Women’s March Dismisses New Board Member amid Backlash over Statements Comparing ISIS to U.S. Military
Zahra Billoo, who joined the board of the Women’s March just several days ago, announced on her Twitter feed Thursday morning that she has been voted off the board.
Billoo has a history of controversial statements on Twitter, in which she has compared the U.S. and Israeli militaries to ISIS and Nazis, once even asserting that the FBI recruits “mentally ill” people to join ISIS.
The Women’s March has not released a statement explaining the justification for her dismissal as of this writing.
However, Billoo asserted in a tweet thread that she was voted out as a result of an “Islamophobic smear campaign led by the usual antagonists, who have long targeted me, my colleagues, and anyone else who dares speak out in defense of Palestinian human rights and the right to self determination.”
Addressing the controversy over her tweets, she wrote “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.”
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
Billoo stated on Facebook in 2017 that she would not go to see the movie “Wonder Woman” because of the participation of actress Gal Gadot, who served in the Israeli Defense Forces. She justified her stance by saying she would similarly not see a movie in which the lead actress was proud of being a member of ISIS, al-Qaeda, or the U.S. military.
In a 2014 post on Twitter, Billoo said she was opposed to “all terrorism, including all that regularly committed by the US military and Al Qaeda, the Israeli Defense Forces and ISIS.”
Billoo and other new members were hired to replace three former Women’s March leaders dogged by allegations of anti-Semitism. Two of these members, Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour, have drawn fire for their support of Louis Farrakhan, the anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam.
