Pamela Geller
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Pamela Geller (born 1958) is an American
anti-Muslim Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...
,
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
, political activist, blogger and commentator. Geller promoted birther conspiracy theories about President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, saying that he was born in Kenya and that he is a Muslim. She has denied
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
s where Muslims were victims, including the
Bosnian genocide The Bosnian genocide ( bs, bosanski genocid) refers to either the Srebrenica massacre or the wider crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing campaign throughout areas controlled by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the Bosnian War of ...
and the
Rohingya genocide The Rohingya genocide is a series of ongoing persecutions and killings of the Muslim Rohingya people by the Burmese military. The genocide has consisted of two phases to date: the first was a military crackdown that occurred from October 2016 ...
. In 2006, Geller reproduced the controversial Danish cartoons of Muhammad published by the ''Jyllands-Posten'' newspaper on her blog. She came to further prominence in 2010 for leading the campaign against the proposed
Park51 Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) is a development originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The developers hoped to promote an interfaith dialogue within the greater comm ...
Islamic community center, which Geller called the "Ground Zero Mega Mosque." Since 2013, she has bought anti-Muslim ads on public transit networks in various cities. The British government barred Geller's entry into the UK in 2013, citing her anti-Muslim activism, and saying her presence would “not be conducive to the public good.” She has been targeted in an assassination attack by Islamic fundamentalists. Geller is the president of Stop Islamization of America (also known as the ''American Freedom Defense Initiative''), an anti-Muslim group which she co-founded with Robert Spencer. Geller launched her first blog, ''Atlas Shrugs'', in 2004. It was succeeded by The Geller Report. Both websites have been known for promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories.


Early life

Geller is the third of four sisters born to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family; her father, Reuben Geller, is a textile manufacturer, and her mother is Lillian Geller. She grew up in Hewlett Harbor, on
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
's
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. She helped out in her father's business, where she learned to speak fluent
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
. Two of her sisters became doctors, and the third became a teacher. Geller attended
Lynbrook High School Lynbrook High School (also referred to as Lynbrook or LHS) is a co-educational, public, four-year high school located in the West San Jose neighborhood of San Jose, California. It was founded in 1965 and graduated its first class in 1968. Lynbr ...
and
Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
, leaving before she completed her degree.


Career


Media

During most of the 1980s, Geller worked at the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
—''first as a financial analyst, and then in advertising and marketing. Subsequently, she was associate publisher of ''
The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...
'' from 1989 through 1994. In a ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'' interview, Geller indicated that she had only become political since the
9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...
.


