Geico Faces Backlash After Hiring Linda Sarsour As A Diversity Speaker

Geico's employee training got too Progressive and is now paying a great premium for the mistake.

On Thursday, Geico U-turned on its decision to hire Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour as a diversity speaker after receiving both internal and external backlash.

Geico was set to feature Sarsour as a speaker to celebrate Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Heritage Month, according to the Fox News Digital report.

Sarsour's contested history includes pushback for anti-Semitic remarks and political associations, which include scathing remarks directed at the state of Israel and a past connection to anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan.

The backlash from Jewish organizations and internal employees led the company to issue an apology and announce Sarsour's exit from the event.

“We apologize to our employees, customers, and others for our initial plan to invite Linda Sarsour to speak at our internal event celebrating Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Heritage Month,” noted Geico's press release.

“On Tuesday, we quickly canceled the event. Geico does not condone hatred of any kind, and we do not stand for or with anyone who does. We are not aligned with any form of exclusion. We will continue to celebrate MENA Heritage Month in a way that aligns with our values.”

Past comments made by Sarsour equated support of the Jewish state of Israel to white supremacy.

"How can you be against white supremacy in America and the idea of being in a state based on race and class, but then you support a state like Israel that is based on supremacy, that is built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else?" Sarsour said, speaking at the 2019 American Muslims for Palestine conference in Chicago.

Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela