Ocasio-Cortez Loses the Democratic Socialists’ Endorsement Over Israel - eviltoast

The Democratic Socialists of America pulled its endorsement of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York this week, accusing the progressive congresswoman of being insufficiently supportive of the Palestinian cause and efforts to end the war in Gaza…

Her approach has increasingly strained her relationship with some of the left’s most strident critics of Israel. When she rallied last month in the Bronx with Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Jamaal Bowman, dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators angry over her endorsement of Mr. Biden chanted “You’re a fraud, A.O.C.”

  • soratoyuki@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    AOC’s national endorsement was (and still is) preventing DSA from working on solidarity with Palestinian liberation organizations across the country. I get that to a lot of people, AOC is the ideal reformist Democrat, but that’s really just a condemnation of how bad even the ‘good’ Democrats are.

    From DSA’s statement on the issue:

    "However, members have raised their concerns regarding a number of her votes, including a vote in favor of H.Res.888, conflating opposition to Israel’s “right to exist” with antisemitism. AOC also co-signed a press release on April 20, 2024, that “support[s] strengthening the Iron Dome and other defense systems”

    Finally, AOC recently hosted a public panel with leaders from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, lobbyists for the IHRA definition of antisemitism. On this panel, anti-Zionism and antisemitism were conflated and boycotting Zionist institutions was condemned. This sponsorship is a deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action in recent months, and in decades past."

    Of course that behavior got her unendorsed. It’s fine if you, random Lemmy users, like her, but I’m glad that explicit workers-owning-the-means-of-production socialists are holding their endorsed electeds accountable. That shit shouldn’t fly.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        The easiest way to piss off pugjesus is to expect politicians to oppose genocide everywhere, not just at home.

          • whoreticulture@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Genocide at home upsets you … except when I mention the AIDs crisis and you claim that Trump is a uniquely terrible politician.

          • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Sorry that genocide at home upsets me.

            Sorry that you feel the need to advocate for genocide abroad.

                  • whoreticulture@lemmy.world
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                    4 months ago

                    The only reason Biden is sending fewer weapons to Israel than Trump might, is because he is marginally responsive to the criticism you denounce people for.

                  • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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                    4 months ago

                    And the assumption that anyone who is critical at all of Biden’s support for the genocide must be a trumpist.

                    Since you can’t defend your advocacy for genocide any other way, you have to spam false accusations against anyone who dares to insist that the lives of Gazans have value even when a Democrat is president.

        • PugJesus@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          What exactly do you think is going to happen under a renewed Trump administration? Day one dictator, Project 2025, any of this ringing genocide bells?

            • PugJesus@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              Oh, of course, the DSA endorsing a fascist legislature is MUCH better and completely unrelated, my bad.

                • PugJesus@lemmy.world
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                  4 months ago

                  What exactly do you think happens when you are (supposedly) important enough to sway an election and pull support away from antifascist candidates for not being 100% in line with your views when the opposition is a literal fucking fascist party?

                  Like, this isn’t trigonometry.

                  • soratoyuki@lemmy.world
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                    4 months ago

                    I wish DSA was important enough to swing more than a handful of local elections lol. She won her primary (against a fellow Democrat, by definition) with 80% of the vote. I say this with love, I don’t think you have any clue what you’re talking about? Even in the context of the general election, NY-14 is like +40 D. She’s still going to win. Thank you, I guess, for accurately pointing out DSA’s calculus in strategically endorsing and not endorsing candidates so as to not sink popular candidates while also building coalitions with Palestinian organizations?