“Great to speak to [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] on the phone this evening and hear first hand how she’s challenging the status quo,” Labour chief Jeremy Corbyn tweeted on Sunday evening, and added, “Let’s build a movement across borders to take on the billionaires, polluters and migrant baiters, and support a happier, freer and cleaner planet.”
AOC responded in kind a couple of hours later: “It was an honor to share such a lovely and wide-reaching conversation with you, Jeremy Corbyn! Also honored to share a great hope in the peace, prosperity + justice that everyday people can create when we uplift one another across class, race + identity both at home & abroad.”
Tablet Magazine regular Yair Rosenberg tweeted on ACO’s account: “85% of British Jews think Jeremy Corbyn is anti-Semitic. 87% of Jews refused to vote for his Labour party in the last election, and for good reason. AOC might want to have her staff screen her calls more carefully.”
Rosenberg added: Put this another way: Imagine that 85% of Muslims polled said they thought a particular European leader was Islamophobic. Would you take that leader’s phone call and laud it as a step toward greater justice and equality? If not, please grant Jews the same consideration.”
Elad Nehorai, who defines himself as a Progressive Orthodox Jew, noted: “I’m a huge, huge fan of yours. I hope you’ll take a look at the amount of Jews trying to call attention to Corbyn’s long, documented history of anti-Semitism. The left’s blind spot in this regard can still be fixed. But we need leaders like yourself to listen.”
To which AOC (or a staffer) responded: “Thank you for bringing this to me. We cannot + will not move forward without deep fellowship and leadership with the Jewish community. I’ll have my team reach out.”
Feminist and professor of Philosophy Christina Sommers advised the Congresswoman: “Dear Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Corbyn is anti-Semitic. You do not want to do to the Democratic Party what Linda Sarsour & Tamika Mallory did to the Women’s March.”
And Idrees Ahmad, who writes for the NY Review of Books, the Washington Post and the NY Times, advised AOC: “As a British citizen and a progressive, it saddens me that you’d consider it a mark of honour to associate with a pro-brexit politician who has used xenophobic language to exploit England’s anti-immigrant sentiment and who supported Russia’s murderous intervention in Syria.”