- Sarandon made the remark at a protest in New York City last week amid a rise in antisemitism
- ‘There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish… [they are] getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country,’ she said
- Muslim American immigrant Asra Nomani rejected her remarks on Twitter
- Others compared Sarandon to Jane Fonda who earned herself the nickname Hanoi Jane during the Vietnam War: ‘Hamas has Gaza Susan’
Backlash is mounting against actress Susan Sarandon for saying frightened Jews are ‘getting a taste of how it feels to be Muslim in America’ in the wake of the Hamas October 7 attack.
Sarandon made the inflammatory remark at a NYC protest in response to an uptick in antisemitism.
‘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,’ she said, enraging 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.
Sharing a photo of herself with her parents, Nomani said: ‘Hi there Susan Sarandon, this is my mom, my dad and me on the rail trail in Morgantown, West by God Virginia. Let me tell you what it means to be Muslim in America.
Speaking at a protest on November 17, Susan Sarandon said frightened Jews in America are ‘getting a taste’ of how it feels to be Muslim
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 dad didn’t have to become a second-class indentured servant to one of the many tyrants of Muslim countries that use immigrants from India, like my family, as essential slaves…my dad got a job as an assistant professor of nutrition.
‘He got rejected first for tenure but being Muslim in America meant he got a right like everybody got — his right to appeal and guess what? He won and he became a full professor.
‘My mom? Being Muslim in America meant she got to live FREE with the wind in her hair, like Masih Alinejad fights for women in the Muslim nation of Iran to be able to enjoy.’
She went on to describe how she was able to give birth safely and freely to a baby out of wedlock in America – something that would have led to her death in some Muslim countries.
Backlash: There is mounting fury over Sarandon’s remarks
‘Where do you think I came to give birth to my baby in safety and security, without shame? West by God Virginia in the United States of America — where we enjoy equal rights as Muslim AmeriCANs, not AmeriCANTs.
‘This is a “taste” of life for a Muslim family in America. 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.
‘Go, live like a Muslim woman in a Muslim country. You will come back to America and kiss the land beneath your feet,’ she said.
Others likened her remarks to those of Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War. Fonda earned herself the nickname ‘Hanoi Jane’ for her continuous condemnation of the American military effort in Vietnam.
She traveled to the region and posed atop an antiaircraft 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 US veterans with the photo and her remarks about the war
‘Well, well, well. The Vietnam War had Hanoi Jane. Looks like Hamas will have Gaza Susan. She should go visit them,’ said one critic.
‘Someone please inform actress Susan Sarandon that she can open a good bottle of wine and celebrate by her private pool – another death of Jewish grandpa.
‘Hamas, which she proudly supports, just announced that one of the hundreds of innocent Israelies they kidnapped – 86-year-old Aryeh Zalmanovich – was killed in captivity.
‘Does this please you Susan? Does this fill your heart with joy?’ said another.
There has been a sharp uptick in both antisemitism and Islamophobia in the US since the October 7 attack and ensuing conflict.
The large majority of public protests in major cities like New York have been pro-Palestine, with some participants holding up antisemitic signs calling on people to ‘clean the world of Jews’.
At a neo-Nazi rally in Wisconsin this weekend, participants held up enormous 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 landlord had become paranoid that he and his Palestinian family were going to ‘go after him’.
Sarandon is yet to respond to the growing backlash to her remarks.