Columbia University Student Group at Center of Julianna Margulies Rant Speaks Out

By now, everyone has heard actor Julianna Margulies’ rant about Black people being “brainwashed to hate Jews,” during her interview on “The Back Room With Andy Ostroy” podcast. Although Margulies has since apologized for offending Black and LGBTQIA+ people, the Columbia University student group at the center of her remarks has clarified their position.

In a statement posted last week on Instagram, LionLez shared an image that read “Anti-Zionism ≠ Antisemitism.” Captioning the post, the LGBTQIA POC club wrote: “LionLez denounces the accusations from [the Student Governing Body] that we have issued antisemitic statements. We are an organization for and by non-binary people and women from all racial minorities who identify as LGBTQ.”

As an student organization representing marginalized people at the intersections of “many systemic oppressions,” the club explained, “We stand against any and all white supremacist ideologies, including racism, transphobia, ableism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, fatphobia, ageism, sexism, misogyny, xenophobia, Zionism, and manifest destiny.”

LionLez went on to say that, as a board, they are against colonization, but they do not question anyone on their political or religious beliefs. According to their statement, the club defines anti-zionism as “the rejection of Zionism, the political ideology that justifies the establishment of a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine.” They added that “equating anti-zionism to antisemitism is dangerous.”

Margulies claimed that LionLez sent out an email that said, ‘no Jews allowed.’ However, according to the Columbia Spectator, the club’s former president sent an email saying “no zionists allowed.”

Margulies went on to say that, as someone who played a lesbian on TV, she was offended by some of the comments she heard about from LGBTQIA people of color. According to her, Hamas views people in those groups “even lower than the Jews. She explained, “A. you’re Black, and B. you’re gay. And you’re turning your back against the people who support you?”

According to the Columbia Spectator, members of the board privately shared that the former president’s email about zionists and subsequent social media post to the club’s instagram were “inappropriate” and were not run past the board. Additionally, per LionLez, that student is no longer running the group.

So far, Margulies has not commented on the statement from LionLez.