Political activism

She created a blog called ''Atlas Shrugs'' (a reference to ''
Atlas Shrugged ''Atlas Shrugged'' is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. It was her longest novel, the fourth and final one published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her '' magnum opus'' in the realm of fiction writing. ''Atlas Shrugged'' includes eleme ...
'', the novel by
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
) in 2004. Geller was a frequent and prolific commenter on the
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
'' Little Green Footballs'' when, encouraged by a fellow commenter, she started her own blog in late 2004. She has referred to her blog as “my living room and kitchen — a place where she can kick back and yell, like some people shout at their TV,” in contrast to her books and published articles, which are “more studied and more measured.” The blog gained attention in 2006, when Geller reprinted the controversial cartoons of Muhammad that were originally published in the Danish ''
Jyllands-Posten ''Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten'' (; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to ''Jyllands-Posten'' or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circula ...
'' newspaper. In 2007, her campaign against an Arabic language public school in Brooklyn was said to have played "an important role" in the resignation of its principal,
Debbie Almontaser Debbie Almontaser is an American schoolteacher and community activist of Yemeni descent. She was the founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a New York Arab-themed public school, named after the Christian Arab poet Khalil Gi ...
. The blog has been criticized by progressive
Media Matters for America Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Res ...
. Conversely, it has been praised by
Caroline Glick Caroline Glick ( he, קרולין גליק; born 1969) is an American-born Israeli conservative columnist, journalist, and author. She writes for '' Israel Hayom, Breitbart News'', ''The Jerusalem Post'', and ''Maariv''. She is adjunct senior f ...
, managing editor of ''The Jerusalem Post'', who hailed the blog's coverage of Muslim "
honor killing An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...
s" and called her "an intrepid blogger," specifically for Geller's coverage of treatment of women under
Sharia law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...
and in Islamic countries. In 2010, Geller co-founded the
American Freedom Defense Initiative Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative, is an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel American counter-jihad organization known primarily for its controversial, Islamophobic advertising campaigns. The group ...
organization (AFDI), also known as Stop Islamization of America, with Robert Spencer, an anti-Muslim activist. Geller is a co-founder of Stop Islamization of Nations, an umbrella organization that includes Stop Islamization of America and Stop Islamisation of Europe. Both SIOA and AFDI are described as exhibiting anti-Muslim bigotry by the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
. The
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
classifies them as
hate groups A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Accord ...
. At the 2010
Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; ) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU). ...
(CPAC), Geller criticized the Pentagon's report on the 2009 Fort Hood shooting for failing to talk about the religious motivations behind the attack. Geller was forbidden to appear at CPAC in 2013. Geller attributed her exclusion from the event to her having accused CPAC board members
Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American political activist and tax reduction advocate who is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases. A Republican, he is the primary ...
and
Suhail Khan Suhail A. Khan is the Senior Fellow for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Institute for Global Engagement and Director of External Affairs at Microsoft Corporation. Khan was previously a senior political appointee with the Bush administration ...
of being “members of the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
and secret Islamist agents.” The British government barred Geller's entry into the UK in 2013, citing her anti-Muslim activism, and saying her presence would “not be conducive to the public good.” In April 2013, Rabbi Michael White and Jerome Davidson, in denouncing Geller as an anti-Muslim bigot, opposed her presentation on Sharia law at a Long Island synagogue. It was canceled due to security concerns. Israeli columnist Caroline Glick disputed the assertions by White and Davidson, and argued that Geller opposed
jihadists Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
, not all Muslims. In May 2013, the Jewish Defense League of Canada invited Geller to speak in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Initially, Geller was invited by Rabbi Mendel Kaplan to speak at Chabad@Flamingo. Because Kaplan was a chaplain with the
York Regional Police The York Regional Police (YRP) are a law enforcement organization that serves over 1.1 million residents in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, York Region of Ontario, Canada, located north of Toronto. YRP was formed in 1971 from the poli ...
, the police's Hate Crimes Unit stated that Kaplan's invitation conflicted with “our long-held position of inclusivity.” Kaplan consequently cancelled Geller's invitation, and she spoke at the Toronto Zionist Centre. Geller is a contributor to the conservative magazine ''
Human Events ''Human Events'' is an American conservative political news and analysis website. Founded in 1944 as a print newspaper, ''Human Events'' became a digital-only publication in 2013. ''Human Events'' takes its name from the first sentence of the Un ...
''. She runs the website, The Geller Report, which is registered through her organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative. In October 2018, the website falsely claimed that a Swedish Christmas concert had been cancelled, so as to not offend Muslims. In November 2018, the website falsely claimed that former National Security Advisor
Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and conspiracy theorist who was the 24th U.S. National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of ...
had been cleared of criminal wrong-doing in the Russia probe. The website described the Russia probe as a "coup" against President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
. The website promoted falsehoods about the COVID-19 pandemic.


Park51

In May 2010, Geller began a campaign against the proposed
Park51 Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) is a development originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The developers hoped to promote an interfaith dialogue within the greater comm ...
Islamic community center and mosque, which she called the "Ground Zero Mega Mosque." Geller claimed that Park51 is viewed by Muslims as a "triumphal" monument built on "conquered land," and asserted: “I'm not leading the charge against the Islamic center near Ground Zero. The majority of Americans—70%—find this deeply insulting, offensive. To call it anti-Muslim is a gross misrepresentation, and to say that I'm responsible for all this emotion, again a gross misrepresentation.” When asked whether she agreed “that
the terrorists ''The Terrorists'' (Swedish title: ''Terroristerna'') is a crime novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö; it is the final book in their 10-part detective series revolving around Martin Beck and his team. ''The Terrorists'' was unfi ...
who attacked us on
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
were practicing a perverted form of Islam, and that is not what is going to be practiced at this mosque,” she responded: “I will say that the Muslim terrorists were practicing pure Islam, original Islam.” Based upon unsubstantiated evidence, Geller has claimed that Park51’s project financing had potential ties to terrorists. Geller came to prominence over her opposition to the mosque’s construction. According to ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine, Geller "played a pivotal role in making Park51 a national issue." According to Stephanie Wright in ''Fear of Muslims?'', Geller's language in opposing the mosque was repeated by mainstream politicians, such as
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...
and
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
. The
Council on American–Islamic Relations The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide. Through civil rights actions, media relations, civic enga ...
and the progressive watchdog group
Media Matters for America Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Res ...
criticized the media for giving attention to Geller. Andrew C. McCarthy, writing in the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
magazine ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
'', criticized the CAIR spokesperson's remarks on the matter, citing his remark: “I wouldn’t want to create the impression that I wouldn’t like the government of the United States to be Islamic.” According to Cord Jefferson in the ''
American Prospect ''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted to ...
'', “the media often craves controversy over substance,” and paid "disproportionate attention" to the
Park51 Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) is a development originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The developers hoped to promote an interfaith dialogue within the greater comm ...
story, thus furnishing “a small-time political blogger with an obsession” an opportunity “to hijack the news cycle for months.”


