Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Twitter)
May 19, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Congress Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a joint resolution Wednesday in opposition to U.S. weapons sales to Israel.
The resolution — also introduced by Reps. Mark Pocan and Rashida Tlaib — aims to stop the sale of $735 million worth of weapons to Israel that are currently in the process of being sold. Her resolution comes during the second week of violence between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group based in Gaza.
Ocasio-Cortez said the U.S. has played a role in the death and displacement of Palestinians through its arms trade with Israel.
“For decades, the U.S. has sold billions of dollars in weaponry to Israel without ever requiring them to respect basic Palestinian rights,” she said. “In so doing, we have directly contributed to the death, displacement and disenfranchisement of millions.”
The Queens-Bronx congresswoman urged the Biden administration to rethink the weapons sale. Many U.S.-made weapons are being used in the current conflict, she said.
“At a time when so many, including President Biden, support a ceasefire, we should not be sending ‘direct attack’ weaponry to Prime Minister Netanyahu to prolong this violence,” she said.
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli air strikes, while at least 10 Israelis have been killed by rockets launched by Hamas.
The approval of the pending weapons sale, according to Tlaib, would show the world that the U.S. doesn’t care about the lives of Palestinians.
“The harsh truth is that these weapons are being sold by the United States to Israel with the clear understanding that the vast majority of them will be used to bomb Gaza,” Tlaib said in a statement.
“Approving this sale now, while failing to even try to use it as leverage for a ceasefire, sends a clear message to the world – the U.S. is not interested in peace, and does not care about the human rights and lives of Palestinians.”
She also condemned Netanyahu’s administration in her statement.
“You cannot claim to support human rights and peace on Earth and continue to back the extremist Netanyahu regime, it’s that simple,” she said.
Seven additional legislators have co-sponsored the legislation and more than 70 organizations have endorsed it. Reps. Cori Bush, Betty McCollum, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal and Andre Carson are all initial co-sponsors.
The Biden administration negotiated the multibillion-dollar sale with Israel before the current violence erupted. President Joe Biden has since asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “de-escalate” the conflict, but the sale is still moving forward.
The three legislators introduced the resolution following a news report that Queens Congress Member Gregory Meeks, who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, had called for an emergency meeting with the committee to discuss the weapons sale.
Meeks was expected to send a letter to Biden requesting a delay of the sale so that lawmakers could have more time to review. He later decided not to call for the delay after the president agreed to speak to committee members on the matter, according to reports.
Ocasio-Cortez introduced the resolution days after she sent a series of tweets condemning Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
“Apartheid states aren’t democracies,” she wrote in one tweet.
In another tweet, she called out the Biden administration for not doing enough to bring the conflict to a halt.
This is happening with the support of the United States.
I don’t care how any spokesperson tries to spin this. The US vetoed the UN call for ceasefire.
If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to?
How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights? https://t.co/bXY99O3Wqp
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 15, 2021
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37 Comments
Rumor has it, her Only Fans page will come to life only when Palestinians stop firing misses at their own people, and Isreal! I, for one, can’t wait.
Palestinians danced and cheered in the street when 9/11 happened.
How come Arabs are allowed to verbally abuse Jews but a single slur against Blacks or Asians is worldwide headlines. Print that.
Never was on AOC side much before but she got my future vote in whatever she runs for , her compassion for those human lives that were taken away over greed and selfishness, hope her platform gets the justice they desperately need
How about if Israel elects a moderate government and negotiates. How about if extremists like Hamas are rejected from power. How about if both sides negotiate a fair and equitable peace for both peoples and each side stops blaming the other. How about if Palestinian anti-Semites stop targeting innocent Jews for things they have nothing to do with.
I agree with you , I have not said anything about the Jewish people , I’m speaking about the government of Israel, not the people
Both governments must reform and negotiate, but the Palestine’s if you want to believe it or not are still the underdogs and the government of Israel greatly benefits from American arms and weapons .
Muslims are showing their true nature by committing violent acts against innocent Jews who have nothing to do with Israel and then they will demonstrate against police violence towards Black people. All frauds.
They’ve been doing it to orthodox Jews, which is laughable because they aren’t even zionists.
As a Jew I want a fair and equitable peace for both sides, but Muslims yell and scream the most vile anti-Semitism and then scream if someone makes the slightest anti-Muslim comment. The difference between the 2 peoples is night and day.
