A pro-Palestinian activist and constituent heckled Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during an event in Queens, New York, on Friday, repeatedly calling her a “war criminal” over her stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Newsweek has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s press team for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Ocasio-Cortez is often considered one of the moreprogressive members of the Democratic Party. She has recently been touring the country with Senator Bernie Sanders‘ holding rallies to mobilize and “fight oligarchy” and oppose President Donald Trump.
The ongoing war in Gaza, which has resumed after a temporary ceasefire, remains a flashpoint in U.S. politics. Trump has voiced his strong support for Israel, floated the idea of taking over the Gaza Strip, and has condemned pro-Palestinian protests on school campuses. He has also supported the arrests of some protestors such as Mahmoud Khalil.
The Democrat has accused Israel of carrying out a “genocide,” claims the country has dismissed, but hasn’t consistently used this characterization. In the early months of the war, she called for “conditioning aid to Israel,” as a “responsible course of action,” to ensure that “public resources do not facilitate gross violations of human rights and international law.”
She has also called out a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City as “unacceptable and harmful” for alleged expressions of antisemitism.
Pro-Palestinian activists have confronted Ocasio-Cortez before, saying she’s not doing enough for the Palestinian cause. Many progressive voters in the 2024 presidential election were frustrated with then-President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the issue, pushing that the U.S. did not do enough to halt Israel’s military campaigns and provide humanitarian aid to Gazans.
What To Know
At a Friday town hall meeting, a constituent, identified as Jennifer Kings, stood up as Ocasio-Cortez was speaking, and shouted “I am a health care worker, and I want to know what you’re doing about the genocide in Gaza.”
She continued by calling the representative a “war criminal.” Kings has shared videos and images from the town hall on her social media account. Her account features several other pro-Palestinian posts and videos, and recent Instagram stories calling out Representative Ocasio-Cortez.
Newsweek has reached out to Kings on Instagram for comment and confirmation via email on Saturday.
“At least with the Republican Party we know what we are dealing with, you’re a snake,” she can be heard saying in another video. She was escorted out of the town hall, but not before she told the congresswoman to “stop the genocide. Do something,” and repeatedly stating, “Shame on you.”
Following her removal, Ocasio-Cortez said: “I more than welcome people who disagree or are super pissed off at me for any issue to come, but we have some ground rules here. Please wait for the Q&A because we don’t want to deprive all of our neighbors of the ability to have information and hear them respond to it.”
Kings’ posted an Instagram Story of the town hall with the words, “Do you notice how Gaza isn’t even on the agenda???? Shame on these fascists.” She has over 53,000 followers on the social media platform.
The most recent conflict in Gaza, which began after Hamas launched a fatal attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 people hostage. The war has since spread across multiple fronts in the Middle East. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reports more than 52,400 people have been killed. Israel has repeatedly bombed and blockaded the enclave, and aid trucks have reportedly not entered the area since early March.
Israel has been repeatedly withheld and blocked humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. In May 2024, Ocasio-Cortez wrote about the U.S.’s hold on ammunition to Israel, “The United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws and to respect human rights globally. Amidst the Israeli gov’s siege on Gaza, blocking humanitarian aid, and threats on Rafah, withholding US military aid is a major development towards ceasefire.”
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in part finding him guilty of “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.”
What People Are Saying
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote in an X, formerly Twitter, post on Saturday morning: “Thank you to all our neighbors who joined us for yesterday’s town hall—it was our largest district town hall ever! NY-14, I love you and I’m fighting for you.”
Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and relief coordinator said in a statement on Thursday: “Aid, and the civilian lives it saves, should never be a bargaining chip. Blocking aid starves civilians. It leaves them without basic medical support. It strips them of dignity and hope. It inflicts a cruel collective punishment. Blocking aid kills.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X on April 30: “Israel is waging a just war with just means against Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization, that murdered 1200 innocent people on October 7 and still holds 59 innocent people hostage.”
What Happens Next?
Ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas have stalled. Israeli media has reported that the country’s security Cabinet has approved plans for an expanded operation in Gaza.
Ocasio-Cortez’s current term ends on January 3, 2027. She has emerged as a prominent figure within the Democratic Party, particularly among progressive circles. She has not indicated whether a presidential run is in her future, though early polling indicates she is among the top contenders for the Democratic nomination in 2028.
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