Public transit ads

Stop Islamization of America has sponsored ads which carried instigative messages, such as "Fatwa on Your Head?" and "Leaving Islam?" in several cities, including
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, which pointed readers to a website called RefugefromIslam.com. Geller and FDI/SIOA paid to run ads on the transit systems of New York City, Washington, D. C., and
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. The ad approved to run on the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
and San Francisco buses read: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” One ad had a picture of the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
in flames, with a quote from the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
: “Soon we shall cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers.” Another ad showed a man in a keffiyah, with the text: “Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to
Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
. That's His Jihad. What's yours?” New York's MTA initially refused to display the ads in the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
system, but the decision was overturned in July 2012 by the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a United States district court, federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York (state), New York ...
, which ruled that the ad was
protected speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogn ...
under the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, and that the MTA's actions were
unconstitutional Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...
. The judge,
Paul A. Engelmayer Paul Adam Engelmayer (born April 12, 1961) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and education Born in New York City, New York, Engelmayer earned an Artium B ...
, held in a 35-page opinion that the rejected ad was “not only protected speech — it is core political speech ... hich as suchis afforded the highest level of protection under the First Amendment.” Opponents argued that an ad with the text, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad” implied Muslims are savages. Columnists in the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' and ''
The Algemeiner The ''Algemeiner Journal'', known informally as ''The Algemeiner'', is a newspaper based in New York City that covers American and international Jewish and Israel-related news. History In 1972, Gershon Jacobson founded the Yiddish-language ...
'' argued the opposite—that it was insulting to assume Muslims will identify with violent jihad. Some Muslims argued that Geller's use of the word ''jihad'' is identical to Islamic extremists', and too common in general American usage. There is an effort to focus on the notion of ''jihad'' as a ''striving'', but find "rebranding" difficult in today's culture. The
Jewish Council for Public Affairs The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an American Jewish 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization that deals with community relations. It is a coordinating round table organization of 15 other national Jewish organizations, including the Re ...
called the ad "bigoted, divisive," and JCPA President Rabbi Steve Gutow said: “The fact that ads have been placed in the subway attacking Israel does not excuse the use of attack ads against Muslims.” Israel Kasnett, editor for the ''
Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'', argued that Geller is right in her description of violent jihad. Jewish groups, such as the
Jewish Community Relations Council A Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is a locally based Jewish organization that carries out "action agendas on behalf of and in the name of the local Jewish communities." Councils may aim "to represent the consensus of the organized Jewish ...
and the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
, have “successfully persuaded the
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA or San Francisco MTA) is an agency created by consolidation of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT), and the Taxicab Commission. The agen ...
to donate proceeds from the ads to the city's Human Rights Commission.” In a column for ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', conservative columnist
William McGurn William McGurn (born December 4, 1958) is an American political writer. He was the chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush from June 2006 until February 2008, replacing Michael Gerson. Early life McGurn was born December 4, 1958, in San D ...
criticized the "media" for being “too quick to assume the ad is an attack on the religion and all Muslims.” In 2013, Geller purchased ad space at thirty-nine New York City Subway stations for a new ad that “ inkedIslam to terrorism.” Prompted by an ad critical of Israel on the subway, Geller said she was exercising her freedom of speech by showing a picture of the burning
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
juxtaposed with a quote from the
Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
. The ads went up in January 2013, and ran for about a month. In the fall of 2014, Geller paid $100,000 for a series of ads to run on the MTA again. They linked Islam to the
Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
,
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, and the beheading of James Foley; a court ruling required the MTA to run the ads. The ads were also run on Philadelphia's
SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
transit system, and Washington, D.C.'s
WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...
transit system.
Daniel Pipes Daniel Pipes (born September 9, 1949) is an American historian, writer, and commentator. He is the president of the Middle East Forum, and publisher of its ''Middle East Quarterly'' journal. His writing focuses on American foreign policy and the ...
wrote the ads backfired, and united people of all religions against what was viewed as an attack on all Muslims. The MTA, SEPTA, and Washington's Metro have decided to ban all political ads. In 2015, Geller announced that she would run ads on public transit systems accusing donors to the
New Israel Fund The New Israel Fund (NIF) is a United States-based non-profit NGO established in 1979. It describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis. The New Israel Fund says it has provided $300 million to over 900 Israeli civil so ...
of being supporters of the anti-Israel
BDS movement Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations u ...
, although a spokesperson from NIF said the charge is false. Geller wrote that: “These leaders are 21st-century kapos, but worse ... They are leftists aligned with the jihad force.”


