Women’s March Once Again Forced To Part Ways With Board Member

The Women’s March was forced to fire their brand new board member Zahra Billoo, mere days after electing her, over her offensive tweets about Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) had called on the Women’s March to condemn the inflammatory statements by Ms. Billoo. “Fair criticism of any government and its policies, including Israel, is an important aspect of democracy. But outright rejecting Jewish nationhood and singling out solely the Jewish state with inflammatory and virulent rhetoric is antisemitic, plain and simple.”

Zahra’s tweets include statements such as “Zionism is the violent ideology responsible for the genocide and displacement of indigenous Palestinians and the destruction of Palestinian land.”

She went farther to describe Zionism as racism in 2015, “I’m more afraid of racist Zionists who support Apartheid Israel than of the mentally ill young people the #FBI recruits to join ISIS.”

I'm more afraid of racist Zionists who support Apartheid Israel than of the mentally ill young people the #FBI recruits to join ISIS. #CVE

— Zahra Billoo (@ZahraBilloo) February 18, 2015

These are but a few of Billoo’s abhorrent statments, as previously reported by VIN.

Women’s March announced Billoo’s dismissal via Twitter on Thursday.

Zahra Billoo has been removed from board membership effective immediately. We found some of her public statements incompatible with the values and mission of the organization. Women's March will continue to build an inclusive and effective movement that holds space for all women.

— Women's March (@womensmarch) September 19, 2019

Meanwhile, Zahra Billoo has made it clear that she stands behind her comments.

In looking at the tweets in question, I acknowledge that I wrote passionately. While I may have phrased some of my content differently today, I stand by my words. 15/

— Zahra Billoo (@ZahraBilloo) September 19, 2019

She then went as far as to claim to be the victim of a smear campaign.

It is not my first time being the target of a smear campaign. The Women's March, Inc., more than any place, is where I would have expected us to be able to have courageous conversations and dive deep into relationship building work. 21/

— Zahra Billoo (@ZahraBilloo) September 19, 2019

The announcement of Billoo’s firing is the latest development amid a PR nightmare for Women’s March, as just days ago they were forced to part ways with their 3 co-founders Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory and Bob Blandstepped, who have themselves been accused of Anti-Semitism.

The Women’s March movement began as a reaction to the election of U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016 as opposition to his positions on women’s rights, as well as on other issues such as LBGTQ rights, racial equality, gender equality, disability rights, the environment and other progressive causes. Millions turned out in marches across America the day after Trump’s inauguration, and the movement has since continued with chapters across the United States and the world, organizing and holding events and rallies, in addition to celebrities and others continuing to speak on the movement’s ideals.