Criticism is mounting against actress Susan Sarandon as she says scared Jews are getting “a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim in America” in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack.
Sarandon made the inflammatory comment during a protest in New York on November 17 in response to an upsurge in anti-Semitism.
“There are a lot of people who are afraid of being Jewish right now, and they’re getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim in this country,” she said, angering Jewish Americans and others, including Asra Nomani, a Pakistani refugee who responded to Sarandon on Twitter with a list of the freedoms she and her parents enjoy in the US.
Nomani shared a photo of herself with her parents and said, “Hi Susan Sarandon, this is my mom, my dad and I on the trail in Morgantown, West by God Virginia. Let me tell you what it means to be Muslim in America.
Sarandon made the inflammatory comment during a protest in New York on November 17 in response to an upsurge in anti-Semitism. “There are a lot of people right now who are afraid to be Jewish, and they’re getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim in this country,” she said.
Asra Nomani, a Pakistani refugee, responded to Sarandon on Twitter with a list of the freedoms she and her parents enjoy in the US.
“My father did not have to become a second-class indentured servant to one of the many tyrants of Muslim countries who use immigrants from India, like my family, as essential slaves… my father got a job as an assistant professor of nutrition.
“He was rejected at first because of his tenure, but because he was a Muslim in America, he was given a right like everyone else: his right to appeal and guess what? He won and became a professor.
‘My mother? Being a Muslim in America meant she could live FREELY with the wind in her hair, like Masih Alinejad fighting for women in the Muslim country of Iran to enjoy.”
She went on to describe how she was able to safely and freely give birth to a baby out of wedlock in America – something that would have led to her death in some Muslim countries.
Response: There is growing anger over Sarandon’s comments
‘Where do you think I came to give birth to my baby safely and without shame? West by God Virginia in the United States of America – where we enjoy equal rights as Muslim Americans, not Americans.
“This is a taste of life for a Muslim family in America. Please do not minimize the experience of Jewish Americans by purging the hell that it is for Muslims living in Muslim countries and vilifying America for the life – and freedoms – it provides to Muslims like my family.
‘Go, live as a Muslim woman in a Muslim country. You come back to America and kiss the land beneath your feet,” she said.
Others compared her comments to those of Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War. Fonda was nicknamed ‘Hanoi Jane’ because of her continued condemnation of the US military efforts in Vietnam.
She traveled to the region and posed atop an anti-aircraft gun, something she has since apologized for.
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
‘Now now now. The Vietnam War had Hanoi Jane. It looks like Hamas Gaza will have Susan. She should go visit them,” said one critic.
“Someone please let actress Susan Sarandon know that she can open a good bottle of wine and celebrate another Jewish grandfather’s death by her private pool.
“Hamas, which it proudly supports, has just announced that one of the hundreds of innocent Israelis it kidnapped – 86-year-old Aryeh Zalmanovich – has been murdered in captivity.
‘Do you like this Susan? Does this fill your heart with joy?’ said another.
There has been a sharp increase in both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the US since the October 7 attack and subsequent conflict.
The vast majority of public protests in major cities like New York were pro-Palestine, with some participants holding up anti-Semitic signs calling on people to “cleanse the world of Jews.”
At a neo-Nazi rally in Wisconsin this weekend, participants held up huge swastika flags.
There have been grotesque cases of Islamophobia, including the murder of a six-year-old Muslim boy in his home near Chicago.
His landlord had become paranoid that he and his Palestinian family would ‘come after him’.
Sarandon has yet to respond to the growing backlash to her comments.