May 12
By Nathaniel Herz
New York mayor hopeful Andrew Yang said he was asked not to attend an Astoria event where he was meant to distribute groceries ahead of Eid, after his staunch pro-Israel stance amid the attacks and forced expulsions in East Jerusalem.
Yang has come under fire after tweeting yesterday: “I’m standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks, and condemn the Hamas terrorists. The people of NYC will always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere.”
But Yang failed to provide context for the Hamas attack that followed an Israeli government orders that would forcibly expel six Palestinians families from generational homes. Amid escalating tension over the order, Israeli officers escalated violence, stormed a mosque, and wounded over 300 unarmed Palestinians.
When Israel and Hamas exchanged fire today, Israeli strikes killed at least 25 Palestinians including nine children were killed in Gaza.
“Utterly shameful for Yang to try to show up to an Eid event after sending out a chest-thumping statement of support for a strike killing 9 children,” New York representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said.