative Jews have a seat at the equity table.”
