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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls AIPAC ‘racist and bigoted’
(New York Jewish Week) — New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee “an extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy” in a social media post on Tuesday night.
“AIPAC endorsed scores of Jan 6th insurrectionists,” the progressive lawmaker, who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “They are no friend to American democracy. They are one of the more racist and bigoted PACs in Congress as well, who disproportionately target members of color.”
She concluded, “They are an extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s statement was in response to a post the pro-Israel organization published Tuesday, calling her out along with other lawmakers who did not support a pro-Israel House resolution last week. Also named in the post were other members of the “Squad,” the group of progressive Democratic members of Congress, as well as Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.
AIPAC endorsed scores of Jan 6th insurrectionists. They are no friend to American democracy.
They are one of the more racist and bigoted PACs in Congress as well, who disproportionately target members of color.
They are an extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy. https://t.co/I7KeLBHttJ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 1, 2023
The House passed the resolution on Oct. 25 with 412 votes, as 194 Democrats and 218 Republicans voted in favor. Six lawmakers voted “present” and 10 voted against the resolution, all Democrats save for Massie. The resolution “reaffirms Israel’s right to self-defense, and condemns Hamas’ brutal war against Israel.”
It also “reaffirms the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security, supports emergency resupply and certain other types of assistance to Israel, and urges full enforcement of sanctions against Iran to prevent Iran’s funding of terrorist groups.”
AIPAC, the country’s largest pro-Israel lobby and political action committee, began directly funding candidates in late 2021. It endorsed 365 candidates ahead of the 2022 election, including majorities of House Republicans and Democrats, but attracted criticism for endorsing 109 of the 147 of the Republicans who refused to affirm President Joe Biden’s election in a vote on Jan. 6, 2021. An AIPAC spokesperson said at the time that the group is a “single-issue organization” focused on support for Israel.
In response to Ocasio-Cortez, the organization posted, “AIPAC stands with pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans of all races, genders, and backgrounds who support the US-Israel alliance. And we oppose those who don’t, like you.”
Other lawmakers tagged in AIPAC’s post have also shared posts criticizing the group. Missouri Rep. Cori Bush wrote, “AIPAC’s dark money grift & anti-democracy propping up of insurrectionists are attempts to undermine the will of the people.”
In the weeks since Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, and Israel’s subsequent war against the terror group in Gaza, Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly expressed support for a ceasefire while also speaking out against antisemitism.
“Two million people. Half children. Starved. Bombed. Cut from communication,” she posted on X on Oct. 28, regarding Gaza. “Some may dismiss a ceasefire as naïve or worse. Yet who has a plan for what follows this destruction? What do we call that?”
On Monday, following reports of rising antisemitism in New York and across the country, she posted, “Antisemitism is disgusting and unacceptable. We have a responsibility to defend our Jewish brothers, sisters, and siblings from hatred. No movement of integrity should tolerate it. Ever.”
Ocasio-Cortez also condemned the pro-Palestinian rally held Oct. 8 in Times Square, calling it “unacceptable and harmful.”
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The post Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls AIPAC ‘racist and bigoted’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.