AOC withdraws from event honoring Yitzhak Rabin after Palestinian-led outcry

Pushback with Aaron Mate

Pushback with Aaron Maté

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4.7 • 594 Ratings

🗓️ 27 September 2020

⏱️ 21 minutes

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Summary

Facing Palestinian-led criticism, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has cancelled an appearance at an event honoring the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin played a personal role in the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine; ordered Israeli forces to brutalize Palestinian protesters during the 1st Intifada; and oversaw a so-called Oslo "peace process" that cemented continued occupation and illegal settlement expansion. "This is a man who never expressed any regret for his crimes dating back to 1948, was never held to account, was never brought to justice," says Ali Abunimah of The Electronic Intifada. "So the very least we can do now is make sure that his crimes are not forgotten, and make sure that the lives he destroyed are not erased from history, and make sure that he is not falsely portrayed as a peacemaker -- let alone someone on a mission for peace and justice." Guest: Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada. Support Pushback at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to pushback. I'm Aaron Mattae.
0:06.0	After facing heavy criticism, Congressmember Alexandria Ocaso Cortez has canceled an appearance
0:12.7	at an event honoring the late Israeli Prime Minister I Tak Rabin, who was assassinated 25 years
0:19.2	ago this November.
0:28.8	The organizer of the event, Americans for Peace Now, had said that AOC will, quote, reflect on fulfilling the courageous Israeli leader's mission for peace and justice today in the U.S. and Israel, unquote.
0:34.9	But that is not how Palestinians remember Etak Rabin's mission and legacy.
0:40.9	Rabin played a personal role in the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine.
0:45.7	And 40 years later, as the Israeli defense minister during the first Palestinian Intifada,
0:51.3	Rabin ordered Israeli soldiers to brutalize and kill Palestinians protesting the
0:56.4	Israeli occupation.
0:57.4	Although he is known as a leader who tried to make peace with Palestinians, the actual
1:03.1	legacy of Rabin's so-called Oslo peace process is one of continued occupation and illegal
1:09.1	settlement expansion. Well, before the news broke that AOC was backing down from this appearance in the face of
1:16.9	Palestinian-led criticism, I spoke to Ali Ibonima, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada.
1:22.9	His latest piece is called Why is AOC honoring an Israeli war criminal alie welcome to pushback as we are
1:31.4	speaking aOC has just tweeted that she is reevaluating this invitation and that her team may have been
1:39.3	misled on the nature of this event but regardless of what what happens there, what is your response to the
1:45.0	fact that her team or herself personally accepted this invitation?
1:52.3	Well, first on the news that she is reconsidering, I believe she tweeted that she claims that
1:59.1	her staff was misled
2:01.4	or that the event was presented to them differently.
2:05.6	I just have to say I'm very skeptical about that
	...

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