Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been slammed for her Christmas post that called Israel a violent occupying force and likened Jesus to the Palestinians.
Posting on Instagram on Christmas Eve, AOC shared a photo of a child lying on a pile of rubble surrounded by wooden nativity scene icons.
Accompanying the photo, the New Yorker wrote: ‘In the story of Christmas, Christ was born in modern-day Palestine under the threat of a government engaged in a massacre of innocents.’
She went on to compare Jesus being hunted by King Herod to the ‘right-wing forces’ currently ‘violently occupying Bethlehem.’
Her post sparked a fierce backlash online with some accusing her of ‘Jew hate.’
AOC’s post on Instagram sparked a backlash online after it compared Jesus to Palestinians
The Democrat called Israel a violent occupying force. The post drew outrage with one Twitter user said: ‘@AOC shows how much she hates Jews with deplorable Christmas message failing to mention hostages held’
One Twitter user said: ‘@AOC shows how much she hates Jews with deplorable Christmas message failing to mention hostages held.’
Senior political reporter at The Forward, Jacob N Kornbluh, said: ‘AOC describes Israel as a ‘violent right wing occupying force’ in Christmas post. No mention of Hamas terror, the victims of Oct. 7 attack.’
In her full post, AOC said: ‘He was part of a targeted population being indiscriminately killed to protect an unjust leader’s power.
‘Mary and Joseph, displaced by violence and forced to flee, became refugees in Egypt with a newborn waiting to one day return home.
‘Thousands of years later, right-wing forces are violently occupying Bethlehem as similar stories unfold for today’s Palestinians, so much so that the Christian community in Bethlehem has canceled this year’s Christmas Eve celebrations out of both [fear for their] safety and respect.
‘And yet, also today, holy children are still being born in a place of unspeakable violence — for every child born, of any identity and from any place, is sacred. Especially the children of Gaza.
‘The entire story of Christmas and Christ himself is about standing with the poor and powerless, the marginalized and maligned, the refugees and immigrants, the outcast and misunderstood without exception.
‘This high Christian holiday is about honoring the precious sanctity of a family that, if the story were to unfold today, would be Jewish Palestinians.
‘Merry Christmas. May there be peace on Earth, amen.’
AOC has called for a ceasefire repeatedly along with other members of the Democrat ‘squad’
Pro-Israel activist Andrea Karshan replied: ‘I wish people would just enjoy Christmas and stop getting so social justice political about it.
‘I am so glad that when I was Christian I had a blast on Christmas and didn’t waste my time engaging in this nonsense. It’s so silly.’
AOC has previously condemned both Israel and Hamas in the conflict, calling for a ceasefire and labellng both the Oct 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s response as war crimes.
Earlier this month, she condemned the US’s decision to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza as ‘shameful.’
Along with other members of the hard-left ‘Squad,’ she has spoken up repeatedly in favor of halting Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
In November, she signed her name to a letter addressed to Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The letter read: ‘We write to you to express deep concern about the intensifying war in Gaza, particularly grave violations against children, and our fear that without an immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a robust bilateral ceasefire, this war will lead to a further loss of civilian life and risk dragging the United States into dangerous and unwise conflict with armed groups across the Middle East.’