Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), or AOC, who has led opposition to Israel in Congress, lost her endorsement Wednesday by the national leadership of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) for not being anti-Israel enough.
In a statement, the DSA listed its reasons for rescinding its endorsement. These included the fact that AOC voted in favor of a resolution declaring that objecting to Israel’s right to exist amounted to antisemitism; that she signed a letter backing the Iron Dome, the anti-terror missile defense system developed by Israel to protect civilians; and that she recently participated in a panel discussion with two experts on antisemitism who oppose boycotts of “Zionists.”
AOC has been known as a “democratic socialist” since running for Congress in 2018. The DSA’s break with her is less a sign that she has moved to the center, and more a symptom of the DSA’s increasingly radical opposition to Israel.
The statement reads, in part:
We recognize that AOC has taken many courageous positions on Palestine such as co-sponsoring several House Resolutions (3103, 786, 496), naming Israel’s genocide as well as opposing House Resolution 894. However, members have raised their concerns regarding a number of her votes, including a vote in favor of H.Res.888, conflating opposition to Israel’s “right to exist” with antisemitism. AOC also co-signed a press release on April 20, 2024, that “support[s] strengthening the Iron Dome and other defense systems”
Finally, AOC recently hosted a public panel with leaders from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, lobbyists for the IHRA definition of antisemitism. On this panel, anti-Zionism and antisemitism were conflated and boycotting Zionist institutions was condemned. This sponsorship is a deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action in recent months, and in decades past.
A national DSA endorsement comes with a serious commitment to the movement for Palestine and our collective socialist project. We must endorse candidates who enthusiastically seek a relationship with DSA, and the National Political Committee as the highest body of the organization between conventions is responsible for setting the criteria we establish for national endorsements. Chapters have a responsibility to make this clear to their endorsed candidates when applying for a national endorsement. The NPC is committed to ensuring that all of our elected officials are unabashed in their support for Palestinian freedom. To build a socialist movement that’s capable of defeating capitalism, we must demand more from leaders in our movement.
AOC has spread anti-Israel propaganda since the October 7 terror attacks. She even blamed the Abraham Accords — a peace agreement between Israel and several Arab states — for the war.
She accused Israel of “genocide” in a passionate speech on the floor of Congress, and campaigned for Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who adopted a radical pro-Palestinian position before being unseated in a primary race last month.
That was evidently not good enough for DSA.
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