- Sarandon made the remarks at a protest in New York last week amid rising anti-Semitism
- “A lot of people are afraid of being Jewish…(they) have a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country,” she said.
- Muslim American immigrant Asra Nomani rejected his comments on Twitter
- Others compared Sarandon to Jane Fonda, nicknamed Hanoi Jane during the Vietnam War: ‘Hamas has Gaza Susan’
Backlash mounts against actress Susan Sarandon, who says frightened Jews are “getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in America” following the Hamas attack on October 7.
Sarandon made the incendiary remark during a protest in New York in response to a surge in anti-Semitism.
“A lot of people are afraid to be Jewish right now and have a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country,” she said, angering American Jews and others. Others, including Asra Nomani, a Pakistani refugee who responded to Sarandon on Twitter with a list of freedoms she and her parents enjoy in the United States.
Sharing a photo of herself with her parents, Nomani said: “Hi Susan Sarandon, this is my mom, dad and I on the train tracks in Morgantown, West God Virginia. Let me tell you what it means to be Muslim in America.
Speaking at a protest on November 17, Susan Sarandon said America’s frightened Jews are “getting a taste” of what it feels like to be Muslim.
Asra Nomani, a Pakistani refugee, responded to Sarandon on Twitter with a list of freedoms she and her parents enjoy in the United States.
“My father was not forced to become a second-class indentured servant to one of the many tyrants in Muslim countries who use immigrants from India, like my family, as essential slaves… my father got a job as assistant professor of nutrition.
“He was initially rejected for office, but being a Muslim in America meant he had a right like everyone else – his right to appeal and guess what?” He won and became a full professor.
‘My mother? Being a Muslim in America meant she could live FREE with the wind in her hair, as Masih Alinejad is fighting for women in the Muslim nation of Iran to enjoy.
She then described how she was able to freely and safely give birth to a baby out of wedlock in America – which reportedly led to her death in some Muslim countries.
Backlash: anger rises over Sarandon’s remarks
“Where do you think I came to give birth to my baby safely, without shame? West by God Virginia in the United States of America – where we have equal rights as Muslim Americans, not as Americans.
“It’s a ‘taste’ of life for a Muslim family in America. Please do not minimize the experience of American Jews by dismissing the hell that is that of Muslims living in Muslim countries and vilifying America for the lives – and freedoms – it offers to Muslims like my family.
“Go live like a Muslim woman in a Muslim country. You will come back to America and kiss the earth beneath your feet,” she said.
Others compared her comments to those of Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War. Fonda earned the nickname “Hanoi Jane” for her continued condemnation of the American military effort in Vietnam.
She visited the area and posed on top of an anti-aircraft gun, for which she has since apologized.
Jane Fonda sitting on an anti-aircraft gun in Vietnam in 1972. She has since apologized for offending the families of American veterans with the photo and her comments about the war.
‘Good well good. The Vietnam War got Hanoi Jane. Looks like Hamas will have Gaza Susan. She should go visit them,” one critic said.
“Someone please tell actress Susan Sarandon that she can open a nice bottle of wine and celebrate by her private pool – another death of a Jewish grandfather.”
“Hamas, which she proudly supports, has just announced that one of the hundreds of innocent Israelis they kidnapped – 86-year-old Aryeh Zalmanovich – has been killed in captivity.
“Do you like it Susan?” Does this fill your heart with joy? said another.
There has been a sharp increase in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the United States since the October 7 attack and the conflict that followed.
The vast majority of public protests in major cities like New York have been pro-Palestinian, with some participants holding anti-Semitic signs calling for “cleansing the world of Jews.”
At a neo-Nazi rally in Wisconsin this weekend, participants waved huge swastika flags.
There have been grotesque incidents of Islamophobia, including the murder of a six-year-old Muslim boy in his home near Chicago.
His owner had become paranoid that he and his Palestinian family were going to “come after him.”
Sarandon has yet to respond to the growing backlash over his remarks.
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