Overview
- New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has drawn criticism for a Christmas message on Instagram in which she compared the plight of Jesus to that of modern-day Palestinians.
- Ocasio-Cortez's post, which depicted a baby doll in a pile of rubble, drew parallels between Jesus' persecutors and present-day Israel, and referred to Jesus' family as 'Jewish Palestinians.'
- Her post was widely condemned as anti-Jewish, with critics such as former Anti-Defamation League leader Abraham Foxman and former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman accusing her of invoking the historic charge that Jews killed Jesus.
- Ocasio-Cortez made no mention of Hamas, Israeli hostages in Gaza, or the Oct. 7 atrocities that claimed the lives of 1,200 people in Israel and set off the war with the Hamas terrorist group.
- Pro-Palestinian protesters have also been comparing Jesus' plight to that of the Palestinians in the lead-up to Christmas, with a leading New York activist group, Within Our Lifetime, vowing to 'cancel' Christmas in a protest near Rockefeller Center.