Ocasio-Cortez rips Democratic critics of Omar

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ripped into members of her own party on Thursday over criticism they have leveled against her ally and fellow progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). 

Ocasio-Cortez said she was sick and tired of the criticism, arguing Omar’s words had been intentionally mischaracterized and that it was putting the Somali American, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, in personal danger.

“Pretty sick & tired of the constant vilification, intentional mischaracterization, and public targeting of @IlhanMN coming from our caucus,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet. “They have no concept for the danger they put her in by skipping private conversations & leaping to fueling targeted news cycles around her.” 

Pretty sick & tired of the constant vilification, intentional mischaracterization, and public targeting of @IlhanMN coming from our caucus.

They have no concept for the danger they put her in by skipping private conversations & leaping to fueling targeted news cycles around her.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 10, 2021

Omar has caught flak from a number of lawmakers, primarily Jewish Democrats in Congress, over comments she has made regarding Israel and tensions in the Middle East.  

After Omar compared the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban while discussing war crimes, 12 Jewish Democrats issued a joint statement pushing back on the progressive lawmaker. 

“Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of law and contemptible organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one’s intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice,”  the lawmakers stated. “The United States and Israel are imperfect and, like all democracies, at times deserving of critique, but false equivalencies give cover to terrorist groups. We urge Congresswoman Omar to clarify her words placing the US and Israel in the same category as Hamas and the Taliban.”

This isn’t the first time Omar has drawn criticism from fellow House Democrats over remarks about Israel.

In 2019, the House passed a resolution condemning antisemitism, racism and Islamophobia after Omar questioned the pro-Israel lobby as a “political influence in this country that says it is OK to push for allegiance to a foreign country,” a sentiment seen by many as based on an antisemitic trope.

Omar also drew ire for tweeting that U.S. politicians’ support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins,” which was viewed as antisemitic for invoking tropes about Jewish people using money for influence. 

Omar said Thursday that she is receiving death threats. She posted audio of a person saying: “Muslims are terrorists. And she is a raghead n—–. And every anti-American communist piece of shit that works for her, I hope you get what’s f—— coming for you.”