Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) retweeted a post from a supporter of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
“AIPAC activist tells NYT the lobby is coming for Congresswomen @AOC @RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN,” tweeted Yusuf Munayyer, the executive director of the US Center for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), sharing a New York Times article questioning the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) amid Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) falsely blaming the pro-Israel lobby for paying members of Congress. “They are three people who, in my opinion, will not be around in several years.”
AIPAC activist tells NYT the lobby is coming for Congresswomen @AOC @RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN
“They are three people who, in my opinion, will not be around in several years.”https://t.co/CiuU1zMu5Y
— (((YousefMunayyer))) (@YousefMunayyer) March 5, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez shared Munayyer’s post and added, “This is disappointing to see. Just last week there was all this hubbub over an untrue mischaracterization that I was threatening primaries based on pro-ICE votes. Yet there seems to be no problem at all with a zero-tolerance stance for simply asking about U.S. foreign policy.”
This is disappointing to see.
Just last week there was all this hubbub over an untrue mischaracterization that I was threatening primaries based on pro-ICE votes.
Yet there seems to be no problem at all with a zero-tolerance stance for simply asking about US foreign policy. https://t.co/YoOIPDSpbU
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019
Munayyer, who is followed by Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter, has a record of applauding the efforts of the PFLP through his page on the social-media platform.
In 2015, he tweeted a “New video of Fadi Allon execution from another angle. He was completely surrounded and then shot and killed.”
Aloon was shot by Israeli security forces after stabbing a 15-year-old Israeli boy. Prior to the attack, Aloon posted “Either martyrdom or victory” on his Facebook profile.
In a May 21, 2010 article headlined “Palestinian nonviolence relies on global non-silence,” Munayyer inaccurately labeled those on board the so-called Gaza “Freedom Flotilla,” as “nonviolent activists,” who actually sought to violently attack Israeli security forces.
Ocasio-Cortez’s latest tweet comes just hours after defending Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who on Sunday defended her recent remarks accusing her “Jewish colleagues” for attacking her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) for labeling every criticism of theirs as anti-Israel because of the faith of the two congresswomen, in addition to slamming her critics regarding “the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
“One of the things that is hurtful about the extent to which reprimand is sought of Ilhan is that no one seeks this level of reprimand when members make statements about Latinx + other communities (during the shutdown, a GOP member yelled ‘Go back to Puerto Rico!’ on the floor),” said the congresswoman in a Twitter thread.
It’s not my position to tell people how to feel, or that their hurt is invalid.
But incidents like these do beg the question: where are the resolutions against homophobic statements? For anti-blackness? For xenophobia? For a member saying he’ll “send Obama home to Kenya?”
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019
The Republican member, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) apologized for making that remark towards Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) .
“In this administration + all others, we should actively check antisemitism, anti-blackness, homophobia, racism, and all other forms of bigotry,” tweeted Ocasio-Cortez. “And the most productive end goal when we see it is to educate and heal. It’s the difference btwn ‘calling in’ before ‘calling out.’”
“‘Calling out’ is one of the measures of last resort, not 1st or 2nd resort,” she added. “We do it when repeated attempts to ‘call in’ are disrespected or ignored. And I believe that Ilhan, in her statement a few weeks ago, has demonstrated a willingness to listen+work w/impacted communities.”
“Calling out” is one of the measures of last resort, not 1st or 2nd resort.
We do it when repeated attempts to “call in” are disrespected or ignored. And I believe that Ilhan, in her statement a few weeks ago, has demonstrated a willingness to listen+work w/impacted communities.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019
