AOC vows to block future US military aid to Israel, including for defensive systems
www.theguardian.com
Ocasio-Cortez says Israel can fund its own defense and she will oppose any new US aid amid human rights concerns

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a US representative, said on Wednesday that she will oppose any future US military aid to Israel, including for defensive systems.

In a statement on social media, Ocasio-Cortez said that Israel was fully capable of funding “Iron Dome and other defensive systems”, and that “consistent with my voting record to date, I will not support Congress sending more taxpayer dollars and military aid to a government that consistently ignores international law and US law”.

Her remarks on Wednesday follow reports that she pledged to oppose any future military aid to Israel during a New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) forum on Tuesday evening.

“Our allies who need our military aid must understand that we will provide it consistent with the Leahy amendment and the foreign assistance act”, Ocasio-Cortez added, referring to a law which prohibits the US from providing military support to army units that violate human rights.

According to City & State, which obtained a partial recording of the DSA forum, Ocasio-Cortez told members: “I have not once ever voted to authorize funding to Israel, and I will never,” adding that “the Israeli government should be able to finance their own weapons if they seek to arm themselves.”

  • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
    2·
    16 hours ago

    Also to the defense of AOC, what she supported was a defensive system.

    You shouldn’t be defending this act of hers. She was wrong when she supported it, and defending her is wrong now. If you are commenting or engaging in politics just to be a standard bearer or water carrier, you should disengage from the process because you do real damage in doing so.

    claim that MTG outflanked democrats and AOC, it’s like you are switching to a completely different debate.

    No, it doesn’t, because its extremely relevant to AOC’s ability to form and execute on a political calculus. AOC getting outflanked by MTG isn’t up for debate, its just a thing that happened. Its quite literally the article we’re reading, that AOC has now adopted the stance that MTG outflanked her with, the unilateral disarmament of Israel. AOC shouldn’t have allowed MTG to get there first; it speaks to AOC’s questionable political instincts. If AOC is gunning for the top slot, she needs to get to the right position first, not later than someone like MTG.