AOC, Other ‘Squad’ Members Backed by Democratic Socialists of America Mum on Rally Cheering Hamas

US Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) speaks as, Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (D-MN)(L), Rashi
Brendan Smialowski/AFP
Nick Gilbertson

Members of the progressive “squad” in Congress, who are affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), remained mum on the DSA’s rally in New York City on Sunday, which supported the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and its attack on Israel over the weekend.

While Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who the DSA has regarded as its “foremost socialist superstar,” condemned the attack on Israel “in the strongest possible terms,” as Politico noted Sunday, she has not weighed in on the DSA’s rally in her home city. Breitbart News reached out to her office, asking where she stands regarding the rally, but received no response as of this publication.

She added in her statement that “an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation is urgently needed to save lives,” per Politico. 

The office of another member of the squad affiliated with the DSA, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), did not respond to Breitbart News’s comment request as of this publication, asking if she condemned or supported the rally. Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, said in a statement on Sunday she was grieving the “Palestinian and Israeli lives lost” but did not condemn Hamas’s attacks.

“The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance,” she added before blasting U.S. aid to Israel.

“As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue,” she said. 

Tlaib caught heat for her comments. Danny Danon, the 17th permanent representative for Israel to the United Nations, slammed her comments as “simply beyond belief”:

“While even the worst Israel bashers denounced the barbaric attacks by the Hamas terror group against innocent Israeli citizens, @RashidaTlaib is unable to condemn the atrocities and instead insists on mourning the death of terrorists,” he wrote. 

Notably, Tlaib’s second-to-last post on X as of this writing was a retweet from the DSA’s Detroit arm on Friday, a day before Hamas’s attack.

Another squad member, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), condemned the “horrific acts” that took place “in Israel against children, women, the elderly, and the unarmed” but did not weigh in on the DSA’s New York City rally. Breitbart News did not hear back on a comment request to a senior adviser for Omar at the time of publication. 

Similarly, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who made news by pulling the fire alarm moments before the House was set to vote on a bill in an effort to avoid a government shutdown several weeks ago, came out against the terrorist attacks but has remained silent regarding the DSA’s rally in his home city. A Bowman press secretary had not responded to Breitbart News at the time of publication. 

“I strongly condemn the horrific attacks by Hamas and am saddened by the loss of precious lives, especially on the holy day of Simchat Torah,” he said Saturday in a statement.

Notably, the DSA in 2021 was up in arms over Bowman’s vote to fund Israel’s Iron Dome, calling it egregious, and was critical of a trip he took to Israel with J Street.

The silence from these four squad members is in contrast to some prominent Democrats, such as Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who condemned the rally, as Mondoweiss reported. 

“The people of Israel are facing violent terrorist attacks and civilian kidnappings,” Hochul tweeted. “I condemn plans to rally in Times Square tomorrow in support of the perpetrators of these horrific actions. The planned rally is abhorrent and morally repugnant.”

“I can’t think of anything more ill-timed and cold-hearted than today’s demonstration in Times Square,” Schumer scorned.

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