Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had harsh words for Andrew Yang after his Israel-Palestine comments

(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

published 11 May 2021

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has mostly stayed out of New York City's mayoral race, but she had some harsh words for candidate Andrew Yang, the presumptive favorite, on Tuesday.

Yang had tweeted Monday that he is "standing with the people of Israel" amid the escalating violence between Israeli forces and Hamas, which stems from the government threatening to evict Palestinian families from their homes in east Jerusalem. Yang's words ultimately led his campaign to cancel a planned trip to help distribute groceries in Queens ahead of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim celebration marking the end of Ramadan.

Ocasio-Cortez, who has often criticized the Israeli government and expressed support for the Palestinian people, weighed in after hearing the latest development, calling Yang's initial plan "utterly shameful" after issuing what she described as a "chest-thumping statement of support" for Israel's military strikes on Gaza. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.