Actress Susan Sarandon has been slammed for claiming Jewish people ‘are getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim’ amid the war with Hamas.
The Oscar winner, 77, has attended several rallies in New York where she joined in the chant ‘from the river to the sea,’ a battle cry used by pro-Palestinian activists and Hamas alike that many view as an anti-Semitic call for the destruction of Israel.
The chant has been given a new lease of life in the aftermath of Hamas’ deadly rampage across southern Israel Oct. 7 and Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
In further shocking new remarks, Sarandon said at a recent rally: ‘There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.’
The Rocky Horror Picture Show star has also retweeted posts on X celebrating Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, who has been dogged for years with allegations of anti-Semitism.
Meanwhile, Muslim-American journalist Asra Nomani slammed Sarandon for the ‘taste of what it feels like’ remark the star made at a rally Saturday, by highlighting how good life is for her and her migrant parents in the United States.
Susan Sarandon is seen at a pro-Palestine rally in New York City last month. She attended another over the weekend, where she was seen chanting ‘from the river to the sea,’ which has been branded an anti-Semitic phrase that calls for the destruction of Israel
Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal journalist, wrote: ‘Hi there @SusanSarandon,’ she tweeted. ‘Let me tell you what it means to be Muslim in America.’
Nomani then listed the freedoms she and her parents – who emigrated from India – enjoy in their adopted home.
She spoke of how her professor father was able to obtain tenure, while her mom enjoyed going without a headscarf and opening a business in Morgantown, West Virginia, where they settled.
‘Please don’t minimize the experience of Jewish Americans by sanitizing the hell that it is for Muslims living in Muslim countries and vilifying America for the life — and freedoms — she offers Muslims like my family,’ concluded Nomani.
‘Go, live like a Muslim woman in a Muslim country.
‘You will come back to America and kiss the land beneath your feet.’
Nomani spoke as Sarandon, who won a best actress Oscar in 1995 for Dead Man Walking, took to X to hail an appearance by Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters at an event in Uruguay.
‘Despite attempts by the Israeli lobby to cancel the event, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd took the stage in Uruguay, donning a Kufiyyah and advocating for an end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza,’ the post read. Sarandon retweeted it to her 850,000 followers.
Waters, who has repeatedly been accused of anti-Semitism, told journalist Glenn Greenwald he thought the Hamas terror attacks were blown out of proportion by Israelis ‘inventing stories about beheading babies.’
Sarandon raised eyebrows on Friday, when she attended a protest outside Penn Station in New York City.
The actress, a left-wing campaigner known for her protests with Jane Fonda against the Iraq war, her embrace of environmentalism and her support for Bernie Sanders, led provocative chants.
She joined in with ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ – a call many see as demanding the destruction of Israel, the New York Post reported.
She told the crowd: ‘There are a lot of people that are afraid, that are afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.
Asra Nomani, an India-born Muslim American, took issue with Sarandon’s claim about being a Muslim in the United States
Nomani is pictured with her parents. She told Sarandon she was thankful for the life America had given them all
‘It’s important to listen, it’s important to have facts. You don’t have to go through the entire history of that region, you just have to show the babies that are dying in incubators.
‘Those images are enough to show you that something is drastically wrong. We need a ceasefire now.’
Her comments about being ‘Muslim in America’ particularly infuriated Nomani. She was born in India to Sunni Muslim parents and lived and worked in Pakistan.
One of her Wall Street Journal colleagues, Daniel Pearl, was murdered by Islamists.
Nomani has become a passionate defender of Muslim women’s rights.
And Nomani took issue with Sarandon criticizing the United States’ treatment of Muslim women.
Laura Davis is an entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to Broadway, she offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
