"The Netanyahu administration has been pursuing a lot of extraordinarily concerning policies," she told reporters. "To conflate an individual leader or ego with being against the entire country I think is a hallmark behavior of folks like our president."

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"Just like we have the ability to criticize our president without being anti-American, I believe we can criticize the policies and decisions that the administration over there is pursuing without being against a country overall," continued the freshman congresswoman. "In fact, I think that what we all are united for is for a peaceful future that is just and economically just, socially just and culturally just that provides for the civil rights and human rights of all people."

"They can no longer use this allegation of anti-Semitism to defend their unjust and inhumane policies that hurt all people," she added. "And frankly, I think it damages the security of all people – Israeli, Palestinian alike. You can't use this cudgel of anti-Semitism to scare people away from pointing that out."

Ocasio-Cortez also said, "We won't stand up for that anymore, and we have to stand up for the peace and security of Israeli and Palestinian people. But frankly, Trump's policies do not advance that and neither do Netanyahu's."

The congresswoman's remarks added to her criticisms of Israel over the past few weeks.

On Aug. 15, in response to Israel barring Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from entering the country due to their support of the anti-Israel BDS movement, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that members of Congress "are frequently asked to visit Israel to 'see things for ourselves.' But Netanyahu choosing to ban the only 2 Muslim women in Congress from entering tells the US that only [some] Americans are welcome to Israel, not all. Trump is exporting his bigotry &making matters worse."

In late July, Ocasio-Cortez, who voted against an anti-BDS resolution that month in addition to signing onto Omar's pro-BDS resolution, concurred with a New York radio host, saying that what's happening in Israel is "very criminal" and giving a shoutout to the IfNotNow organization.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Ocasio-Cortez points finger at Netanyahu, accusing him of 'unjust, inhumane policies' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

"Now you look around the globe and you have multiple corrupt governments working together – you've got Israel, you've got America, you've got Russia, you've got the Saudis, right – all working in concert. And I bring up Israel because you've been vocal about Palestine, the occupation and what needs to go on there. And specifically, I even think people in Israel are trying to get Netanyahu as well," asked "Ebro in the Morning" host Ebro Darden.

"I agree. I agree with that," replied Ocasio-Cortez.

                                            Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Darden continued, "There's a lot of young Jewish people that I know that are absolutely against the occupation, and I wanted you, because often on this program, we have the freedom to address the fact that something that you know people, it's an oxymoron, how do you have white-supremacist Jews? How do you have people like Stephen Miller? How do you have these individuals who are legit aligning with racism and white supremacy, but they're Jewish, and it's something that most people can't wrap their brains around. But it's a real thing, and what's going on with Israel and Palestine, while it's very deep, it is very, very criminal. It is very, very unjust."

Ocasio-Cortez told the host that there are "really amazing organizations of young people, like IfNotNow, that they are young Jews organizing for justice because they realize that all of our fates and destinies are intertwined," she said. "There cannot be justice in Israel without [justice] for Palestinians, too," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez recently lent her support for a measure in the House that supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

The freshman congresswoman, who last week voted against a resolution condemning the anti-BDS movement in addition to signing onto Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) pro-BDS resolution, responded, "Absolutely, and I think to where we're at as a country when it comes to Israel-Palestine is very much a generational thing. I think that when we start looking at it through that lens, a lot of this stuff starts to make sense. It's like what you're talking about –young Jews in Israel are sick of this."

Ocasio-Cortez, who tweeted last year that Israel was committing "a massacre" in defending itself against Hamas rioters along the Gaza-Israel border, added, "There's this idea that if you criticize a policy of Israel, the Right wants to advance this notion that if you engage in critique of Israeli policy then you are anti-Semitic. But it's the furthest thing from the truth … criticizing the occupation doesn't make you anti-Israel, frankly. It doesn't mean you're against the existence of a nation."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Ocasio-Cortez: Palestinians have 'no choice but to riot' against Israel appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Although the text introduced by Omar does not explicitly mention Israel, she told Al-Monitor shortly before filing it, "We are introducing a resolution … to really speak about the American values that support and believe in our ability to exercise our First Amendment rights in regard to boycotting. And it is an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement."

