Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who was once considered an outsider challenging the Democratic establishment, is now being embraced by her own party. At the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, she passionately endorsed Kamala Harris for president and received enthusiastic applause and chants of her initials.
While pro-Palestine protesters gathered in Chicago to disrupt the DNC, Ocasio-Cortez also used her speech to highlight Harris and the Biden administration’s efforts to end the conflict in Gaza. This was the first mention of Gaza on the DNC stage.
“She is working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bring the hostages home,” Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd about Harris.
“Frankly, it’s a somewhat puzzling claim, given that Vice President Harris’s responsibilities don’t include U.S. foreign policy.”
The Harris campaign quickly shared a video of the moment on TikTok.
“Frankly, it’s a somewhat puzzling claim, given that Vice President Harris’s responsibilities don’t include U.S. foreign policy,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now. “Ultimately, the only thing we can judge by is the factual evidence. And the factual evidence is that almost a year now into the war, or 10 months into the war, there has been no ceasefire.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s speech and its acceptance by the Democratic mainstream revealed divisions on the left, from the Democratic Socialists of America to fellow Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
DSA Disillusionment
The convention speech sparked controversy, with the Democratic Socialists of America withdrawing their endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez over her stance on Gaza. The group expressed disappointment in her commitment to Palestinian liberation.
“Her inability to say it’s a genocide for months, her inability to take the oppositional role that Rashida Tlaib” — a Palestinian American representative from Michigan — “is taking in this moment, is a betrayal,” said Ahmed Husain, a member of DSA’s national political committee.
The rift highlights the age-old question of political compromises for gaining power and bringing about change.
“For people who struggle letting go of the notion of AOC as this upstart insurgent against the establishment, I think it is uncomfortable to reckon with her absorption into the establishment because it reinforces despair,” Husain said. “It reinforces this disillusionment, that we can’t do anything at all to change things in America. But that is not true. We can always change things. We can always build an alternative.”
With two members of the Squad losing their primaries after being targeted by AIPAC, some progressives argue that Ocasio-Cortez and others are acting pragmatically on U.S.–Israel policy.
Hassan El-Tayyab, the legislative director for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, commented on Warnock’s strong reception at the DNC in Chicago this week.
The situation in Gaza was highlighted by Ocasio-Cortez, with reports from Gaza’s Health Ministry indicating a high death toll that experts believe is vastly underestimated.
Democrats have been criticized for watering down the term “ceasefire” in response to the Biden administration’s involvement in the conflict. Some have redefined it to refer to a hostage exchange, while others aim to secure a deal with Saudi Arabia and oversee an Arab proxy force in Gaza.
Human rights advocates are not satisfied with the administration’s approach to the ceasefire, calling for immediate action and an arms embargo.
El-Tayyab emphasized the need for policymakers to go beyond rhetoric and use U.S. military and diplomatic support to push for a ceasefire and protection of civilians in Gaza.
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