Rep. , D-N.Y., claimed at the Munich Security Conference on Friday that U.S. assistance to the Jewish state allowed Israel to carry out a genocide. AOC’s criticism of Israel in Munich occurred in the birthplace of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement, which perpetrated the worst genocide in human history.
AOC’s condemnation of Israel’s military campaign to defeat Hamas—designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and EU—in the Gaza Strip sparked outrage and strong criticism from military academics and Middle East experts.
During the town hall event in Munich, the Squad member stated: “To me, this isn’t just about a presidential election. Personally, I think the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, especially the Leahy Laws. And I personally believe the idea of completely , no matter what one does, doesn’t make sense. I think that enabled a genocide in Gaza, and that thousands of women and children have died unnecessarily—deaths that were completely avoidable.”
She continued: “So I believe enforcing our own laws through the Leahy Laws—which require conditioning aid in any situation where gross human rights violations are observed—is appropriate.”
The Leahy Laws prohibit the Department of Defense and State Department from funding “foreign security force units when there is credible information that the unit has committed a ‘gross violation of human rights.’” Former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT., introduced the legislation in 1997.
Tom Gross, an international affairs expert, told digital: “AOC traveled all the way to Munich—infamous as the city where Hitler staged his Nazi Beer Hall Putsch, marking the start of the road to —to further smear the Jewish people with a false genocide allegation.”
Gross added: “Such preposterous ‘genocide’ claims form the foundation of modern antisemitic incitement against Jews in the U.S. and globally. Ocasio-Cortez’s shocking ignorance and insensitivity should disqualify her from any potential presidential bid or other high office.”
Military experts and genocide researchers have debunked the allegation that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians during its self-defense war against Hamas. The conflict began after Hamas terrorists attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 Israeli and foreign nationals and brutally kidnapping 251 people, who were taken to Gaza by Hamas and other militants.
Danny Orbach, a military historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and co-author of “Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War from October 7 2023, to June 1, 2025,” told Digital: “Ocasio-Cortez’s accusation that Israel committed genocide is incorrect both factually and legally. Under the Genocide Convention, genocide requires proof of a special intent to destroy a protected group—either in whole or in part—and, as a baseline condition, an active effort to maximize civilian destruction.”
“The evidence shows the opposite: as our multi-author study Debunking the demonstrates, Israel took unprecedented measures to mitigate civilian harm, including establishing humanitarian safe zones that independently verified data show were approximately six times safer than other areas of Gaza.”
Orbach added: “Israel also issued detailed advance warnings before strikes and facilitated the entry of over two million tons of humanitarian aid—often at significant cost to its own military advantage, including the loss of surprise and the sustainment of an enemy during wartime.”
He concluded: “These measures were taken despite , its systematic use of human shields and hospitals for military purposes, and a tunnel network exceeding 1,000 kilometers—an operational challenge without historical precedent. Finally, no credible evidence demonstrates the kind of unambiguous, exclusive genocidal intent toward Palestinians that international law requires and that cannot be reasonably interpreted otherwise.”
Conservative commentator Derek Hunter posted on X: “Imagine going to Germany to complain about a fake genocide by Jews…in Munich, of all places. is about as smart as a clogged toilet.”
In Dec. 2024, the U.S. in rejecting the allegations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.