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Ocasio-Cortez's congressional office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The resolution also compares the BDS movement to boycotts of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

It states, "Whereas Americans of conscience have a proud history of participating in boycotts to advocate for human rights abroad, including … boycotting Nazi Germany from March 1933 to October 1941 in response to the dehumanization of the Jewish people in the lead-up to the Holocaust … the United States Olympic Committee boycotting the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the preceding year; and "leading the campaign in the 1980s to boycott South African goods in opposition to apartheid in that country."

Other co-sponsors include Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), John Lewis (D-Ga.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Bobby Rush (D-Ill), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), whose brother, former US Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Omar and Tlaib have come under attack in recent months because of their statements against Israel, with some calling them anti-Semitic. Omar and Tlaib have recently confirmed that they would be visiting Israel this summer, but Ocasio-Cortez, who has been less vocal on Israel, has not announced such plans.

Ocasio-Cortez was one of 17 members to vote against last week's House resolution condemning BDS.

Ocasio-Cortez told BuzzFeed News on Tuesday that BDS is "a tough issue, especially for constituencies back home … ultimately, it comes down to protecting free speech. And my concern with being overly punitive on nonviolent forms of protest is that it forces people into other channels and I would hate to be a part of, you know, paving that kind of path."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Ocasio-Cortez signs onto Omar's pro-BDS resolution appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Carr is a well-known pro-Israel figure in California, having served as the Los Angeles deputy district attorney before making an unsuccessful 2014 bid on the Republican ticket for Congress in the Democrat-heavy LA 33rd district. His wife, Dahlia, is a physician, and he flies every weekend from Washington, DC, to spend Shabbat with his family, for whom he sometimes cooks the Iraqi specialties from his childhood. Carr also served as the international president of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), the Jewish fraternity that under his leadership fought anti-Semitism on college campuses in North America and Europe.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

JNS caught up with him over the phone while he was in London in early July to find out more about his work combatting this "vile poison" in America and beyond.

Q: What kind of work do you do with your European partners?

"I do a lot of work with our European partners because anti-Semitism is a global problem. It's increasing everywhere in the world, certainly in Europe, but also in the United States and Latin America and elsewhere, so I am here to represent the United States in meetings with Jewish leaders in London and to make sure that the Jewish community in the United Kingdom understands that the United States supports them and is standing with them. That's the same message I conveyed in my trips that I've made so far to Eastern and Central Europe, and I'll be going to Western Europe shortly as well. So, that is the message to the Jewish community.

"Then, in bilateral meetings with government leaders, we work together to improve the situation for the Jewish community and to advance our shared interest in combating anti-Semitism – and that is a shared interest because it's very important to remember that anti-Semitism isn't only about protecting the Jewish community, [it's] about guaranteeing the health of the society and of the country itself. The history of anti-Semitism is that it destroys every society that embraces it. That's why US President Donald Trump always calls it a 'vile poison.'"

Q: Your counterpart in Germany, Felix Klein, drew criticism when he announced that Jews should be advised not to wear their kippot everywhere in Germany. What is your reaction to such an advisory?

"Well, I understand why somebody would want to take whatever measures are necessary to keep people safe. However, I don't think the response to anti-Semitism should ever be the hiding of the Jewish community or the advice to Jews that they hide who they are. If that's what Jews have to do in the face of anti-Semitism, then we've lost the fight. And so, I think Jews have every right to express themselves Jewishly, and that means do it in a public way.

If observant Jews want to wear a kipah in public, they should wear a kipah in public, and it's the job of the society to keep them safe. The onus shouldn't be on them to hide and protect themselves that way."

Q: What do you think about the German Bundestag vote to brand BDS as anti-Semitism?

"Movements that seek to suffocate the one Jewish country out of existence through economic boycotts – that is anti-Semitism in its unvarnished manifestation. And this is a very, very important thing that we have to realize. I want to compliment and thank the Bundestag for doing that, and I hope Germany will follow up on that decision and take the actions necessary when it sees examples of BDS and examples of anti-Israel hatred.

For example, the designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, it will be my hope that Germany will designate Hezbollah in all its forms as a terrorist organization."

Q: In the United States, are there any areas of priority to tackle when it comes to sources or venues of anti-Semitism?

"First of all, when it comes to the sources of anti-Semitism, I'm very careful not to rank them. The reason I don't rank them in importance is because of the political climate we're in, in terms of polarization, and anti-Semitism is often weaponized for political purposes. I think that hurts the fight.

