AOC claims pro-Israel lobby funnels ‘dark money’ to undermine democracy.
NY Dem blasted for using ‘antisemitic tropes’ in fundraising email
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez / Getty Images
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has come under fire for her recent fundraising email, in which she accused pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC of “funneling dark money” to target ”progressive, working-class candidates of color.” This has led to accusations from Jewish activists that she is employing “antisemitic tropes.”
In the email, Ocasio-Cortez warned that AIPAC was attempting to “undermine democracy” and “abuse campaign finance laws to spend millions of dollars on misleading attack ads” against Representative Jamaal Bowman.
“We just received word: AIPAC is at it again. They’re trying to recruit an establishment executive to run against my brother in The Bronx, Jamaal Bowman,” wrote Ocasio-Cortez. “We know what comes next. AIPAC won’t wait much longer to start funneling dark money against Jamaal and ramping up attacks against our movement.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism of AIPAC comes at a time when the Democratic Party is grappling with increasing anti-Israel sentiment among far-left lawmakers. Her fellow “squad” members have recently intensified their attacks on Israel, labeling it a “racist state” and boycotting Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to Congress.
Neither Ocasio-Cortez nor AIPAC responded to requests for comment.
Jewish activists took to social media to condemn the congresswoman’s remarks.
“It is truly stomach-churning how many antisemitic tropes AOC managed to fit into this memo bashing @AIPAC and defending Jamaal Bowman,” wrote StopAntisemitism.org, a watchdog group that fights anti-Jewish bigotry, on Twitter.
The group argued that Ocasio-Cortez’s letter implied that ”Jews use dark money to buy political power & influence” and that they are “wealthy white racists trying to pro-israel-lobbying-group-of-funneling-dark-money-to-undermine-democracy/” title=”AOC claims pro-Israel lobby funnels ‘dark money’ to undermine democracy.”>suppress progressive working-class people of color.”
Arsen Ostrovsky, a pro-Israel and human rights activist, also accused Ocasio-Cortez of ”invoking age-old antisemitic tropes.”
“So, let me get this straight … In 2018, @AOC unseated an incumbent Democrat to get elected. And that was fine?” he wrote on Twitter. “But now someone challenges her Squad bestie @RepBowman and all of a sudden it’s outrageous, and she resorts to invoking age-old antisemitic tropes against @AIPAC?”
Bowman’s anti-Israel positions have drawn criticism from Jewish leaders in his district, who are looking to recruit a primary challenger. He participated in the boycott of Herzog last month and objected to a House resolution defending Israel against accusations of racism.
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