AOC: Anti-Semitism is the Weapon, Not Defenders of the Jewish People

AOC castigates U.S. officials who resist the rise of anti-Semitism in America

During a TV interview with Israel’s News 12 this week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stated “They (the U.S. administration) can no longer use this allegation of anti-Semitism to defend their unjust and inhumane policies that hurt all people and frankly I think it damages the security of all people, Israeli or Palestinian alike. You can’t use this cudgel of anti-Semitism to scare people away from pointing that out.”

These remarks are riddled with the consequential rhetoric that are being employed by the American Left to justify anti-Semitic behavior among its political elite. The fact that Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is suggesting that the designation of the hateful words spoken by her peers, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), as anti-Semitic is a mere “allegation” and in indeed not grounded is appalling.  AOC then wrongfully claims that U.S. officials are actually weaponizing anti-Semitism when they counter blatant hate speech. Cortez apparently assumes that those who have been fighting to defend a minority religion that has historically been persecuted and discriminated against must have ulterior motives.

The Trump administration and many members of Congress  have called out the disturbing tropes that Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib have recycled in recent months. Criticizing elected representatives for taking a stand against anti-Semitism is despicable.

U.S. officials are not “alleging” Reps. Omar and Tlaib are anti-Semitic; they are recognizing the overt and dangerous age-old tropes and rhetoric that are present in their published and spoken statements. In February Rep. Omar indicated that AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee) funds, aka Jewish money, is the catalyst behind U.S. officials’ support for Israel. This smear came just one month after the Representative claimed she “didn’t know how (her) comments would be offensive to Jewish Americans,” regarding a 2014 tweet which stated Israel had “hypnotized the world.”

Similarly, Rep. Tlaib perpetuated the dual-loyalty trope when she suggested Jews “forgot what country they represent,” in reference to an anti-BDS bill.  The Boycott Sanctions Divestment Movement aims to hurt Israel economically by blacklisting Israeli-made products. The BDS movement unsurprisingly stems directly from the Arab League’s 1945 anti-Jewish boycotts. Reps. Omar, Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez’s support of this movement alone aligns these Congresswomen with a historically anti-Semitic entity.

Castigating U.S. officials who resist anti-Semitism is a new low for our country. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez should reconsider her destructive rhetoric and recognize how it contributes to the furthering of Jew-hatred in America.