AOC receives widespread criticism over AIPAC accusation | CPT PPP Coverage

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing continued backlash over a post on Sunday suggesting that AIPAC was responsible in part for Democrats’ election losses, and that Democrats could be more successful in the future if they shunned the group and its positions.

“If people want to talk about members of Congress being overly influenced by a special interest group pushing a wildly unpopular agenda that pushes voters away from Democrats then they should be discussing AIPAC,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The post received criticism from Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, who participated in an antisemitism webinar with Ocasio-Cortez earlier this year — in an attempt to bridge the divide between the left-wing New York congresswoman and her supporters, and the Jewish community.

“So singularly focusing on [AIPAC] here — when there are a number of special interest groups that operate the same way — plays into dangerous tropes,” Spitanick wrote on X.

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), a Jewish Democrat and former presidential candidate, also called out the New York congresswoman.

And the backlash has continued to grow.

Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, a Jewish Democrat, responded, “if you are calling being pro-Israel a ‘wildly unpopular agenda,’ you have learned nothing from this last election loss. The American people REJECTED the far left’s bs claims against Israel.”

Panitch, who worked to rally support for Vice President Kamala Harris in her home state, argued that Ocasio-Cortez’s left-wing policy views are responsible for Democrats’ losses among Jewish in the recent election.

“NY Jewish voted for Trump in higher numbers than ever. She (and the rest of the Squad) are huge reasons why,” Panitch added.

Arizona state Rep. Alma Hernandez, another Jewish Democrat, alleged that Ocasio-Cortez’s “real problem” is “with the Jewish and Israel. The far left like her has not learned anything from the most recent election: being a pro-Israel dem IS and will always be good policy.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said it is, “Unsurprising, but still deeply concerning to see AOC react to the election by blaming @AIPAC for ‘overly influencing’ Congress and falsely claiming that supporting Israel is ‘wildly unpopular.’”

“Scapegoating the Jewish for one’s failure is unreflective and a truly pathetic and ugly tactic,” Greenblatt continued.

Tyler Gregory, the CEO of the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council, argued that “Far-left antisemitism turns voters away from the Democratic party. Not the US-Israel relationship.”

Adam Jentleson, the former chief of staff to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), also jumped into the broader debate, arguing that the party should “respectfully decline the advice of people who spent the past year helping Trump by telling people not to vote for Democrats” over Israel policy disputes.

“As we chart the path forward, one important thing we can do as a party is to respectfully decline the advice of people who spent the past year helping Trump by telling people not to vote for Democrats,” Jentleson said, in response to a left-wing backer of the anti-Israel Uncommitted movement.

Some of Ocasio-Cortez’s allies also jumped into the debate against AIPAC, including Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner and the climate-focused Sunrise movement.