Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.. and Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., are engaged in a very public fight over U.S. support for Israel — dividing the Democratic Party just weeks ahead of the critical 2024 presidential election.
Ocasio-Cortez, the leading member of the far-Left “Squad,” took to social media platform X to attack Israel’s right to defend itself in what she described as “horrors unfolding in northern Gaza.”
She accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of being “completely unrestrained” and blamed the Biden administration for arming Israel while “food aid is blocked and patients are bombed in hospitals.”
“This is a genocide of Palestinians. The US must stop enabling it. Arms embargo now,” she claimed
Fetterman swiftly countered, and his response was unequivocal: “The tragedy in Gaza is 100% on Hamas. Stop using civilians and hospitals as shields, surrender, and release all remaining hostages—and this ends.”
Take a look —
The tragedy in Gaza is 100% on Hamas.
Stop using civilians and hospitals as shields, surrender, and release all remaining hostages—and this ends. pic.twitter.com/taWOKTeI5c
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) October 15, 2024
This exchange is far from their first confrontation.
Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez accused Fetterman of bullying after he compared one of her outbursts in the House of Representatives to a “Jerry Springer” show. F
Their divergent stances on the Israel-Gaza conflict have only intensified the animosity. Ocasio-Cortez fired back at Fetterman’s recent post, accusing him of a “bleak dunk attempt.”
“I dunno man. I care about little kids dying. I care about human rights. I care that billions of US tax dollars’ worth of weapons are carrying out unspeakable atrocities,” she wrote.
Ocasio-Cortez did not mention that the radical Islamic terrorists continue to hold hostages that have been tortured, raped, and murdered for over a year.
Fetterman, for his part, has been vocal about his support for Israel since the unprovoked October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack.
He recently commemorated the one-year anniversary of the attack, vowing to “continue to be a voice for our ally, for the release of all remaining hostages, and for peace to return.”
The Pennsylvania senator has not shied away from criticizing members of his own party over their stance on Israel. In April, he expressed disbelief at fellow Democrats refusing to condemn Iran’s missile strike on Israel, saying, “I sincerely thought I’d never witness members of my party refuse to condemn Iran—one of the world’s leading terrorism sponsors—after launching hundreds of drones against our special ally, Israel.”
The Hamas-Israel conflict is a significant ideological split within the Democratic Party that could have far-reaching consequences — especially in the battleground state of Michigan.
Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly struggling in the Great Lake State, a crucial swing state with a large Arab American population critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict.
An unscientific poll cited in one report found that over 90% of respondents believe the Biden-Harris administration has not handled the war well.