leaders Carmen Perez and Linda Sarsour for failing to condemn Farrakhan and allegedly espousing anti-Jewish views within the group.

The controversy spurred an exodus of sponsors and sister marches in recent weeks, with cancellations of marches in New Orleans and Tacoma, Washington, and the loss of sponsors such as the NAACP and the Democratic National Committee.

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New York City will hold dueling marches on Saturday. One is affiliated with the national group and another is being led by March On, a group headed by a Jewish co-founder of the national Women’s March who accused national organizers ofthe statements of that man. We wanted people to feel that it didn’t matter what walk of life they were coming from, that they were welcome.”

But for some former New Jersey march participants, the distancing has had an opposite effect.

In a Dec. 20 letter sent to Women’s March on New Jersey organizers and sponsors, 15 local activists from immigrant, Muslim, Palestinian, Democratic and women’s organizations argued that disassociating from the Women’s March will damage and weaken the national movement.

Two sponsors of the New Jersey march, the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the immigrant rights organization Make the Road New Jersey, also pulled their support.

Essma Bengabsia, a Muslim activist who spoke at the Women’s March on New Jersey last year, led the effort to