Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has hit out at reports that a pro-Israel lobby group plans to pump tens of millions of dollars to try oust progressive Democrats in next year’s primaries because of their opposition to the fighting in Gaza.
Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, decried the apparent “acceptable level of dissent” amid a report from Salon that American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC] will be is seeking to spend up to $100 million to remove her and other members of the so-called “Squad” from office over their calls for a ceasefire as Israel continues its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian attack on Israel in history on October 7, killing at least 1,200. Israel declared it was at war with Hamas and launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. More than 11,200 Palestinians, a majority of them women and children, have been killed since the war began, the Associated Press reported, citing the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. A further 2,700 people have been reported missing in Gaza since the fighting broke out.
Ocasio-Cortez and fellow original Squad members Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, as well as more recent inductees Cori Bush of Missouri, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, have frequently urged President Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire to protect civilian lives in Gaza.
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“Criticism of the Israeli gov is virtually nonexistent in US politics, but apparently that’s not enough,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on X, formerly Twitter, while sharing the reports on AIPAC.
“Gotta spend *$100 million* to unseat the few who believe in Palestinian human rights & a ceasefire that most Americans already support. The acceptable level of dissent is 0.”
Bowman, Bush, Lee and Omar are already facing primary challengers in 2024, with AIPAC reportedly looking for similar challengers for Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Pressley.
“We are reviewing a number of races involving detractors of Israel, but we have made no decisions at this time,” an AIPAC spokesperson told Newsweek.
Ocasio-Cortez ran unopposed in the 2022 Democratic primary for New York’s 14th district, and went on to easily win reelection during last November’s midterms with 70 percent of the vote.
Newsweek has reached to Ocasio-Cortez via email for comment.
Connor Farrell, president of the progressive fundraising group Left Rising, described reports that AIPAC hopes to sink as much as $100 million into removing the Squad from office as “extremely audacious.”
“[AIPAC wants] to make the statement this cycle that no one is safe from their wrath, that if you speak out, you can be targeted no matter how popular or how many cycles of incumbent you are,” Farrell told Salon.
Ocasio-Cortez’s and others’ demands for a ceasefire is putting them at odds with Biden, who has frequently rejected calls in favor of so-called humanitarian pauses, but not necessarily with the general public.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Wednesday found that 77 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of Republicans and 82 percent of independent voters agree that Israel should call for a ceasefire, with fewer Americans now believing that the U.S. should continue in its support of Israel in its war against Hamas compared to October.
AIPAC endorsed 109 Republican representatives who voted to overturn the 2020 election in the last election cycle, and was the top donor to newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson’s 2022 reelection campaign to his district in Louisiana.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.