Outspoken Palestinian-American BDS (Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions) activist Linda Sarsour has attracted the ire of rock singer and actress Courtney Love in a furious Twitter exchange.
Love — the flamboyant lead singer of rock band Hole and former wife of Kurt Cobain, the late Nirvana frontman — was enraged by Sarsour’s fundraising campaign for Rahma Warsame, a Columbus, Ohio woman of Somali origin alleged to have been the victim of a violent hate crime last Saturday night.
Columbus police have since clarified that there was no evidence that the altercation that Warsame became involved in — which reportedly began after a neighbor spotted her hitting a young boy with a shoe — was a hate crime. Nonetheless, Sarsour is trying to raise $100,000 to promote her case.
This irked Love, who told Sarsour on Twitter, “You’re a vile disgrace to women and all mankind.” She then accused Sarsour of “collecting funds on a made-up hate crime.”
“Linda is despicable,” Love said.
Sarsour charged Love with “trying to make a name for herself amongst Trump supporters I guess. Denying a woman justice who was brutally beaten.”
“Thanks @Courtney for clarifying what side u are on. Not the side of justice or u would be demanding accountability 4 brutal assault of Rahma,” Sarsour tweeted.
“I’m sorry Linda but I feel you’re a fraud and you’re inciting anti American rhetoric. I have zero faith in you and your plight. very fishy,” Love responded.
Love shared a screenshot of a statement from the Columbus Public Information Office confirming that the incident was not being investigated as a hate crime. She accused Sarsour of engaging in “mudslinging” even after the statement had been made public. “You’re an anti-semite anti-American fraud,” Love declared.
As head of the Arab American Association of New York, Sarsour, one of the main organizers of the massive Women’s March against President Donald Trump, which took place after his inauguration, had used that platform to attack the Jewish state. “Most of all, I am my Palestinian grandmother who lives in occupied territories’ wildest dream! Justice for all,” she stated at the event, rather than speaking out against honor killings and other forms of abuse against women in Muslim countries.