 [Commentary Magazine] The year 2018 has thus far been toxic for black-Jewish relations. In February, Women’s March co-president Tamika Mallory attended the Nation of Islam’s (NOI) annual "Saviours’ Day" gathering, where sect leader Louis Farrakhan delivered a characteristic anti-Semitic tirade. "When you want something in this world, the Jew holds the door," Farrakhan declared. "White folks are going down, and Satan is going down, and Farrakhan by God’s grace has pulled the cover off of that Satanic Jew‐and I’m here to say, your time is up." For good measure, Farrakhan also claimed that Jews control the FBI as well as Mexico, and he repeated a relatively new conspiracy theory, the "Pot Plot," alleging that Jews promote homosexuality among black men through the distribution of a special form of marijuana.
When it was revealed that Mallory had sat in the audience for this rant, she not only refused to distance herself from the anti-Semitic cult but boasted of her three-decade long relationship with it. "I was raised in activism and believe that as historically oppressed people, blacks, Jews, Muslims and all people must stand together to fight racism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia," she said in a statement. Declaring that she is "guided by the loving principles of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," who dedicated his entire career to opposing the very sort of racial separatism, hatred, and conspiracy promoted by the likes of Farrakhan and others of his ilk, Mallory made clear that she had no intention of ever disassociating herself from the NOI.
While some black leaders and writers criticized Mallory, her stubbornness found support in high places. "Now you work with people all the time with whom you disagree," said Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, to the ladies of The View. Jarrett spoke as if America’s foremost anti-Semite were just some recalcitrant House Republican in need of a stern, Oval Office arm-twist. To this day, Mallory (along with her Women’s March sisters-in-arms Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez) proudly considers Farrakhan an ally, and there is no indication that she or the organization she leads has suffered serious reputational damage because of her association with him. 
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