AOC Vows to Vote Against All Military Aid to Israel, Including Iron Dome Funding
While not voting outright to increase funding for military aid to Israel, Ocasio-Cortez had voted last year against an amendment to cut funding for the Iron Dome, sparking backlash from her progressive base. She also pledged to combat efforts to codify the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism into law.
SituationPolitics.Com
4/1/20263 min read
AOC Vows to Vote Against All Military Aid to Israel, Including Iron Dome Funding
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pledged Tuesday that she will vote against any congressional bill involving aid to Israel, including funding for the Iron Dome aerial defense system, after previously defending U.S. funding for "defensive capabilities." New York-based magazine City & State reported.
According to New York-based magazine City & State, Ocasio-Cortez made her remarks during a candidates meeting of the New York City branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, from which City & State obtained a partial recording.
When asked whether she supported an embargo on military aid to Israel, Ocasio-Cortez reportedly said she had "not once ever voted to authorize funding to Israel, and I will never," adding that "The Israeli government should be able to finance their own weapons if they seek to arm themselves."
She was then asked directly whether she would commit to voting against "any spending on arms for Israel, including so-called 'defensive capabilities,'" to which she responded yes.
In response to the report, Ocasio-Cortez said that she "will not support Congress sending more taxpayer dollars and military aid to a government that consistently ignores international law and U.S. law."
"[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's allies in the Knesset just approved a $45 billion defense budget, and the Prime Minister himself also asserted his interest in withdrawing from the MOU with the United States in January. It is fully within their ability to fund Iron Dome and other defensive systems," she added.
DSA members who attended the forum also told City & State that Ocasio-Cortez said that she will vote against any effort to codify the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of antisemitism into law.
The definition has faced criticism for potentially conflating legitimate criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Advocates have warned that this could chill free speech and stigmatize academic or protest discourse around Israeli policies.
While not voting outright to increase funding for military aid to Israel, the representative had voted last year against an amendment to cut funding for the Iron Dome – leading to backlash from the progressive left-wing base, including from the DSA.
A group petition pledging not to endorse Ocasio-Cortez's 2026 reelection campaign unless she vowed to oppose "all military and settlement aid to Israel," as well as the IHRA definition of antisemitism, garnered nearly 300 votes in the days leading up to the meeting.
The representative defended her vote at the time, writing on X that the amendment "does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of U.S. munitions being used in Gaza – of course I voted against it."
"What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue," she added. "I have long stated that I do not believe that adding to the death count of innocent victims to this war is constructive to its end. That is a simple and clear difference of opinion that has long been established."
Still, she reiterated that she is focused on ending the flow of U.S. weapons used "to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza."
In 2021 as well, Ocasio-Cortez broke from the ranks of progressive Democrats by refusing to vote "no" on a bill pledging $1 billion in funding for the defensive system, voting "present" instead.
Last month, Ocasio-Cortez said that the United States should reconsider its policy of unconditional military aid to Israel, arguing that it "enabled a genocide in Gaza" and contributed to the deaths of thousands of women and children.
In 2021 as well, Ocasio-Cortez broke from the ranks of progressive Democrats by refusing to vote "no" on a bill pledging $1 billion in funding for the defensive system, voting "present" instead.
Last month, Ocasio-Cortez said that the United States should reconsider its policy of unconditional military aid to Israel, arguing that it "enabled a genocide in Gaza" and contributed to the deaths of thousands of women and children.
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