AOC says 'anti-Semitic' Christian fundamentalism in the US is partially to blame for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- AOC is naming Christian fundamentalism as a key driver of conflict between Israel and Palestine.
- She referenced Trump's decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem during his presidency.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is naming Christian fundamentalism as a key driver of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, pointing to recent US actions in the region.
Speaking on local New York radio station Hot 97/WQHT on Thursday morning, the progressive Democratic congresswoman argued that the conflict was not simply the result of Islamic fundamentalism and Israeli extremism.
"It's not just Islamic, it's not just Jewish, it is also Christian," said Ocasio-Cortez. "In the United States of America, Christian fundamentalism and nationalism — which has also been extremely anti-Semitic — has also aligned itself with some of the most right-wing and authoritarian and inflammatory powers in the region."
She pointed to the decision by former President Donald Trump to relocate the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a controversial move that previous presidents had declined to make, given that the holy city is contested between Israelis and Palestinians.
"It's not a coincidence that when Trump was in power, he moved the embassy to Jerusalem," said Ocasio-Cortez. "There is a ton of fundamentalist literature around revelations in the Bible that leads people to project — incorrectly, by the way."
While that decision was hailed by Israelis, 2017 polling by the American Jewish Committee suggested that most American Jews weren't in favor of it. Just 16% said they favored immediately moving the embassy, while another 36% supported it contingent upon further peace talks between Israel and Palestine.
But evangelical Christians, a large constituency within the Republican Party, were strongly supportive of the move. At a rally in August of 2020, Trump even remarked that the move was "for the evangelicals."
"You know, it's amazing with that — the evangelicals are more excited by that than Jewish people," Trump said at the time.
Christian Zionism is rooted in biblical prophesies, with some evangelicals believing that the return of Jews to the Holy Land will bring the second coming of Jesus Christ — essentially conflating the modern state of Israel established in 1948 with the biblical land of Israel. Some evangelicals have even made trips to the new embassy site, viewing it as part of the fulfillment of that prophecy.
"The country that is Israel today is not the Israel of the Bible," said Ocasio-Cortez. "The country that is Israel today was established in this century."
But many Jews view the Christian Zionist movement as anti-Semitic, given that this biblical view also holds that Jews will eventually either convert to Christianity or die en masse in an epic battle of good versus evil.
In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel, Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive lawmakers have argued for restraint on the part of Israel, fearing a retaliation that's likely to kill thousands of Palestinians.
On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont accused Israel of violating international law with its announced siege of Gaza, arguing that the US must "insist on restraint from Israeli forces attacking Gaza."