Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), widely known for her critical stance on Israel, appeared to attribute the Democratic Party’s underperformance in the November 5 Presidential election to the influence of the pro-Israel lobby, AIPAC.
“If people want to talk about members of Congress being overly influenced by a special interest group pushing a wildly unpopular agenda that pushes voters away from Democrats then they should be discussing AIPAC,” Ocasio-Cortez, often referred to as AOC, wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
Ocasio-Cortez is part of the progressive congressional group known as the “Squad,” whose members frequently voice criticism of Israel.
Her post came as a reply to Jeremy Slavin, a senior adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who had earlier stated, “Weird to have a whole discourse about ‘special interest groups’ that completely leaves out corporate and industry lobbies—by far the most influential ‘groups’ in the Democratic Party.”
AIPAC later responded to Ocasio-Cortez with a pointed rebuttal, saying, “Fact check on what Democratic voters find popular vs. unpopular.” The response included a graphic showcasing vote totals from primary elections in New York and Missouri, highlighting losses by “Squad” members Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush in their reelection campaigns.
Ocasio-Cortez’s critiques of Israel date back several years. In a 2019 interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News, she criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asserting that calling out Israel’s policies does not equate to antisemitism.
In an earlier radio interview, she described Israel’s treatment of Palestinian Arabs as “criminal” and suggested that Palestinians had no alternative but to “riot” against the state.
In March, Ocasio-Cortez accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinian Arabs. When pressed on her choice of words, she defended it during a CNN interview, arguing that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had “crossed the threshold of intent.”
{Matzav.com}