“The false accusation of anti-Semitism has been made against people of color,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) said during an online forum she hosted on Monday.
Members of the Squad hosted an online livestream on X titled “Fighting Anti-Semitism and Democracy,” in which they acknowledged that the increase in anti-Semitism and attacks on Jews since Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, leaving some 1,200 people dead and taking about 250 hostages to Gaza, has “weakened” the progressive movement.
“Anti-Semitism, hatred and violence against Jewish people are real and they are dangerous. It is also important to say in this moment and in this conversation that criticism of the Israeli government is not inherently anti-Semitic, and criticism of Zionism is not automatically anti-Semitic,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“Just because that’s true doesn’t mean we shouldn’t acknowledge that criticism, or when it crosses the line and actually harms the Jewish community,” she continued. “Anti-Semitism is an attack on our values as Americans, and especially as progressives. Anti-Semitism is also a threat to a community that is a critical partner in our fight against injustice. So when the Jewish community is threatened, the progressive movement is weakened. That’s why we reject it as vigorously as we seek out and reject misogyny, Islamophobia, or any form of bigotry or discrimination in any space we occupy. Right now, anti-Semitism is on the rise in America and around the world. Acknowledging that fact doesn’t weaken the fight for liberation, it advances it.”
“At the same time, it is true that bad actors make accusations of anti-Semitism and false accusations against people of color and women of color,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And the weaponization of anti-Semitism is used to divide us and force us to make a false choice between the fight for Jewish safety and the call for Palestinian self-determination. Defending and supporting Palestinian rights is not anti-Semitic. We must be able to recognize the accusations bad actors are making to divide us. We can disagree bitterly about Israel and Gaza, but it feels like we’ve reached a point where it seems impossible to even come together to acknowledge and discuss anti-Semitism.”
People on both sides of the political aisle have condemned Ocasio-Cortez for false claims of anti-Semitism targeting people of color.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) hosted a livestream on X called “Fighting Anti-Semitism and Democracy.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)
“She’s one of the most dangerous people because people are fooled by her,” former New York state Assemblyman and Democrat Dov Hikind told Fox News Digital in response to the lawmaker’s debate.
“She’s one of the extremist wing of the Democratic Party,” continued Hikind, who joined the Republican Party last year. “That’s why a lot of people are leaving the Democratic Party. That’s why a lot of people aren’t going to vote for the Democrats, for Biden, or for anybody else. I believe this year will be historic in terms of Jews leaving the Democratic Party. It’s historic. People like Ocasio-Cortez are promoting hatred. She’s making things even more dangerous. It’s really, really sad.”
“By the way, I’ve never met an anti-Semite who doesn’t say they’re against anti-Semitism,” added Hikind, who founded the group Americans Against Anti-Semitism. “She’s lying. She’s totally lying.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) also responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s comments in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“AOC’s ‘squad’ includes some of the most virulent anti-Semites in Congress,” wrote RJC national political director Sam Markstein, “and Democrats shamefully and completely refuse to hold their own Hamas caucus accountable. It’s shocking that Democrats are having such a hard time condemning anti-Semitism. AOC should be focused on fighting bigotry within her own party, not vile racist attacks.”
For the debate, the congressman hosted two speakers: Stacey Burdett, a Jewish community activist who opposes anti-Semitism and bigotry, and Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Public Affairs Council.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) visits with anti-Israel activists at an encampment at Columbia University in New York City on April 26, 2024. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
At one point, Burdett spoke about the “conspiracy framing” of anti-Semitic rhetoric, drawing a distinction between criticizing Israeli policies and decisions and being anti-Semitic. She specifically warned viewers that comments such as those alleging “evil control of government policy by Jewish billionaires and Zionist donors” when discussing the Israel-Hamas war perpetuate dangerous anti-Semitic stereotypes.
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“So if criticism of Israel is appropriating stereotypes, it’s squarely in the realm of bigotry,” Burdett said. “I mean, stereotypes kill. That’s how the Nazis convinced the German people of the so-called Final Solution. So we always try to avoid language that’s associated with negative stereotypes, and we need to do that here too. Secondly, empathy and consideration and inclusion shouldn’t be limited to just Jews who reject Zionism.”
Burdett warned against using stereotypes about Zionist donors at a debate hosted by Ocasio-Cortez, who herself had made inflammatory remarks the day before.
“Well, AIPAC sort of acts as a political slush fund for Republican billionaires and should not be influencing the Democratic Party, much less the primary election,” Ocasio-Cortez said. I wrote to X On Sunday, he pointed to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has the goal of strengthening U.S.-Israel relations and works with members of both parties.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York leaves Columbia University after visiting an anti-Israel encampment in New York City on April 26, 2024. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Hikind said AIPAC is a “legitimate organization” that follows the law and supports both Democrats and Republicans.
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“They don’t have a Democratic or Republican advantage. We know that. You can look at the record and see that. So it makes sense that she would say this,” Hikind told Fox News Digital, responding to Ocasio-Cortez’s X post. “My mother went to Auschwitz in 1944 with her whole family. They were all killed because they were Jewish. When you hear people like AOC indulge in anti-Semitic tropes and then it’s picked up by other people and it leads to attacks on Jews and hatred towards Jews, then she’s complicit in that.”
