‘No Friend to American Democracy’: AOC Slams AIPAC As An ‘Extremist Organization’ After Pro-Israel Lobby Goes After Thomas Massie

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) launched a blistering attack against the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC on Tuesday, calling the group an “extremist organization.”

“AIPAC endorsed scores of Jan 6th insurrectionists,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response to an AIPAC tweet.

“They are no friend to American democracy. They are one of the more racist and bigoted PACs in Congress as well, who disproportionately target members of color. They are an extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy,” the New York Democrat added.

Notably, AIPAC has strong support in the Congressional Black Congress and in 2022 donated to over half of its members’ reelection campaigns. “The majority of Black members of Congress have been in support of Israel,” retired Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) told the Forward in October. Lawrence co-founded the Black-Jewish Congressional Caucus with the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and retired from Congress in 2023.

Ocasio-Cortez’s strongly worded jab at AIPAC was in response to the group slamming Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) for joining 9 Democrats in voting against a resolution standing with Israel and condemning the Hamas attack on October 7th. 412 House members voted for the resolution.

“Massie and the Squad” read the AIPAC tweet, adding, “Opposed supporting Israel” and “Opposed condemning Hamas.”

AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was founded in 1963 and describes itself as a bipartisan group working to build “support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”