AOC Goes Defcon 10 on AIPAC
2nd November 2023
The Democratic Party is undergoing a civil war over Gaza and Israel. Traditional Democrats like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are pro-Israel. Possibly this has something to do with the fact that American Jews contribute a large portion–last time I saw the numbers, more than half–of all campaign funds for Democratic candidates. To be fair, however, it may also reflect basic human decency.
But the newer generation of Democrats, represented by the Squad, is not impressed. They hate Israel and don’t much like Jews. And the Squad speaks for lots of Democrats: Joe Biden’s approval ratings have fallen among Democrats, apparently because many object to the pro-Israel stance he has taken in connection with the Gazan massacres.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, never a team player, weighed in yesterday with an over-the-top attack on AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC is a grass roots and lobbying organization that supports Israel. It is bipartisan and has endorsed many Democrats, but is seen as relatively conservative in orientation, by Washington standards.