On Christmas, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faced backlash for a social media post comparing Jesus to the Palestinian people. While implicitly criticizing Israel, she made no mention of Hamas, the terrorist organization responsible for initiating the two-and-a-half month war in Gaza. Additionally, the New York Democrat inaccurately presented some key facts.
“In the story of Christmas, Christ was born in modern-day Palestine under the threat of a government engaged in a massacre of innocents,” AOC wrote.
As reported by Fox News, she drew a comparison between the Jews residing in the region over 2,000 years ago under Roman rule and the present-day Palestinians.
“[Jesus] was part of a targeted population being indiscriminately killed to protect an unjust leader’s power,” she added.
“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.”
In her comments, she describes Israel as being influenced by “right-wing forces,” despite Bethlehem having been under Israeli control only until December 1995. The Palestinian Authority took over after the signing of the Oslo Accords, signaling a move toward the envisioned two-state solution.
Bethlehem has undergone a notable demographic transformation, particularly in its Christian population, according to The Times of Israel. The statistics indicate a substantial decline, dropping from nearly 90% to under 15%.
This shift primarily occurred after the Palestinian Authority expanded the city’s borders, resulting in a significant Muslim majority.
Jacob Kornbluh, a senior political reporter at The Forward, responded to AOC’s comments in a post on X, formerly Twitter, pointing out that she made “no mention of Hamas terror” or “the victims of the Oct. 7 attack.”
Another individual on X observed that AOC neglected to address the Israelis still held captive by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip and the women who were victims of the terrorists’ brutal attack, as reported by the New York Post. The comment highlighted concerns about her apparent bias, stating, “Her lack of acknowledgment is revealing a bias against Jews.”