Curtis Culwell Center attack

Geller helped to organize a "Draw the Prophet" cartoon contest on May 3, 2015, at the
Curtis Culwell Center The Curtis Culwell Center (formerly the Garland Special Events Center) is a 6,860-fixed seat arena (8,500 full capacity) and conference center in Garland, Texas. It opened in 2005 and was designed by HKS, Inc. and constructed at a cost of $31.5 ...
in
Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...
, the same site where a Muslim group held a "Stand With the Prophet" event in January 2015, after the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting. The same day, shots were fired outside the event in Garland, resulting in the death of two suspected shooters by the police, and the injury of one security guard. The decision to hold the cartoon contest received both criticism and support from a number of journalists and other public figures.


June 2015 assassination plot

On June 2, 2015, a 26-year-old Muslim man, identified as Rahim Nicholas, was shot and killed by police officers in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, after he waved a military knife at them and charged at them with it. Reported to have been radicalized by the militant Islamist group
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
, Rahim was plotting to travel out of the state to assassinate Geller. His thwarted plan was in retaliation to Geller’s Muhammad art event and contest. Rahim allegedly abandoned the idea, and decided to behead police officers instead. Upon learning of the assassination plot, Geller said in an interview with CNN: “They targeted me for violating Sharia blasphemy laws.”


Views


Anti-Muslim views

She has been widely described as anti-Muslim. Geller is a prominent activist in what has been described as the
counter-jihad movement Counter-jihad, also spelled counterjihad and known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by apocalyptic beli ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. She has been described as part of a broader anti-Muslim network or industry. ''Business Insider'' has described Geller as a "promoter of anti-Muslim conspiracy theories." Snopes has fact-checked a number of Geller's assertions about Muslims and Islam, and found them to be false. These include: false assertions by Geller that Muslims declared 24 December as Muhammad's birthday, in order to disrupt Christmas celebrations; her promotion of a fake video as evidence of crime by Muslim immigrants in Italy; false claims that Muslim groups kept the money that they raised for the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting; and baseless assertions that Muslims celebrated the Notre Dame fire of 2019. In 2017, she falsely claimed that the Las Vegas shooter was a leftist. In 2018, she falsely claimed that the Parkland shooter “was immersed in Islamic and leftwing hate.” Geller frequently characterizes incidents involving Muslims as part of a "jihad." In 2011, she warned of “Vehicular Jihad in Arizona,” after reports of a man named Ajaz Rahaman had crashed into a supermarket; it was later shown that he had suffered a heart attack. She also claimed "vehicular jihad" when an Egyptian immigrant drove a car onto a curb, hurting pedestrians; she omitted that the police determined he had fallen asleep at the wheel. Geller has mischaracterized a variety of different events as being a part of jihad, including: an incident that involved a mentally ill, teenaged Bosnian shooter in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
; as well as assaults of Walmart staff and customers by meth addicts. She has speculated that Virginia Tech mass shooter Seung-Hui Cho was a jihadi. In 2011, she removed posts from her website as part of the settlement of a defamation lawsuit; she had accused a
Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
attorney of ties to Hamas. In 2017, her website published a video which falsely claimed a Muslim migrant had beat up a Dutch boy on crutches. Geller denies she is anti-Muslim, saying: “I love Muslims. I help them.” She has said the only “moderate Muslim is a secular Muslim,” and that when Muslims pray, they are cursing Jews and Christians. She has claimed that Muslims practice bestiality. Geller has expressed that “Islam is the most anti-Semitic, genocidal ideology in the world.” She has asserted that terrorists don't spring from “perversions of Islam, but from the religion itself.” Geller has been criticized by the Anti-Defamation League, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Southern Poverty Law Center for espousing Islamophobia. She has dismissed the SPLC as an "uber left" organization. Political activist Charles Jacobs says that Geller takes aim at "radical Islam," comes to the defense of victims of honor killings, and deals with Islamist antisemitism—which the ADL and SPLC fail to address.