Not all Palestinians are Muslim—there are many Palestinian Christians, Palestinian Jews, etc. etc.—and criticizing Israel, a settler colonial state that regularly practices war crimes, is not at all the same thing as anti-Semitism.
It is the Palestinians who are at fault. give Israel all the weapons they want.
Wow , the extreme hate for a COUNTRY they have no knowledge about or their suffering , Israel the state (not all their people ) is America’s Welfare child with absolutely no interest to comprise or co-exist , they are greedy and soulless
You’re a fool. Do some research. Read The NY Times recent article about how Israel has moved away from being dependent on Israel.
iF THE PALESTINIANS WOULD STOP BOMBING ISRAEL THEN THEY WOULD STOP RETALIATING.
Palestine injustice is being seen more than ever now , across the planet many countries are defending them from their bully neighbors
Give Israel more weapons!
Then why don’t you post it?
If Trump were president hamas wouldn’t dare throw misfiled at Israel. Little joe is being tested on all front including his squad and is failing miserably. Brings back nightmares of the carter presidency. Not good at all 🙁
what makes you think he could secure an entirely different country?!
…rather have “little Joe” than the “Orange Menace” any day, and the majority of the country agreed…
Little joe doesnt even know who he is. he’s confused most of the time. probably Alzheimer’s.
As confused as Little Ronnie Regan who fell sleep in meetings at the White House?
The muslim population is growing each year in many of our local districts which will attract more people to the polls and widen support for socialist and progressive candidates.
Muslims are socialists now? I know fox news told you both of those are bad words but you might want to look up what they mean ?
The US support for Israel is primarily driven by a lobby consisting of Evangelical Christians. There support is less than noble. Their ultimate goal is to get three quarters of Israelis murdered that’s why they pay for Jewish people to move to Israel and the Evangelic push for Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital. In order for Evangelical doomsday Armageddon prophecies to come true and the rapture to occur Israel must exist with Jerusalem as its capital and three quarters of Israel’s citizens must be killed in the process.
Free Palestine!!
Free to do what? Drive around and asking people if they’re Jewish and then assault them like they did in L.A. this weekend? It hasn’t even been 20 years and so many have forgotten. When the 9/11 attack happened, Israeli offered help and Palestinians danced in the street celebrating. What foolish children we have in our country embracing our enemies.
Awful pity that she is not as diligent in trying to keep weapons out of the hands of her constitutions from the south Bronx where shooting are now a daily occurrence.
Bronx has always been a notsafe haven.
Shootings all the time.
If by always, you mean the late 1960s through the mid 1990s sure.
Meanwhile our hood going to pieces and this loon pontificates about things she does not understand
Dump sandy – You’re the one who doesn’t understand and the hood is a long way off from going to pieces. People don’t pay 1.5 million for 1500 square foot homes and $400K for one bedroom apartments in places that are “going to pieces”.
Maybe she should tell her Hamas buddies to stop firing rockets at Israel. Israelis have a right to defend themselves.
If Canada started firing missiles over Niagara Falls and blowing up Downtown Buffalo, NY, I’m sure the US would respond in kind.
…would we? It is Buffalo after all….
media only projects a one sided story , the state of Israel were terrorizing Palestine during the most holiest month and Palestine will of course defend themself with little they have compared to what America sends to Israel “ , but of course that wasn’t shown much on American junk tv
Comparing Canada and America ??? When was it last a Canadian forced an American out of their own home?
That’s a pretty weak analogy. If we owned Canada and treated Canadians the way the Palestinians have been treated since Israel was formed, the Canadians would hate us and there would be unbearable tension. Anyone who follows what’s been going on there since 1948 knows that Israel has been provoking the people who lived there before Israel existed. I don’t see how we can’t appreciate the fact that the Palestinians are fighting back. Look what the American colonists did to the British back in 1776. That’s a better analogy but certainly not perfect.
The Jews are the natives of what is ISRAEL. Read your Bible and your history. When the crusaders entered JERUSALEM there were Jews there with Moslems – except that the JEWS WERE THERE FIRST. I know history is difficult for you since you traffic in critical race theory but you should try to read.
you aren’t very super witty and you have no knowledge of history but don’t let that get in the way of your opinion; the Arabs drove out over one million Jews from the homes after the partition but nobody on the LEFT or their Islamist pals cares about that; however, Israel welcomes Jews from exile while nobody wants the Palestinians after the chaos they caused in JORDAN AND LEBANON.