I say this at every opportunity I can: Jew-hatred is Jew-hatred, and it's evil, and it doesn't matter if it comes from the ethnic supremacist right, from the vicious anti-Zionist left or from radical Islam. It's evil regardless of where it comes from, and we need to fight all of it. Jew-hatred in all its forms needs to be combated, and it's my job to combat it.

But I will say that in the United States the place that is, I think, an urgent location is the college campus. College campuses have boiled over in anti-Semitic vitriol. Many, and by no means all, US college campuses have become hostile learning environments for Jewish students.

That is not only morally wrong and unpleasant; it's also illegal – a violation of the Civil Rights Act."

Q: How would you respond to accusations that a divisive atmosphere under President Trump and some of his rhetoric may have empowered the gunmen of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and at Chabad of Poway, Calif.?

"I don't think there's any basis to that at all. Anti-Semitism has been rising for several years now, and President Trump, to his great credit and to my great pride, has made combating anti-Semitism a central focus of his. He speaks about it often.

He spent considerable time in his State of the Union Address, which is – my goodness, the most prominent, visible speech the president makes all year – talking about anti-Semitism. Every time he mentions anti-Semitism, he refers to it as a 'vile poison.' He talks of the need to remove it from our midst, and he made what many have said is an unprecedented statement by any leader any time in history – a non-Jewish leader, that is – and he made this statement right after the Pittsburgh shooting at a 'Make America Great Again' rally in Illinois: 'If you seek the destruction of the Jews, we will seek your destruction.' And that promise by a leader, by a world leader, I had people who follow this tell me that this has never been said in history."

So that's President Trump, and then look at the people around him: Vice President [Mike] Pence couldn't be stronger on this issue. My boss, US Secretary of State [Mike] Pompeo, this is a central focus of his: combating anti-Semitism. He spent his AIPAC speech talking about anti-Semitism. Also saying, and I quote: 'Let me go on the record: Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism,' which no previous administration has said.

You could not possibly put together a team that feels this more deeply, and that has taken steps in favor of the Jewish community or has been stronger. So, I just think that that accusation reflects a political bias."

Q: Can you tell us about specific actions or policies that are being taken on the ground?

"Sure. There've been increases to budgets at the federal and state level to provide security to Jewish communities.

Second, I have been appointed, and I've been given a very broad mandate and incredible support. I'll tell you that my team is larger by an order of magnitude than that any of my predecessors' in this role. So, I've been given the green light to really pursue this with the full force of the administration.

Third, we have made requests of our allies and partners on specific issues regarding the Jewish communities and their countries, and these are not minor requests. That's my job.

When I represent the United States on this issue, I sit down with foreign governments, and I compliment them on all the great things they're doing, and very often, there are great things they're doing, and I say: 'Well, on these issues, can we fix this?' And I'll tell you that some of my requests have already been complied with.

And so, there is an absolute mandate that we should not only contain anti-Semitism, but roll it back. It's not sufficient to stop its growth. The idea is we want to roll this back, and we're focusing on every region in the world, as I was asked to do.

There is increasing focus on college campuses. And this is something that also is unprecedented. The Department of Education issued a formal definition of the Jewish people as an ethnic group. Of course, one would think: 'Well, what's new in that? Of course, the Jewish people are an ethnic group.'

Yes, the Jewish people are an ethnic group, but it had not been defined as such by the Department of Education. That definition and issuing that definition is the prerequisite for triggering federal law and the Civil Rights Act in terms of obligating universities to create a fair and welcoming educational environment for ethnic minorities. Now that Jews are defined as an ethnic minority, the Department of Education has lined up all the legal requirements to force campuses to end what is going on, which is really to create a hostile educational environment for Jewish and pro-Israel students."

Q: Do you have close ties with Israel, and do you work with Israeli leaders? 

"I work with Israeli leaders all the time. I've made more than one trip to Israel since I was appointed. We meet, and we have full cooperation with a number of ministries that monitor and focus on anti-Semitism. Of course, that includes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. Those three ministries do enormous work on global anti-Semitism, and we work with them very closely. And that's another example of the great partnership between the United States and Israel.

And when I spoke about policies, I focused on Jewish communities, but, of course, what this administration has done to support and strengthen and protect the State of Israel is also unprecedented, and that's also part of the fight against anti-Semitism because the hatred of Israel is the hatred of the Jewish people."

Q: How you are enjoying this post?

