Andrew Yang came under fire Tuesday following a controversial tweet regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict (Photo: @andrewYang)
May 12, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang got a cool reception in Astoria Tuesday after he sent out an apparent pro-Israel tweet Monday night.
Yang visited the neighborhood for an endorsement announcement and was then scheduled to join a local nonprofit to distribute groceries to families ahead of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
However, a statement he tweeted Monday evening about the Israel-Palestinian conflict left him in hot water and the nonprofit Astoria Welfare Society rescinded its invitation.
“I’m standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks, and condemn the Hamas terrorists,” Yang tweeted. “The people of NYC will always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere.”
I’m standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks, and condemn the Hamas terrorists. The people of NYC will always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere.
— Andrew Yang???? (@AndrewYang) May 10, 2021
The Astoria Welfare Society asked Yang not to come to the food distribution event due to his pro-Israel remarks, the nonprofit said in a statement.
“We, Astoria Welfare Society in New York, rescinded our invitation to Andrew Yang for our Eid event today,” the group tweeted. “His disregard of Palestinian lives is regrettable and immoral.”
Like the nonprofit, many New Yorkers were upset that his tweet ignored the large number of Palestinians — including children — killed by Israeli military forces over the past three days.
Two New Yorkers confronted Yang head-on about his statement on the conflict Tuesday in Astoria, video shows.
“What do you have to say about your tweet directly to New Yorkers right now,” a woman asked Yang in a video posted to Twitter by a NY1 reporter.
“It’s heartbreaking to all of us what’s happening in the Middle East,” Yang responded.
A man in the video — identified as Abid Rahman by NY1 — then asked Yang if he would condemn Israel for “their unjust acts against innocent Palestinians?”
However, Yang’s aid steps in and grabs the candidate — who has the support of the city’s Orthodox Jewish community — before he addresses the question.
“Don’t say anything that’s going to f–k up your campaign,” the woman taunted Yang in response. “And that’s why you don’t have my vote and I guarantee you, you don’t have the vote of a lot of New Yorkers.”
The video gained the attention of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who sharply condemned Yang.
“Utterly shameful for Yang to try to show up to an Eid event after sending out a chest-thumping statement of support for a strike killing 9 children, especially after his silence as Al-Aqsa was attacked,” she tweeted. “But then to try that in Astoria? During Ramadan?! They will let you know.”
Utterly shameful for Yang to try to show up to an Eid event after sending out a chest-thumping statement of support for a strike killing 9 children, especially after his silence as Al-Aqsa was attacked.
But then to try that in Astoria? During Ramadan?! They will let you know. https://t.co/r721mHyfri
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 11, 2021
Astoria council candidate Tiffany Cabán retweeted Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet, emphasizing that Astoria residents will “let you know” when they disagree.
Ocasio-Cortez and Cabán are among a growing number of progressives in Queens who are outspoken critics of the Israeli government. Both are members of the the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which shares pro-Palestine views.
Another pro-Palestine politician is Astoria Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani, also a DSA member, participated in an “Emergency Rally for Palestine” in front of the Israeli Consulate in Manhattan Tuesday.
“The struggle for Palestine is the struggle for dignity and every single one of us…has to be committed to dignity in Gaza; every single one of us that wants justice… needs to be fighting for justice in the West Bank,” Mamdani said at the rally.
He asked New Yorkers to pressure their elected officials to support the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement which asks other countries to boycott, divest and sanction Israel for its treatment of Palestinian citizens.
“We want to let them know that we have three letters that we have an answer to what is happening in Palestine. And it’s B.D.S,” he shouted, spurring a “BDS” chant.
Right now, New Yorkers are protesting Israel’s attack on Gaza. Watch @ZohranKMamdani, a New York State Assemblyman, speak to the crowd on why “the struggle for Palestine is the struggle for dignity.” pic.twitter.com/NJ7rXYYEOE
— IMEU (@theIMEU) May 11, 2021
This morning, Yang made another statement regarding the conflict.
He said a group of his own campaign volunteers approached him about the tweet which they said was “overly simplistic” and “failed to acknowledge the pain and suffering on both sides.”
“They were, of course, correct,” Yang said. “I mourn for every Palestinian life taken before its time as I do for every Israeli.”
“Support of a people does not make one blind to the pain and suffering of others,” he added.
— Andrew Yang???? (@AndrewYang) May 12, 2021
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35 Comments
No offense to both sides but this issue will have no affect on the mayoral race. Both sides got played by the liberal media by tugging on emotions rather than seeing on what is really playing out here. The liberal media is creating a buzz with the front runner of the mayoral race that they don’t seem to like, so they use the words of one of the most ill informed morons of government in our time, AOC., to condemn him.
