Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Cites The Torah In Her Latest Twitter Retort

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Image by Getty Images
“Pray as if everything depends on God, but act as if everything depends on you.” – Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
“The world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.” – Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
New York State representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a reputation for writing the best comebacks since Abraham said, “But what if there are 10?” The freshman congresswoman has used hard statistics, personal anecdotes, and Spice Girls lyrics to smite her haters.
On Wednesday, Raw Story reported on a Fox News interview in which press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested that, rather than Ocasio-Cortez, the end of the world should be left in “the hands of a much, much higher authority.”
The first-time representative responded with a takedown as old as time (well, maybe). In a drash-like tweet, she simply referenced nine moments in the Torah that suggest human responsibility for the earth. Nine.
“Genesis 1: God looked on the world & called it good not once, not twice, but seven times.
Genesis 2: God commands all people to “serve and protect†creation.
Leviticus: God mandates that not only the people, but the land that sustains them, shall be respected.†https://t.co/AhWd3vuVBd
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 23, 2019
Dang, congresswoman! And at risk of getting too ecclesiastical, may we add — One generation goes and another, more worldly and tech-savvy generation comes; but the earth remains forever. For in respect of the fate of man and the fate of beast, they have one and the same fate: as the one dies so dies the other; all share the same breath of life.
“You shouldn’t need a bible to tell you to protect our planet,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “But it does anyway.”
Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Opinion Yes, the attack on Gov. Shapiro was antisemitic. Here’s what the left should learn from it
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward A federal agency survey reportedly asks Barnard employees if they’re Jewish
-
Opinion A Palestinian leader just gave Trump an unprecedented opening to pursue peace
-
Fast Forward NIH bans grants for schools that boycott Israeli companies
-
Fast Forward An elite Jewish society at Yale fractures over its director’s embrace of Itamar Ben-Gvir
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.