Once again, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose jurisdiction covers parts of Queens, has hurled dangerous, inaccurate, and one-sided accusations at Israel. In a May 20 video post, the Congresswoman alleged that Shireen Abu Akleh “was killed by Israeli forces.”
In fact, it is far from resolved as to the source of the bullet that killed Ms. Abu Akleh, an Al Jazeera journalist who was hit by a bullet during crossfire in an IDF operation in Jenin to address the recent spate of attacks on Israeli citizens. The scene included hundreds of rounds fired at the IDF by Arabs. As soon as Ms. Abu Akleh was killed, Israel immediately called for a joint investigation into her death, but the Palestinian Authority refused to share the fatal bullet with impartial forensics experts, let alone with Israel, and they quickly buried Ms. Abu Akleh’s remains, making it all but impossible to determine the source of the bullet.
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez made no mention of these facts in her post. Nor did she mention that in recent days, 19 Israeli citizens have been murdered by Arabs from the territories in a slew of attacks. She mentioned, regarding Israeli actions, “an entire media building bombed last year,” but neglected to point out that the building housed offices of Hamas, which the US government has designated as a terrorist organization. Nor did she mention that not one person was injured in that event, as Israel had forewarned building occupants of the pending targeting.
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez stated that “…being killed with US funding must stop.” QJCC calls on the Congresswoman to advocate for this policy when it comes to US-funded Palestinians attacking and murdering Israelis. QJCC calls on the Congresswoman to stick to her calls for ceased funding to the Palestinians, should it be confirmed that it was a Palestinian bullet that killed Ms. Abu Akleh.
