January 9, 2019 — Los Angeles
Los Angeles – January 9, 2019 – Emiliana Guereca, Executive Director of Women's March Los Angeles (WMLA), visited the Los Angeles Regional Office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) today to meet with AJC and other Jewish community leaders.
The gathering arose out of the controversy surrounding the national Women’s March leaders’ ties to Louis Farrakhan and statements made by Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory alienating the Jewish community.
Guereca stressed that WMLA does not share leadership, structure or funding with the national Women’s March (Women's March Inc.) and does not have any input on the makeup of their leadership or decision-making. She noted that the national Women’s March had taken too long, and did not go far enough, to reject Farrakhan’s toxic antisemitism and homophobia. Guereca called for “a new and expanded leadership to form a true national organization.”
“We commend Emiliana Guereca for standing with the Jewish and LGBTQ communities,” said Saba Soomekh, AJC Los Angeles Assistant Director. “Jewish women should not be expected to check their identities and values at the door to join a national women’s rights movement. That same demand is not made of any other minority. Further, Jewish women can be proudly Zionist and feminist at the same time.”
Participating in the meeting, in addition to AJC, were representatives of Sinai Temple, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, Leo Baeck Temple, Valley Beth Shalom, Stephen Wise Temple, Congregation Kol Ami, Zioness, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC), JQ International, 30 Years After, and Jumpstart.
