Georgia GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene made her latest inflammatory accusation of "antisemitism" against New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Saturday, even suggesting the Democratic lawmaker is herself a "terrorist."
Ocasio-Cortez on Friday responded to U.S. law enforcement reports of a rise in antisemitic incidents since the most recent burst of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza. The New York congresswoman urged residents against tolerating antisemitism in any form and shared a "bystander intervention training" link, which encourages people to be pro-active in combating discrimination during their day-to-day lives.
"We will never, ever tolerate antisemitism here in NY or anywhere in the world. The recent surge in attacks is horrifying. We stand with our Jewish communities in condemning this violence. You can help. Take NYC's free, 1hr bystander intervention course," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Friday, sharing the link to the "how to be an ally" NYC government website.
.@AOC you're responsible for attacks on Jewish people bc of your hate-Israel stance against Israel's right to defend itself from from terrorists Hamas, calling Israel an apartheid state, & supporting terrorists groups.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 22, 2021
Aligning yourself with terrorists means your a terrorist. https://t.co/UJi6uGopx2 pic.twitter.com/scbL9cKuGD
Despite Ocasio-Cortez's condemnation of the "horrifying" surge in attacks toward Jewish communities, Greene accused her and other Democrats of attacking Jewish people themselves simply for their desire to cease military funding for the Israeli government.
".@AOC you're responsible for attacks on Jewish people bc of your hate-Israel stance against Israel's right to defend itself from from terrorists Hamas, calling Israel an apartheid state, & supporting terrorists groups. Aligning yourself with terrorists means your [sic] a terrorist," Greene tweeted Saturday, sharing an image of Ocasio-Cortez's call to end antisemitism next to a headline about her aim of cutting funding for Israeli bombs.
Numerous Republican lawmakers in the U.S., including Greene and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, have used the latest Palestinian-Israeli violence to accuse Democrats of supporting Hamas or "radical Islamic terrorism."
"The antisemitic violence we're seeing is reprehensible, in the U.S. and Europe, and unfortunately it's encouraged by radical Islamic terrorist and it's also encouraged by angry left, the far-left that regularly traffics in anti-Israel rhetoric and antisemitic rhetoric. That used to be just be on the fringe," Cruz told Fox News on Friday.
Some Democratic members of Congress accused Greene of "stalking" Ocasio-Cortez earlier this month. And the Georgia Republican has for months blasted the New York Democrat and progressives over the Green New Deal.
The "bystander intervention" page shared by Ocasio-Cortez nonetheless urges everyday Americans to help support anyone they think is being discriminated against or attacked.
"[The program aims] to provide New Yorkers with the tools and strategies to safely respond when they witness bias incidents and discrimination. Participants leave these trainings equipped with verbal and behavioral de-escalation strategies to non-violently intervene to disrupt hate-violence or hate speech," read the link shared by congresswoman.
In January, Greene was reportedly embroiled in controversy after Facebook posts from 2018 were uncovered that showed her belief in "Jewish space lasers" and dubious ties to California wildfires.
Newsweek reached out to Ocasio-Cortez and Greene's offices for any additional remarks Saturday morning.
