Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon is facing criticism for her passionately pro-Palestinian stance, joining in chants deemed by many to be urging the erasure of Israel and claiming that Jews in the U.S. are now feeling the fear that American Muslims feel.
Sarandon, 77, has attended several rallies in her native New York City, addressing the gatherings and stirring up the crowd. She also retweeted posts on X celebrating Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, who has been dogged for years with allegations of antisemitism.
Waters told journalist Glenn Greenwald he thought the Hamas terror attack of October 7 'was blown out of all proportion by the Israelis inventing stories about beheading babies.'
Sarandon on Monday retweeted a post by Palestine Online, celebrating Waters - who is currently on tour in South America, but has found many of his hotels have refused to house him over claims of antisemitism.
Susan Sarandon is seen at a pro-Palestine rally in New York City
'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.
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.
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.
'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' angered Asra Nomani, a Muslim American who worked as a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal in Pakistan alongside Daniel Pearl, who was murdered by Islamists.
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
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.
'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 - were granted in the United States.
'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.'