AOC Weighs in on Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in Radio Interview

US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) says people living under oppressive conditions “have no choice but to riot.” She made the comment while speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during a New York City radio interview on July 30. “Once someone doesn’t have access to clean water, they have no choice but to riot, and it doesn’t have to be that way,” she said. “And I’m not even talking about Palestinians. I’m talking about people…. I’m talking about all over the world.” She later agreed with Jewish host Ebro Darden’s comment that “what’s going on with Israel and Palestine” is “very, very criminal and is very, very unjust,” responding: “Absolutely.” Ocasio-Cortez also addressed how people had labeled her “anti-Israel” given her criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Israeli policy. “The same way that me criticizing Trump doesn’t make me anti-American, criticizing the occupation doesn’t make you anti-Israel, frankly. It doesn’t mean you are against the existence of a nation,” she said. Ocasio-Cortez, along with fellow freshman congresswomen Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), have been accused of harboring anti-Zionist, if not anti-Semitic, sentiments. The trio, part of what is known as the “Squad,” recently came under attack from President Donald Trump, who suggested they hate the Jewish state “with unbridled passion.”