Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Israel
by Ronn Torossian
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could become a new member of Congress from New York City. She’s a Democratic newcomer — who has also harshly criticized Israel.
Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a May Twitter message that the Israeli army had committed a “massacre” in Gaza. She wrote that, “No state or entity is absolved of mass shootings of protesters. There is no justification. Palestinian people deserve basic human dignity, as anyone else. Democrats can’t be silent about this anymore.”
She further said in an interview that, “I think I was primarily compelled [to speak out] on moral grounds because I could only imagine if 60 people were shot and killed in Ferguson. Or if 60 people were shot and killed in the West Virginia teachers’ strikes. The idea that we are not supposed to talk about people dying when they are engaging in political expression just really moved me.”
She added that, “People are separating the actions and status of Palestinians from even the greater geopolitics of the area. People are looking at Palestinians through a humanitarian lens.”
Some Democrats continue to increasingly hostile to Israel — and maybe it will finally lead to more Jews voting Republican. There are simply too many in our community who continue to blindly support the Democratic Party.
As Jeff Jacoby, the op-ed editor of The Boston Globe has written, “liberalism has superseded Judaism as the religion of most American Jews.” One wonders how many more Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezes it will take for Jews to vote Republican.
Ronn Torossian is a public relations executive, and serves on the Vice Chairman’s Council of the Republican Jewish Coalition.