The Patriot Post® · Ocasio-Cortez Displays Her Ignorance on Israel

The shine has begun to wear off the Democrats’ latest starlet. With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning primary victory over Joseph Crowley, the 10-term New York Representative and head of the House Democratic Caucus, party leadership quickly heralded it as a sign of the party’s strength. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez excitedly surmised that Ocasia-Cortez “represents the future of our party,” gushing, “Alexandria’s victory was just a remarkable reminder of the depth that we have in the Democratic Party.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s response was more muted: “They made a choice in one district. So let’s not get yourself carried away as an expert on demographics and the rest of that within the caucus or outside the caucus.” Evidently, Pelosi saw that this shocking victory would be more problematic than beneficial to Democrats broadly speaking. Aside from the fact that Ocasia-Cortez is an avid socialist, she’s also a young social justice warrior who clearly thinks she knows more than she understands. And it didn’t take long for her to expose this fact.

Ocasio-Cortez sat for an interview last Friday with Margaret Hoover on PBS’s “Firing Line,” in which she was asked to explain her position on Israel after having called Israel’s killing of 60 terrorist “protesters” in May a “massacre.” As she stumbled through trying to answer Hoover’s question, Ocasio-Cortez referenced the “occupation of Palestine” in relation to housing settlements. This comment clearly surprised Hoover, who sought clarity from Ocasio-Cortez on what she meant. After hemming and hawing for a bit longer, utterly exposing her ignorance of the issue, Ocasio-Cortez eventually admitted, “I am not the expert on geopolitics on this issue.”

You don’t say.

Nevertheless, she said, “I am a firm believer in finding a two-state solution on this issue, and I’m happy to sit down with leaders on both of these [sides].”

Erin Dunne of the Washington Examiner sarcastically notes, “This exchange does not inspire confidence in Ocasio-Cortez or the young progressives she claims to represent. Even with her degree in international relations, the lack of knowledge beyond buzzwords should not be surprising.”

Not only has Ocasio-Cortez expressed her ignorance of geopolitics, she appears ignorant of the election laws within her own state as well. Last week, she accused her defeated primary opponent Crowley of seeking a third-party bid, an accusation he quickly put down by explaining New York’s election laws. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) blasted her for the accusation stating, “She’s carrying on and she ain’t gonna make friends that way. Joe conceded, wished her well, said he would support her … so she doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about.”

That seems to be a categorical statement with her.