Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) defended her colleague, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), from accusations of antisemitism Tuesday by retweeting Yousef Munayyer — a reported supporter of a Palestinian terror group.
Munayyer is the executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. He is also, according to the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), a supporter of the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
IPT noted that Munayyer is “an open supporter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a State Department designated terrorist organization [original link],” adding (original links):
Munayyer openly supports the Socialist PFLP, which rejects any compromise or peace with Israel, by posting its communiques and touting some of its actions.
…
Munayyer posted a PFLP communiqué in June 2017 announcing a stabbing attack in Jerusalem that killed an Israeli policewoman. It noted the terrorists had been previously faced “imprisonment by the occupation.” Other tweets reminded people that the PFLP and other factions including Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah are fighting alongside Hamas “against Israel in this war.” In a tweet last April, Munayyer told followers that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh held aloft a picture of imprisoned PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat in a show of solidarity.
His group, the USCPR, made a similar post in 2016 mourning the death of a PFLP terrorist. A vendor at USCPR’s convention last summer underscored the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) group’s ideological orientation by selling a hat saying “Make Israel Palestine Again.”
On Tuesday, Munayyer tweeted a New York Times article about pro-Israel that appeared to provide cover for Omar’s criticism of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which she erroneously claimed last month gave money to members of Congress. The Times article mentioned pro-Israel activist Stephen Fiske, describing him as “a longtime activist with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee,” though journalist Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency pointed out on Twitter that Fiske is not (or is no longer) an “AIPAC activist.”
Munayyer tweeted:
AIPAC activist tells NYT the lobby is coming for Congresswomen @AOC @RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN
“They are three people who, in my opinion, will not be around in several years.”https://t.co/CiuU1zMu5Y
— (((YousefMunayyer))) (@YousefMunayyer) March 5, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez retweeted him, adding her own comment:
This is disappointing to see.
Just last week there was all this hubbub over an untrue mischaracterization that I was threatening primaries based on pro-ICE votes.
Yet there seems to be no problem at all with a zero-tolerance stance for simply asking about US foreign policy. https://t.co/YoOIPDSpbU
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019
She did not distance herself from — and perhaps did not know about — Munayyer’s radical views.
Republican Rep. Steve King (R-IA) caused controversy last year by retweeting a neo-Nazi from the United Kingdom, Mark Collett. King later said he did not know Collett’s views. Earlier this year, Republicans supported a resolution against King and stripped him of all his committee assignments over remarks he made to the Times about white supremacy. Omar has yet to face any such sanction from Democratic leadership.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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