2011 Norway attacks

She was cited, along with others, in
Anders Behring Breivik Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...
's manifesto. Breivik, who was responsible for the
2011 Norway attacks The 2011 Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July ( no, 22. juli) or as 22/7, were two domestic terrorist attacks by neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) ...
, featured her writing in twelve sections of his manifesto, referred to her as a "decent human being," and noted that he had followed Geller's blog "for the better part of a year." As the media began to report on her influence on the attacks, she removed statements from her blog that could have been considered incriminating, including part of an email that she posted in June 2007 describing a stockpile and cache of weapons, ammunition, and equipment being amassed by an ''Atlas Shrugs'' reader in Norway. Geller wrote on her blog that "any assertion" that she or other anti-jihad writers bore any responsibility for Mr. Breivik's actions was "ridiculous," and that “If anyone incited him to violence, it was Islamic supremacists.”” She later described the location of the attack, a youth camp on Utoya Island, as "an 'anti-Semitic indoctrination center' where children with a 'clearly pro-Islamic agenda' play war games." Geller also provided a rationale for Breivik's actions that has been described as "If not a defense of Breivik, ... astonishingly close to one":


Political philosophy

Geller has been described as "far-right" by news outlets, such as: the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', ''
Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'', ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'', ''
Buzzfeed News ''BuzzFeed News'' is an American news website published by BuzzFeed. It has published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was heavily criticized, and the FinCEN Files. Since its establishment in 2011, it ...
'', ''
The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...
'', and human rights activist Leonard Zeskind. Zeskind also classified Geller as a radical right ideologue, racist, and Islamophobic. Geller is a supporter of the far-right
English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement ...
(EDL), proclaiming: “I share the EDL's goals ... We need to encourage rational, reasonable groups that oppose the Islamisation of the west.” In June 2013, Geller was scheduled to speak at an EDL rally, but was barred from entering Britain by a Home Office ruling that described her as having established "anti-Muslim hate groups." Cited as evidence for the ban were statements categorizing
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
as "a manifestation of devout Islam," and stating that jihad requires Jews as an enemy. Geller called the decision “a striking blow against freedom ... The nation that gave the world the
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
is dead.”
Hope not Hate Hope not Hate (stylized as HOPE not hate) is an advocacy group based in the United Kingdom which campaigns against racism and fascism. It has also mounted campaigns against Islamic extremism and antisemitism. It is self-described as a "non-par ...
, which led a campaign to ban her, applauded the decision, stating: “There is a line in the sand between freedom of speech and the right to use hate speech.” In economics, Geller favors "right-wing," "small government" fiscal policies of cutting taxes and reducing budgets. She is "socially liberal" in her support of
abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
and
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
, but she believes drug legalization goes "too far."
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
's writings had a big influence on her thought. Unlike Rand, Geller is a
theist Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with ''deism'', the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred to ...
who defends the
Judeo-Christian The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, or ...
ethical tradition. In her rhetorical style, she shares Rand's "verbal excesses," accompanied by a "willingness to provoke and offend."


Israel

Geller is an ardent
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
. She encouraged Israel to “stand loud and proud. Give up nothing. Turn over not a pebble. For every rocket fired, drop a
MOAB Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...
. Take back Gaza. Secure Judea and Samaria. Stop buying ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
''. Throw leftists bums out,” referring to the
Israeli-occupied West Bank The Israeli occupation of the West Bank began on 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured and occupied the territory (including East Jerusalem), then occupied by Jordan, during the Six-Day War, and continues to the present day. The status of ...
as "Judea and Samaria". She regards much of the Israeli media as "Jewicidal," and the
kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
movement as a failed idea and a variety of slavery.


