World News @lemmy.ml Alsephina @lemmy.ml 12mo ago

AOC decries ‘unfolding genocide’ in Gaza, urges halting weapons to Israel

www.aljazeera.com AOC decries ‘unfolding genocide’ in Gaza, urges halting weapons to Israel

Progressive US legislator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivers impassioned speech condemning abuses against Palestinians.

Archive link

82 comments

Better late than never I guess

no world in which the forced famine of 1.1 million people cannot be considered genocide

She should consider also applying this knowledge to the embargo on the Cuban people

Edit: Obviously not trying to downplay the genocide in Gaza if it came across like that.
- I think she's done that as well
  
  https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/media/press-releases/statement-rep-ocasio-cortez-demonstrations-cuba
  
  We also must name the U.S. contribution to Cuban suffering: our sixty-year-old embargo. Last month, once again, the U.N. voted overwhelmingly to call on the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba. The embargo is absurdly cruel and, like too many other U.S. policies targeting Latin Americans, the cruelty is the point. I outright reject the Biden administration’s defense of the embargo. It is never acceptable for us to use cruelty as a point of leverage against every day people
  
  Ooh based
- AOC has been calling for a cease fire and more aid since last year. She might not have used the word genocide until now, but it's not like she has been cool with things up till now either.
  
  The fact that Alex Jones beat her to the punch on calling it a genocide is embarrassing.
  
  Honestly this whole drama is so immature.
  
  "What Israel is doing is terrible, on top of their mistreatment of the Palestinian people for decades they've now crossed a line and seem to be willing to remove them all from existence. This is a genocide, and we should enforce a cease fire and an embargo."
  
  "What Israel is doing is terrible, on top of their mistreatment of the Palestinian people for decades they've now crossed a line and are killing people indiscriminately. The fact that some people are calling it a genocide is telling of the immense gravity of the situation, and we should enforce a cease fire and an embargo."
  
  "How could you NOT call it a genocide??!?!?"
  
  Both statements are virtually the same thing, have the same worries and are calling for the same solutions, yet the later get shat on because it doesn't virtue signal. There are lots of seemingly dumb reasons why politicians and PR departments may choose to use some terms and avoid others, and some of those decisions are mere pragmatism that doesn't change in essence their goal or effect. I think AOC has flaws, just like almost any politician, but making a gigantic deal out of this smells like it's been promoted by grifters looking to start drama.
  
  At the beginning she was very much on the Israel side. The well known "israel has the right to defend themselves". Even back then Israel was hitting hospitals.
  
  She only flipped recently. Faster than the pure establishment Democrats, but still a very bad look.
- Pretty bad comparison when Cubans have higher life expectancy than Americans.
  
  That's thanks to the excellent healthcare system. The country is still lacking in food, medical supplies, and building materials — all of which could just be imported as necessary like any other country if not for the embargo.
  
  And it would be even better if not for the embargo.
- Dont be fooled. Shes doing this to not be voted out, not because she cares
  
  Why do you think she doesn't care about people dying? What would make you think that?
  
  Look this is true but AT LEAST it's how politics is supposed to work, it's not about choosing the most ethically and morally consistent person, it's about having a person in the seat who will vote the way their constituents want, no more
- She looks like a 60 year old cat lady in that photo
I really do wonder how much of Gaza and its people are left standing and alive? Like what the real numbers of deaths are as the fog of war makes it so hard to really know. I fear once the world really reacts it will be too late. Maybe already is. So upsetting. All the wars are upsetting to me and so unnecessary.
- Targeting the hospitals was a deliberate tactic to make this kind of information harder to reliably gather and disseminate.
  
  Targeting journalists and UNRWA was also a deliberate attack to suppress the information going out of Gaza and also to cause the biggest possible suffering to the civilian population.
- If Israel succeeds, we'll never know.
  
  Is it not the opposite?
- And how many are not severely traumatized. Probably close to zero.
Nothing 'unfolding' about it. It's been mission genocide since day one.
- Yeah, it's more "intensifying".
- AOC knows this, and still votes for or present on all of Israel's military aid packages.. Like most democrats, she knows how to say one thing for optics, but do the exact opposite.
I really wish people would see through AOC's crocodile tears when it comes to Israel... she has consistently voted FOR all of Israel's funding bills in congress.

She's even to the right of the rest of "the squad", and was the only member to not vote against a 1B USD package to fund Israel's Iron Dome.
The thing about urges is you don’t have to act on them
- After AOC voted present rather than no on a 1B USD funding bill for Israel's iron dome:
  
  According to the congresswoman, "In the macro of national impact, I probably should have gone with my values - which would be to vote 'No' - but in the micro, I do believe this created a window in our community to bring all folks to the table."
  
  translation: my seat is vulnerable because i've failed to build a durable progressive coalition and there are zionists in my district who would do everything they can to end my career
  
  Maybe I have something like schizophasia or whatever that is, but this sentence itself without translation to normal language already read wild.
  
  In general I probably shouldn't have participated in holding that guy with my buddies while other buddies kick him until he's dead, but in specifics I think this is a positive thing that we've done it together.
Yeah I like to think that the threats to remove congressmen who use the word genocide to describe the actions of an ally have started to lose power since the ICJ ruling and the more recent War Crimes accusations.
Wow! I'm so impressed with her immense moral courage! It is so brave to do the right thing only when doing so becomes less damaging to your career than not doing it would be.
Oh good, the bullying worked
- The focus groups on whether or not using the term genocide would lose or gain support finally reported in.
  
  A reminder that even the good politicians fucking aren't.
  
  It took a special kind of sociopath to think yourself the best person to decide on which laws should be followed by millions of people. Civilization is inherently doomed to collapse. You just need to know whether you're at the tail end of one to make a decision whether you want to prepare for the collapse to survive to live few years longer or just welcome the destruction and maybe your consciousness will reform sometime in the future.
- AOC has had this position from the start. I'm getting so sick of edgy cynicism. If you really gave a shit then you would be paying more attention instead of seeking it.
  
  Not calling it a Genocide is complicity
- She has yet to actually vote no against any Israel funding bill. The bullying hasn't worked yet.
  
  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/aoc-iron-dome-criticism-failed-attempt-defending-vote
ONLY TOOK FIVE FUCKING MONTHS
Pls run for president in 2028
- Agree.
social democracy is objectively the moderate wing of fascism
the most present politician in congress

82 comments