lpetrich
Contributor
Not long after her primary victory, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Instagrammed about how her large victory margin made her very able to take political risks. She is now taking such a risk.
Ocasio-Cortez raises AIPAC ire over effort to tie Israel aid to annexation - POLITICO
Ocasio-Cortez raises AIPAC ire over effort to tie Israel aid to annexation - POLITICO
Bernie Sanders signs AOC's anti-annexation letter threatening to cut U.S. military aid to Israel - U.S. News - Haaretz.comA dozen Democratic lawmakers have signed onto a hotly debated letter spearheaded by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that calls for placing conditions on aid to Israel if it moves forward with plans to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.
The letter, parts of which were previously leaked to the media, was condemned Monday by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as harmful to America’s interests before the statement or its signers were finalized.
“Should the Israeli government continue down this path, we will work to ensure non-recognition of annexed territories as well as pursue legislation that conditions the $3.8 billion in U.S. military funding to Israel to ensure that U.S. taxpayers are not supporting annexation in any way,” Ocasio-Cortez’s letter reads. “We will include human rights conditions and the withholding of funds for the offshore procurement of Israeli weapons equal to or exceeding the amount the Israeli government spends annually to fund settlements, as well as the policies and practices that sustain and enable them.”
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Progressives have been attempting to increase support for conditioning aid to Israel if the nation moves forward with annexation. ... Ocasio-Cortez’s office said groups such as IfNotNow, Arab American Institute, Jewish Voice for Peace Action and Demand Progress have thrown their support behind her letter.
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Along with Ocasio-Cortez, [Rashida] Tlaib, [Betty] McCollum and [Pramila] Jayapal, the letter was signed by Reps. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Raul Grijalva, André Carson, Nydia Velázquez, Bobby Rush, Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, and Danny Davis, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The letter itself, at Ha'aretz's siteThe letter is different in content and tone from a more moderate anti-annexation letter that was released earlier this month and signed by over 190 Democratic members of the House of Representatives. That letter explained opposition to annexation mostly through pro-Israeli arguments, and was signed by several high-ranking Democrats who are considered strong supporters of Israel and close allies of AIPAC, such as Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