Barack Obama conspiracy theories

Geller has put forth a number of conspiracy theories and falsehoods about
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
. She has claimed he is a Muslim, and that he was born in Kenya. She published a reader's letter speculating that Obama's mother was involved in pornography, that his "spiritual father" was a child rapist, that Obama "was involved with a
crack whore Drugs and prostitution have been documented to have a direct correlation. Drug use tended to predate prostitution among low-level prostitutes with the connection most likely due to economic necessity. Low-level prostitutes tended to use depressan ...
in his youth," and that
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...
had impregnated Obama's mother. She has accused Obama of appointing Muslims to government positions who may have ties to Muslim extremists and want to undermine the United States. She accused the State Department in the Obama administration of being run by "Islamic supremacists." She wrote in a 2010 book (co-authored with Robert Spencer) that "Barack Hussein Obama" was pursuing the “implementation of a soft sharia: the quiet and piecemeal implementation of Islamic laws that subjugate non-Muslims.” In July 2010, she published a book with Robert Spencer, ''The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America,'' which criticized the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
.


Genocide conspiracy theories

According to a 2013 study of the
Srebrenica genocide The Srebrenica massacre ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Masakr u Srebrenici, Масакр у Сребреници), also known as the Srebrenica genocide ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Genocid u Srebrenici, Геноцид у Сребрен ...
, Geller “is among the most vociferous revisionists” of the genocide. She denies the genocide of Bosniaks in Srebrenica, describing it as the "Srebrenica Genocide Myth." She has defended
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
, who died while standing trial for war crimes in the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
, and denied the existence of Serbian
concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
. She claimed that the 1999 NATO intervention in Kosovo was “in order to pave the way for an Islamic state in the heart of Europe—Kosovo.” She has been critical of the Muslim Rohingya people, who are an ethnic minority in Myanmar that has been subjected to
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
and ethnic cleansing. She has blamed the Rohingya for the violence in Myanmar, said that the inhabitants of Myanmar “have every right to be concerned” about the Rohingya, claimed “Muslims are waging jihad in Burma,” accused the Rohingya of “circulating fake pictures,” and directed her readers to a book called ''The Rohingya Hoax''. She has published articles advancing the false conspiracy theory of a white genocide in South Africa.


Personal life

Geller was married to Michael Oshry from 1990 until the couple divorced in 2007. She received nearly $4 million in the divorce settlement. Michael died of a heart attack in 2008. As part of his life-insurance policy, his daughters gained $5 million. Pamela and Michael had four daughters: Claudia, Jackie, Olivia, and Margo Oshry. The four of them are social media influencers, running the Girl With No Job account on
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
, and a
Facebook Live Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...
/
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
show called ''The Morning Toast''. She lives in Hewlett, New York and Sutton Place, New York.


Bibliography

* ''The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America'', Pamela Geller with Robert Spencer, foreword by (former) Ambassador
John R. Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Stat ...
, (
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
, July 2010) * * ''Freedom or Submission: On the Dangers of Islamic Extremism & American Complacency'', Pamela Geller, (
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform On-Demand Publishing, LLC, doing business as CreateSpace, is a self-publishing service owned by Amazon. The company was founded in 2000 in South Carolina as BookSurge and was acquired by Amazon in 2005. History CreateSpace publishes books conta ...
, April 3, 2013) * ''Fatwa: Hunted in America'', Pamela Geller, (Dangerous Books), November 1, 2017


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geller, Pamela 1958 births Living people 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American women writers American bloggers American financial analysts American nationalists American newspaper editors American newspaper executives American political commentators American political writers American social commentators American Zionists Businesspeople from New York (state) American advertising executives Counter-jihad activists Female critics of feminism Hofstra University alumni Jewish American writers Jewish women writers New York (state) Republicans American critics of Islam People from Hewlett, New York People from the Upper East Side American women bloggers Women financial analysts Women newspaper editors Writers from New York (state) American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Lynbrook Senior High School alumni American conspiracy theorists 21st-century American businesswomen American women activists Activists from New York City Jewish American activists Deniers of the Bosnian genocide