Anti-Israel activists in New York on Monday said they vandalized the Bronx office of Democratic US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of Israel’s leading critics in Congress.
The anti-Israel protest group Decolonize This Place posts photos showing red paint, reminiscent of blood, splattered on Ocasio-Cortez’s office, and a sign that reads, “AOC funds genocide in Gaza.”
Decolonize This Place said the vandalism was an “anonymous submission” from a group called the Boogie Down Liberation Front. The group does not appear to have any protest history or online presence. Police confirmed the vandalism to the local NBC4 news outlet.
In a statement shared with reporter Ashoka Jegroo, the Boogie Down Liberation Front said, “The Bronx is sick and tired of people like AOC and Ritchie Torres using us as a stepping stone for their own political careers,” referring to another Democratic representative who is a staunch supporter of Israel.
Anti-Israel protesters have repeatedly vandalized the offices of elected representatives and other perceived supporters of the Jewish state in New York.
The vandalism appeared to be a response to Ocasio-Cortez voting last week against a Congressional amendment to cut funding for Israel’s air defenses. The amendment was sponsored by US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Georgia Republican who has previously advocated against US funding to Israel, and separately by Representative Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who is one of the fiercest critics of Israel in Congress.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene’s amendment does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on X last week. “What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue.”
“I have long stated that I do not believe that adding to the death count of innocent victims to this war is constructive to its end. That is a simple and clear difference of opinion that has long been established.”
She also said she would “remain focused on cutting the flow of US munitions that are being used to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza.”
The amendment was struck down by a vote of 422-6. In addition to Omar and Greene, Democrats Al Green of Texas, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania also supported it, as well as Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who opposes all foreign aid.
The overall Department of Defense Appropriations Act passed Friday with a vote of 221-209, allocating $832 billion in defense funding for 2026.
Ocasio-Cortez is part of the “Squad” of progressive lawmakers that includes Omar, Tlaib and Lee and often votes with them. Her vote against the bill reignited criticism from another frequent ally, the Democratic Socialists of America, which wrote in a statement Saturday that promoting any aid to Israel is “unacceptable.”
“An arms embargo means keeping all arms out of the hands of a genocidal military, no exceptions. This is why we oppose Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’[s] vote against an amendment that would have blocked $500 million in funding for the Israeli military’s Iron Dome program,” the DSA said in a statement.
Last year, the DSA pulled their endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez after she hosted a panel on antisemitism that the group said “conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism and condemned boycotting Zionist institutions.”
In 2021, Ocasio-Cortez also faced backlash for another Iron Dome-related bill. After successfully lobbying for the removal of $1 billion in funding for the defensive system, in a stand-alone vote to reallocate the funding, Ocasio-Cortez voted “present” and it passed 420-9.
In a statement responding the backlash at the time, Ocasio-Cortez wrote that while she had opposed the bill, the decision by House leadership to rush the vote created a “tinderbox of vitriol, disingenuous framing, deeply racist accusations and depictions, and lack of substantive discussion on this matter.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.