Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed a pro-Palestinian rally that was held in Times Square on Monday in the wake of an invasion of Israel by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.
“It should not be hard to shut down hatred and antisemitism where we see it,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement to Politico. “That is a core tenet of solidarity.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s statement came after hundreds of people gathered in Times Square on Sunday for a pro-Palestinian rally after Israel declared war on Hamas after the group launched rockets into the southern part of the country and militant terrorists paraglided into a music festival, which killed more than 250 people.
Protesters could be heard shouting phrases like, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied,” according to The New York Daily News.
AOC, liberal politicians slam pro-Palestine rally amid growing backlash: 'bigotry and callousness' https://t.co/DVBUA3sr7u
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“There’s been an injustice toward Palestinian people,” protestor Dave Schmauch told the outlet.
In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, which divided the British Mandate of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. A year later, the State of Israel was created. Roughly 750,000 Palestinians were left displaced as a result, according to the Council of Foreign Relations website.
The area was then divided into three parts; the Gaza Strip, the State of Israel, and the West Bank. For nearly two decades, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian control. In June 1967, Israel preemptively attacked Egyptian and Syrian air forces, starting the Six-Day War.
After the war, Israel took control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Currently, Hamas, which is labeled as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States, governs the Gaza Strip.
The New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) received sharp criticism as it supported the pro-Palestinian rally, though the DSA said it had not planned the event.
“The bigotry and callousness expressed in Times Square on Sunday were unacceptable and harmful in this devasting moment,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It also did not speak for the thousands of New Yorkers who are capable of rejecting both Hamas’ horrifying attacks against innocent civilians as well as the grave injustices and violence Palestinians face under occupation.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) also came out against the pro-Palestinian rallies, calling them “abhorrent and morally repugnant.”
More than 900 Israelis have been reported dead as a result of the attacks. Roughly 100 people, including children and the elderly, are reported to have been taken hostage by Hamas. At least 14 Americans are reported to be among the dead.