Condemning Israel's war on Hamas, AOC's post comparing Jesus to Palestinians gets swiftly rebuked

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) sparked new controversy on Christmas Eve by making a comment on her social media comparing Jesus to Palestinians. 

She also drew attention to the cancellation of Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, attributing it to "right-wing forces are violently occupying Bethlehem."

“This nochebuena we pray for peace and protection of the innocent in Gaza and the Occupied Territories,” Ocasio-Cortez began. 

"In the story of Christmas, Christ was born in modern-day Palestine under the threat of a government engaged in a massacre of innocents,” she said. 

"He was part of a targeted population being indiscriminately killed to protect an unjust leader's power. Mary and Joseph, displaced by violence and forced to flee, became refugees in Egypt with a newborn waiting to one day return home," she continued. 

AOC then began to insinuate that Israel is behaving like King Herod. 

"Thousands of years later, right-wing forces are violently occupying Bethlehem as similar stories unfold for today's Palestinians, so much so that the Christian community in Bethlehem has canceled this year's Christmas Eve celebrations out of both safety and respect," Ocasio-Cortez continued.

"And yet, also today, holy children are still being born in a place of unspeakable violence - for every child born, of any identity and from any place, is sacred. Especially the children of Gaza," AOC wrote. 

Her post was roundly attacked by various personalities on social media. 

Jacob Kornbluh, a senior political reporter for The Forward, accused AOC of calling Israel “a ‘violent, right-wing occupying force’ in [a] Christmas post.” 

He also said there was “No mention of Hamas terror, the victims of Oct 7 attack.” 

Other pointed out her use of the term “Jewish Palestinians” to describe Jesus and his family.

One user responded to Kornbluh’s post by writing: “Jewish Palestinians are not a thing. They were Jews of Judea then.” 

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee called AOC “utterly ignorant” and asked if she was “aware that Jesus was Jewish.” 

“This is a person who is utterly ignorant about what she’s talking about,” Huckabee stated on an episode of Fox and Friends, referring to AOC.

“She may ought to stick to something she knows like bartending, because for gosh sake, she has no clue about the history of the Middle East, Jesus, the Jewish people, the State of Israel or virtually anything else she talked about in her post,” Huckabee continued. 

Huckabee also said he was very familiar with Bethlehem, as he has visited many times since 1973. 

“Back in the ’80s, up until then, 80% of the population of Bethlehem was Christian. Twenty percent was something else,” Huckabee said. “Now it’s 80% Muslim, and there’s only about 15% Christian because the Christians were pretty much burned out and shot down by the radical Muslims that took it over back during the intifada.” 

Huckabee also talked about his recent visit to Israel, where he toured the Gaza Envelope, met with hostage families, and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

AOC and other members of the Democratic “Squad” in the United States have called for an immediate ceasefire and criticized U.S. policy supporting Israel’s war against Hamas. 

In November, the controversial figure joined several primarily Democratic politicians in signing a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire.