Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) joined other Democratic lawmakers Monday in condemning the pro-Palestine rally that took place in Times Square on Sunday—one day after Hamas attacked Israel, killing upwards of 700 people and taking over a hundred hostage, including children and elderly.
The rally, promoted by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, was held “in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupation and apartheid.”
Videos from the rally showed attendees cheering for Hamas’ attack and holding signs reading “from the River to the Sea,” which calls for the establishment of a State of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea—or completely eliminating the State of Israel. One attendee was pictured proudly displaying a swastika.
“It should not be hard to shut down hatred and antisemitism where we see it. That is a core tenet of solidarity,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement to Politico late Monday.
“The bigotry and callousness expressed in Times Square on Sunday were unacceptable and harmful in this devastating moment,” she added. “It also did not speak for the thousands of New Yorkers who are capable of rejecting both Hamas’ horrifying attacks against innocent civilians as well as the grave injustices and violence Palestinians face under occupation.”
No elected officials are reported to have attended the protest and New York Democrats broadly condemned it from the get-go.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) called the plans for the demonstration “abhorrent and morally repugnant” on Saturday.
“The people of Israel are facing violent terrorist attacks and civilian kidnappings,” Hochul said. “I condemn plans to rally in Times Square tomorrow in support of the perpetrators of these horrific actions. The planned rally is abhorrent and morally repugnant.”
Similarly, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who represents parts of the Bronx, blasted the NYC-DSA as “an antisemitic stain on the soul of America’s largest city.”
“The NYC-DSA is planning to hold a rally tomorrow, glorifying the terrorism of Hamas as ‘resistance,'” Torres wrote ahead of the rally. “Never mind the hundreds of Israeli civilians and children who have been murdered, wounded, abducted, and terrorized. Their lives mean nothing to the DSA. Nothing.”
The New York State Democratic Party as a whole criticized the protest, calling it in a statement “repugnant to everything that our country and this Democratic Party stands for.” The party added that it condemns the NYC-DSA for supporting a rally “that sought to justify the wholly unjustifiable acts of wonton violence, terrorism, kidnapping and murder that was perpetrated on the people of Israel this weekend.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted the rally after the fact, saying he “can’t think of anything more ill-timed and cold-hearted than today’s demonstration in Times Square.”
“We’ve seen unprecedented viciousness coming from Hamas aimed at innocent families and children. Everyone—no matter your views—should condemn this brutal act,” Schumer said.