Just donated to Yang
She is self hating. She claims she has Jewish blood thus making her an expert on all things Jewish.
400,000,000 millions Arabs and 7 million Jews and the Jews are the oppressors. Laughable.
Who persecuted the Jews?
That’s 1,000,000,000,000 Arabs, more than the population of Earth. Math isn’t exactly Trump lovers’ strong suit ?
He was the lucky the Arab kids weren’t at Astoria Park when he was there. He woulda gotten pressed
Nah. His team would have smelled them a mile away and would have been prepared.
ISRAEL IS NOT A LEGITIMATE STATE!! STOP THE ILLEGAL OCCUPATION!! FREE PALESTINE TILL ITS BACKWARDS
The Palestinians lived on the land well before the Jews took the land and trapped the Palestinians in the 1940s. It’s a concentration camp.
Read your Bible
And they were given Jordan
Man, genius!!!
You are lying about that. There have been Jews there for 2,000 years. In addition Jews agreed to a plan to divide the area into 2 nations Jewish and Arab but as always Arabs reject everything that they can’t win. Tell the truth.
I will donate to yang
Astoria is often referred to as little egypt. A popular area for arab and north african communities which is growing each year.
Does anyone remember 9/11/2001?
New Yorkers didn’t like Muslim terrorists back then, so why is it taboo to condemn them now? Hamas is no better than Al-Qaeda.
Only terrorist sympathizers have a problem with Yang’s comments.
Since 2000, the Israeli Defense Forces have murdered 14,400 children in the Gaza Strip and arrested 8,000 children unlawfully. In the past week, 119 innocent Gazans were killed, 31 of them children and 19 women, with 830+ wounded. People are waking up to find their entire families dead, in the holy month of Ramadan. In the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, which is in the West Bank of Palestine, families are being forced out of the homes they lived in for generations. One side is fighting with sticks and stones, while the other has jets, tanks, missiles, and nuclear weapons. I would like for clarification on who your “terrorist sympathizers” are.
Lots of love to my Palestinian and Jewish brothers and sisters in Astoria……Jesus saves.
Go Yang!
Free Palestine!
It is free: it’s called ISRAEL.
Hey Ahmed:
Go blame your incompetent leaders. You could have had a home 75 years ago but your leaders blew it. You guys have taken over from the Jews as the eternal victims.
Hey Ahmed;
You will never have a country as long as Hamas is in charge. Terrorists.
Yang’s cornier than the corn-fed garbage folks that move to NYC and ruin it.
Yang? AOC? Israel/Palestine? NYC Mayor’s race? I should have bought stock in a popcorn company. I just wish bike lanes were involved.
I guess progressive bigots like Ocasio Cortez don’t like it when someone supports a view different than theirs.
Are we going to acknowledge that NYC Mayoral candidate Eric Adams made a similar statement?
https://twitter.com/ericadamsfornyc/status/1391922818032574464
Good for Adams! Why does AOC support Hamas?
A leftist wrote this article. Sad that progressives support Islamonazis
Most Americans stand with Israel
Apparently aoc et al want to see dead Jews
Bds supporters are the news Nazis
Nobody wants to see “dead Jews” more than Southern Baptist and other Evangelicals. They’re even paying for Jewish people to relocate to Israel in hopes they get murdered so Christian Cultists can rapture up to heaven. That’s why Trump recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.,
Yang gang owes us Bernie bros an apology.
Unless his team somehow puts some ultra spin on his tweet, and everyone else loses their memory overnight, he’s done, and honestly, I don’t really mind.
woooow. to those who things that culture wars are not real, see above. leftists and Muslim-Americans unilaterally support Palestinians, conservatives and Christians support Israel, with no middle ground. it doesn’t matter if the candidate represents your own party, no matter what he or she says, right now everything is black and white.
this is sad and scary, because it’s only a matter of time until people will not stop at the verbal insults. we’ve seen this time and time again in other countries, how a little spark sets off a very real political violence, and, until the rise of Trump and the left extremism, we thought that America was somehow immune from that. it seems that compared to what’s coming ahead, “Capitol insurrection” or “riots in the middle of our cities” that both sides site so much will look like peanuts.
Anonymous- That’s just this bloggers agenda. This blogger refuses to post my post which is neither pro or anti Israel or Palestine. It’s the view of close to a quarter of Americans who are non believers.
This is the most legitimate comment here. The minority extremists on both sides seem to control everything. Its the people who are moderates to both parties who are suffering the most.