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Ocasio-Cortez Boasts of Spearheading ‘Whip Operation’ Against Supplemental Aid to Israel
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2024. Photo: Craig Hudson/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) boasted on Tuesday about leading a “whip operation” to garner votes among fellow lawmakers against additional military aid to Israel.
Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most prominent anti-Israel critics in Congress, detailed her efforts to deprive the Jewish state of military arms at a time of war during an “action call” with the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The progressive lawmaker claimed that she helped persuade nearly 40 members of Congress to vote against aid to Israel, urging DSA to stay patient while the ideological left continues to gradually steer the Democratic Party against the Jewish state.
“Given the unfolding and ongoing genocide in Gaza, this has been an extraordinarily challenging year for the world, for a human rights movement, and for the broader left,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“I think it’s important as well to note some of the progress that we have made federally this year,” she continued. “Earlier this year, I led a whip operation to organize a record high number of no votes on Israel’s supplemental vote, in order to withhold offensive weaponry on human rights conditions from the Israeli government.”
Ocasio-Cortez did not specify which specific legislation she helped oppose, although she may have been referring to a broad foreign aid package signed into law by US President Joe Biden in April that included about $15 billion in military assistance for Israel.
Ocasio-Cortez touted her success in delivering 37 “no” votes from the Democratic caucus, adding that these members of Congress were not exclusively from the far-left flank of the party. She stressed that progressives need to “broaden” the anti-Israel movement into an ideologically diverse coalition.
The congresswoman also took shots at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a prominent pro-Israel lobbying group based in Washington, DC, over its alleged “influence” over Congress, claiming that the organization has engaged in an “effort to unseat and target virtually any member of Congress that seriously challenges their power.” She also accused AIPAC of targeting “members of color” despite its support for several minority candidates, arguing that young progressives need to fight vigorously “for the human rights of Palestinians” and that the Palestinians have “very little political defense in the United States.”
DSA has ramped up its anti-Israel rhetoric since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7. On the day of the atrocities, the far-left organization issued a statement saying that Hamas’s invasion was a “direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime.” The organization also encouraged its followers to attend an Oct. 8 “All Out for Palestine” event in Manhattan.
In January, DSA called for an “end to diplomatic and military support of Israel.” Then in April, the organization’s international committee, DSA IC, issued a missive defending Iran’s right to “self-defense” against the Jewish state. In addition, the socialist group slammed outgoing US Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) over his vote in favor of replenishing Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.
DSA’s New York City chapter previously repudiated Ocasio-Cortez over her support of a November 2023 House resolution which affirmed Israel’s “right to exist.” The national organization subsequently revoked its endorsement of her in July 2024, accusing the progressive firebrand of being insufficiently committed to the Palestinian cause.
Ocasio-Cortez recently received an onslaught of criticism from anti-Israel progressives over her decision to vote in favor of a resolution “condemning the rise of global antisemitism.” However, her participation in Tuesday’s “action call” may indicate that the congresswoman has mended fences with DSA.
The post Ocasio-Cortez Boasts of Spearheading ‘Whip Operation’ Against Supplemental Aid to Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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