The New York lawmaker has faced a deluge of criticism for backing funding for Israel's Iron Dome defence system for a second time

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/33487836

By MEE staff
Published date: 21 July 2025 21:11 BST

The New York lawmaker voted against an amendment by Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene last week that sought to block $500m in Congress’ annual defence spending bill for Israel’s Iron Dome programme.

Fellow Democrats Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar [as well as Democrats Al Green of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky - PL] had supported Taylor Greene’s amendment, which eventually lost in a 422-6 vote.

In a post on X on Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that Greene’s amendment did “nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza”.

    • Arcane2077@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      7·
      2 hours ago

      You just posted evidence that you respond to clickbait headlines without knowing what the article says or is even about. Hallmark of a conservative voter

    • Reddfugee42@lemmy.worldEnglish
      217·
      5 hours ago

      AOC doesn’t miss. You’re not listening to her or paying attention to the details/fine print. You can fuckin bet she is

      • theneverfox@pawb.socialEnglish
        67·
        3 hours ago

        She handled this terribly. She has a coherent position, not a great one but one I could accept, but the crash out has been disheartening

      • 3abas@lemmy.world
        135·
        4 hours ago

        AOC’s defense of her vote is a swing and a miss because it rests on a false distinction. She claims the amendment only cuts funding for the Iron Dome (a “defensive” system) and not for the bombs killing Palestinians, but that’s misleading.

        The Iron Dome isn’t neutral; it enables Israel to continue bombing Gaza with impunity by shielding it from retaliation. It’s part of the war apparatus, not separate from it.

        By opposing this amendment, AOC helped maintain the full structure of US military aid that underwrites the genocide she says she opposes. Her rationale sounds nuanced, but in practice, it protects the status quo.

        And while she says she’s focused on cutting offensive munitions, the reality is that the US is sending Israel billions in lethal aid right now, and this amendment was a chance to actually stop some of it. Voting against it doesn’t show strategy; it shows inconsistency and a failure to act when it counts. If you’re serious about ending genocide, like she keeps insisting she is, you take every shot you can. This was one, and she missed it.

        • theneverfox@pawb.socialEnglish
          23·
          3 hours ago

          That’s generally true, but her handling is the real problem.

          It’s not a great position, but the real problem is she’s crashing out over genuine criticism

      • BigAssFan@lemmy.world
        31·
        4 hours ago

        Because knowing that a response to your aggression is harmless lets you get away with being aggressive. So funding their defense system allows Israel to attack countries in the region, killing people without any due process.