Ocasio-Cortez Promises To ‘Learn And Evolve’ On Israeli-Palestinian Issues
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Image by Getty Images
After drawing criticism during her primary campaign for her harsh statements about Israel, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told PBS on Friday that she’s beginning to look at issues like the Israel-Palestinian conflict differently.
Ocasio-Cortez tweeted “This is a massacre…Democrats can’t be silent about this anymore” in May after Israel killed 60 Gazans on the border.
But appearing on the show “Firing Line,” Ocasio-Cortez’s stance appeared that have softened. She said that she wrote that tweet “as an activist,” and now promises to “learn and evolve on this issue,” admitting that she is not an expert on Middle East affairs.
Ocasio-Cortez explained that she believes in Israel’s right to exist and advocates for a two-state solution. The tweet, she said, came from a humanitarian-crisis angle.
“For me, the lens through which I saw this incident, as an activist, as an organizer: If 60 people were killed in Ferguson, Missouri, if 60 people were killed in the South Bronx – unarmed – 60 people were killed in Puerto Rico … it would just be completely unacceptable if that happened on our shores,” she said.”
Ocasio-Cortez also referred to “the occupation of Palestine.” When asked by host Margaret Hoover what she meant by the phrase, Ocasio-Cortez got flustered and apologized: “I am not the expert on geo-politics on this issue…I may not use the right words.”
“I come from the South Bronx, I come from a Puerto Rican background. And Middle Eastern politics is not exactly at my kitchen table every night,” she said. “But I also recognize that this is an intensely-important issue for people in my district, for Americans across the country. And I think at least what is important to communicate is that I am willing to listen.”
Ocasio-Cortez won a historic upset victory in the Democratic primary in her congressional district in Queens and the Bronx in June and will likely sail to a general election victory in November.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
