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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) came under fire from the head of New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America, a political organization she has identified with in the past, after remarks following a pro-Palestinian rally in the Big Apple just a day after a deadly sneak attack on Israel killed 1,000 people.
The NYC DSA promoted the rally that came just a day after the attack, with the party claiming to be “in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupation and apartheid,” per a post on the X platform which has since been deleted.
As reported by Politico Playbook, AOC responded to the rally with remarks that were upsetting to the DSA.
“It should not be hard to shut down hatred and antisemitism where we see it. That is a core tenet of solidarity,” she said.
“The bigotry and callousness expressed in Times Square on Sunday were unacceptable and harmful in this devastating moment. It also did not speak for the thousands of New Yorkers who are capable of rejecting both Hamas’ horrifying attacks against innocent civilians as well as the grave injustices and violence Palestinians face under occupation,” she added.
Nadia Tykulsker, the NYC DSA’s steering committee member, fired back on Monday, telling Politico Playbook that the rally was “at the request of a coalition partner because we believe in equality and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis, and we know that war will take more lives.”
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“It is shameful that politicians in our state are exploiting this moment to target a socialist organization and divide the vibrant left in New York — whose sole aim in politics is to grow the power of working people for freedom against exploitation and oppression — instead of focusing our attention where it should be: on the atrocities and tragic loss of life in the region,” she added.
AOC Needs to answer for this
This is a DSA Promoted event
AOC Is a card carrying member of the DSA https://t.co/gDJSIdBdjW
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) October 9, 2023
Ilhan Omar, AOC, Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib and the entire SQUAD should be expelled from Congress for their hateful rhetoric towards Israel.
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) October 8, 2023
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed members of the far-left “Squad” during Tuesday’s briefing. She called what they said about the war between Israel and Hamas “wrong,” “repugnant,” and “disgraceful.”
When asked for the administration’s reaction to comments made by Democrat Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Cori Bush, Jean-Pierre said: “I’ve seen some of those statements this weekend, and we’re going to continue to be very clear. We believe they’re wrong, we believe they’re repugnant, and we believe they’re disgraceful.”
“Our condemnation belongs squarely with terrorists who have brutally murdered, raped, and kidnapped hundreds, hundreds of Israelis. There can be no equivocation about that. There are not two sides here. There are not two sides,” KJP added.
When Israel and Hamas went to war over the weekend, Tlaib and Bush made statements that caused a lot of anger when they said that the U.S. should stop helping Israel.
Tlaib’s statement said: “I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day,” Tlaib’s statement read. “As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”
Bush’s statement said: “As part of achieving a just and lasting peace, we must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid.”
On the day of the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and many from other countries, including women, children, and babies, both Ocasio-Cortez and Omar called for a “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas.
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Omar also appeared to equate Israeli victims killed by Hamas terrorists this weekend and Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli response in a social media thread on Monday.
“Just as we honor the humanity of the hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and 9 Americans who were killed this weekend, we must honor the humanity of the innocent Palestinian civilians who have been killed and whose lives are upended,” she wrote on X, going on to highlight the hardships of living in Gaza and accusing Israel of operating an “apartheid” state in an attempt to explain violence by Hamas.
“Palestinian residents of the West Bank have scarcely better lives than Gazans — with the routine destruction of their ancestral homes, destruction of their crops, and violent attacks by Israeli settlers,” Omar wrote.