AOC defends decision to back fresh US military aid to Israel

Progressive US lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been forced onto the defensive after she voted in favour of handing Israel millions of dollars in fresh US military aid. 

The House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly voted against a move by MAGA Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene to block $500 million in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system. 

Just six lawmakers supported the amendment – including Palestinian-American congresswoman Rashida Tlaib – while 422 voted against it.  

Following backlash from her supporters, Ocasio-Cortez defended her decision to vote against the measure in a statement on social media, saying she would not back a motion that does not halt the sale of offensive weapons to Israel. 

"Marjorie Taylor Greene’s amendment does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it", she wrote in a post on X on Saturday.  

She continued: "I have long stated that I do not believe that adding to the death count of innocent victims to this war is constructive to its end. That is a simple and clear difference of opinion that has long been established. " 

"I remain focused on cutting the flow of US munitions that are being used to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza", she added. 

Democratic lawmakers Ilhan Omar, Summer Lee and Al Green and Republican congressman Thomas Massie also voted in favour of Taylor Greene’s amendment. 

"Tonight all of my amendments to cut $1.6 billion of foreign aid out of our defence budget failed because both Republicans and Democrats refuse to stop sending your hard-earned tax dollars to foreign countries, " Taylor Greene wrote on X following the vote. 

Major pro-Israel lobbying group the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lauded the amendment’s defeat and described its supporters as “extremist”. 

Ocasio-Cortez has come under heavy criticism for not taking a stronger stance against Israel’s assault on Gaza and received backlash following Thursday’s vote. 

"The fact that Representative Ocasio-Cortez acknowledges that Israel is carrying out this genocide makes her support for military aid all the more disappointing and incongruous," the Democratic Socialists of America said in a statement. 

"We urge the representative to continue voting against the Iron Dome, whether it is part of a larger defence spending bill or as a standalone bill", it added. 

Award-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha wrote that Ocasio-Cortez had failed the Palestinian people and was complicit in the atrocities in Gaza. 

"Protecting a criminal not only emboldens them but also enables the continuation of their crimes. Do you hear us, AOC? " he wrote on X. 

The US provides billions of dollars of military aid to Israel every year and has significantly increased arms shipments since it began its genocidal assault on Gaza on 7 October 2023. 

It provided at least $23 billion in support for the Israeli military during the first year of the war. Since entering office in January, the Trump administration has approved more than $12 billion in arms sales to Israel.