Eyebrows were raised yesterday when British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed on Twitter that they had spoken to one another over the phone.
Corbyn, of course, is widely perceived among British Jews as anti-Semitic with his longstanding denunciations of Israel, his praise of Hamas and Hezbollah and his tolerance of anti-Semitism against Jewish Labour Party members. He has single handedly driven British Jews into the arms of the Tories. Last summer, Ocasio-Cortez accused Israel, without evidence, of committing a massacre against Palestinians at the Gaza border last May.
After Ocasio-Cortez described the conversation with Corbyn as an "honor" and "lovely", many on Twitter pointed out Corbyn's antipathy towards Jews. For her part, Ocasio-Cortez specifically replied to Elad Nehorai (a.k.a. Pop Chassid), "We cannot + will not move forward without deep fellowship and leadership with the Jewish community. I'll have my team reach out."
This brings up a couple of questions.
First, who initiated the call? Corbyn or AOC?
If it was AOC who initiated the conversation then surely she must have known about his background. Given her background with the Democratic Socialists of America (which endorsed BDS in 2017), it is inconceivable to me that she wouldn't be aware of who Corbyn is given that he is a heartbeat away from entering 10 Downing Street. Given that Corbyn's leadership has been embroiled in anti-Semitism from the get go, I find it hard to believe AOC wouldn't have been aware of it. But in the event she didn't know then that tells me that she and her team don't conduct themselves with due diligence.
Which brings me to my second question. What does AOC mean when she says she will have her "team reach out." To whom will they reach out? To Corbyn and his team? Members of the Jewish community in the U.S. and the U.K.? If her team should reach out to British Jews, would these be Jews blessed by Corbyn? And equally as important is the question of who on her team would be doing the reaching out. Would it be a member of her senior staff or a spring semester intern?
I suspect that one of two things will happen here. First, AOC is hoping that this goes away and she does not need to make any further public comment on the subject. But hopefully activists will hold her accountable in the same way they held The Women's March leadership when their admiration of Louis Farrakhan and their refusal to condemn his anti-Semitism became loud and clear. In which case, here is scenario number two. I believe AOC would give Corbyn a clean bill of health. With Theresa May's incompetence on Brexit there's a very good chance that Corbyn will become Britain's next PM. Should President Trump be re-elected then look for AOC to be the early frontrunner for 2024. Why would two figures likely to reside at 10 Downing Street and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue do anything to undermine a future Anglo-American alliance on The Left? The two could be kindred spirits on the world stage for many years to come.
Unfortunately, I suspect one of the foundations of this alliance is their mutual contempt of Israel and of the Jewish people. This contempt could become cataclysmic to the future not only of Israel but of the peaceful existence of both American and British Jewry. All because of a 45 minute phone transatlantic phone conversation.
If AOC fails to condemn Corbyn's anti-Semitism then it will be up to progressives like Alyssa Milano to speak out as they did when it came to the leadership of The Women's March. But standing up to an elected official with 2 million Twitter followers might not prove to be so easy. Then again courage never comes easy.
As for now, the ball is in AOC's court.
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