"Immensely. I'm grateful every day that I have the chance to represent the United States of America in the fight against anti-Semitism throughout the world and the fight to protect the Jewish people throughout the world."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post 'Anti-Semitism is evil, regardless of where it comes from' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

This weekend, the New York Times published an ad which read, "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, stop desecrating the Holocaust."

                                          Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The ad features a picture of Jewish concentration camp prisoners next to a picture of the congresswoman, captioned: "Six million Jews were murdered in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. By comparing the United States to the Third Reich, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez disgraces their memory, our country and herself."

Ocasio-Cortez, who is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, has a strong socialist agenda and is the leader of an unofficial movement that targets President Donald Trump. She frequently attacks the US administration for its treatment of illegal immigrants, claiming that holding them in detention facilities near the US-Mexico border is "illegal."

"Ocasio-Cortez's trivialization of the greatest systematic murder in history is grotesque and repulsive," read a statement from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and his organization, which claims to promote universal Jewish values.

The congresswoman's remarks also drew strong condemnation from the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, which suggested that Ocasio-Cortez "learn about the concentration camps."

The post 'Ocasio-Cortez, stop desecrating the Holocaust,' reads NY Times ad appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

In an interview with i24News, Elan Carr, the US envoy against anti-Semitism and a keynote speaker at the event, spoke of the need to fight what he called the three pillars of anti-Semitism: the hatred of Jews on the far Right, the far Left and in radical Islam.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Carr is working with European leaders and global partners to fight against anti-Semitism while also moving to change educational material in Arab countries.

Addressing the ayatollah regime in Iran, Carr said he hoped to see "a united front against Iranian mischief – the mischief of the Iranian regime I should add, not the Iranian people but this cruel Iranian regime ... a united front against its mischief, its violence, its destabilization and its doctrinal anti-Semitism."

Carr also spoke out against Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) recent remarks in which she compared the detention of migrants into the US to the running of concentration camps.

"It is a staggering insensitivity to what was done to the Jewish people during the Holocaust, and a staggering insensitivity to American virtues and American values," Carr said.

"To even mention the United States in the same sentence as Nazi Germany, or for that matter to compare the state of Israel to Nazi Germany as we see anti-Semites do on a regular basis, is profoundly offensive," he said.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

The post US anti-Semitism envoy slams lawmaker for comparing border patrol to concentration camps appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

In her social media remarks, the freshman congresswoman said, "The fact that concentrations camps are now an institutionalized practice in the Home of the Free is extraordinarily disturbing. … We are losing to an authoritarian and fascist presidency. I don't use those words lightly. … I use that word because that is what an administration that creates concentration camps is. A presidency that creates concentration camps is fascist, and it's very difficult to say that."

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

On Tuesday, she posted on Twitter, "This administration has established concentration camps on the southern border of the United States for immigrants, where they are being brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying."

In a hit against Republicans, Ocasio-Cortez added: "And for the shrieking Republicans who don't know the difference: concentration camps are not the same as death camps. Concentration camps are considered by experts as 'the mass detention of civilians without trial.' And that's exactly what this administration is doing."

Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) responded to Ocasio-Cortez by tweeting: "Please @AOC do us all a favor and spend just a few minutes learning some actual history. 6 million Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust. You demean their memory and disgrace yourself with comments like this."

Cheney later added, "Happy to help educate you @AOC. You could start with the @yadvashem survivor testimonies. I also recommend Night by Elie Wiesel. Here's an Amazon link to make it easy for you to purchase."

Several other pro-Israel and Jewish groups condemned Ocasio-Cortez's remarks.

"Six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. It is disgraceful for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to compare our nation's immigration policies to the horrors carried out by the Nazis. We would hope that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez knows better, but sadly, she does not," said the Republican Jewish Coalition on Tuesday.

"Before Representative Ocasio-Cortez makes a statement like that, I would suggest that she actually visit Auschwitz, and try to understand what actually took place there," Endowment for Middle East Truth founder and president Sarah Stern told JNS. "Her statement devalued the horrors of the Holocaust and of the 6 million who were systematically and purposely murdered. Statements such as these are ill-informed and flippant, and simply illustrate her vast ignorance."

"AOC should ask Holocaust survivors and ex-GIs who liberated Dachau what that charnel House was like," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told JNS. "She is insulting victims of genocide."

The post Jewish groups, Rep Liz Cheney slam Ocasio-Cortez for comparing US border control to 'concentration camps' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.