US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez withdrew on Friday from an event commemorating the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin following criticism against her planned participation.
A spokesperson confirmed in an email to Aljazeera that the New York lawmaker will not be attending the October 20 commemoration organized by Americans for Peace Now.
Hey there – this event and my involvement was presented to my team differently from how it’s now being promoted.
Thanks for pointing it out. Taking a look into this now.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 25, 2020
The email gave no further details of why Ocasio-Cortez would not be attending, but highlight a tweet posted by the congresswoman earlier on Friday, which said:
“This event and my involvement was presented to my team differently from how it’s now being promoted.”
The tweet was in response to a post by journalist Alex Kane, who highlighted that Rabin’s legacy for Palestinians.
“So @AOC is doing a memorial event for Yitzhak Rabin. In the US Rabin is viewed as a liberal peacemaker but Palestinians remember him for his brutal rule suppressing Palestinian protest during the First Intifada, as someone who reportedly ordered the breaking of Palestinian bones,” Kane tweeted.
It's official. @AOC has withdrawn her participation from an event memorializing Yitzhak Rabin. His legacy is one of violence and dispossession for Palestinians. Thank you AOC for listening to the lived experience of the Palestinian people.
— Adalah Justice Project (@AdalahJustice) September 25, 2020
Ocasio-Cortez, who is widely known AOC, was also criticized by Palestinians and Palestinian advocacy groups for her initial decision to attend the event.
Rabin served as Israeli prime minister between 1974-1977 and in 1992 until his 1995 assassination.
As Israeli defense minister during the Palestinian uprising, Rabin exhorted Israeli troops to “break the bones” of Palestinian protesters, earning him the reputation as the “bone crusher”.
Following the news of AOC’s withdrawal from the October event, Palestinians took to social media to thank the congresswoman.
Late on Friday, however, a report from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency cast doubt on whether AOC’s withdrawal was final, citing sources close to the situation. According to the JTA, a person close to the presidential campaign of Joe Biden said AOC’s withdrawal would be “problematic” and would be “creating problems for her own party”.
(Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, PC, Social Media)
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