AOC hosts discussion on antisemitism and its threat to democracy – Bronx Times

FILE – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joins female House Democrats at an event ahead of a House vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act at the Capitol in Washington, July 15, 2022. Four years after Ocasio-Cortez won a New York congressional primary that toppled a powerful incumbent and sent a jolt through the Democratic Party, the progressive left has had mixed success, with some questioning the limits of the movement’s power.

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the South Bronx, hosted a June 10 livestreamed conversation on antisemitism and its undermining effects on American democracy.

According to Ocasio-Cortez, while Jewish people are the target of religious and racial prejudice, they are also the subject of a longstanding conspiracy theory that unfairly blames them for societal problems and undermines Americans’ trust in government.

New York City is home to about 1.4 million Jewish people, according to a 2023 study by the UJA-Federation of New York. Jews make up about 7% of the state population, compared to about 2% of the overall U.S. population.

The Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Islamic militant group Hamas was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. But antisemitic hate crimes have been on the rise in the city since before that day.

Schools Chancellor David Banks testified before Congress on May 8 about “unacceptable incidents” of antisemitism — as well as anti-Muslim prejudice — in city schools, which have resulted in 30 student suspensions and 12 staff members disciplined, he said.

The conversation hosted by Ocasio-Cortez was held amid record-high numbers of reported antisemitic acts throughout the state, which rose 110% in 2023, according to an Anti-Defamation League report released in April. The report said about 14% of the country’s antisemitic…