US Socialist Ocasio-Cortez: Palestine is Colony With No Rights

On Friday, 28-year-old Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked about her position on Israel, on PBS' show 'Firing Line,' to which she responded in a willingly non-controversial fashion, with an Israeli right to exist, and proponent of a two-state solution posture. 

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Ocasio-Cortez, a former Bernie Sanders volunteer and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, scored a 57.5% of votes against the 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley in a recent race for a district of New York City spot. 

The self-styled socialist is a second generation Puerto Rican who used her Twitter account, during the campaign, to slam the Israeli army (IDF) over the killing of innocent Palestinians as they commemorated the Palestinian Great March Of Return in May.

During the interview, Ocasio-Cortez was flustered but managed to maintain and reiterate her position on Israel.  

"For me, the lens through which I saw this incident, as an activist, as an organizer, if sixty people were killed in Ferguson, Missouri, if sixty people were killed in the South Bronx — unarmed — if sixty people were killed in Puerto Rico — I just looked at that incident more through... through just, as an incident, and to me, it would just be completely unacceptable if that happened on our shores."

When Margaret Hoover, host of the television show, asked the Democratic congressional candidate to elaborate, Ocasio-Cortez reaffirmed the controversial stance by stating that she thinks "that what people are starting to see, at least in the occupation of Palestine, is just an increasing crisis of humanitarian condition, and that to me is just where I tend to come from on this issue."

"I just look at things through a human rights lens, and I may not use the right words, I know this is a very intense issue," Ocasio-Cortez added.

The member of the Democratic Socialists of America had previously said in an interview, with Glenn Greenwald, that she had an affinity to Palestine because of her roots, since “Puerto Rico is a colony that is granted no rights, that has no civic representation,” Haaretz reported.

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Ocasio-Cortez added that "I think what’s at least important to communicate is that I’m willing to listen and that I’m willing to learn and evolve on this issue."  

While campaigning, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez rejected corporate donations, won emphatically and is considered a virtually "certain" winner in November 6 elections. Her platform includes the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the universalization of higher education and Medicare, and a $15 minimum wage.