In yet another awkward stumble in his mayoral campaign, Andrew Yang was forced to defend a pro-Israel tweet that thrust him into the center of national attention, drawing praise from Republicans and a harsh rebuke from one of the Democratic Party's biggest stars, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The controversy began after Yang tweeted on Monday that he was “standing with the people of Israel” as the country undergoes one of its worst battles in years with Palestinians. Israeli airstrikes at Gaza have killed at least 32 Palestinians while police clashes in Jerusalem have injured at least 300 Palestinians. Israel has reported at least three deaths and 100 wounded.
The longstanding Middle East conflict has over the years increasingly divided Democrats, with younger and more liberal members of the party opposed to what they see as Israel's unblinking oppression of Palestinians.
Yang's tweet immediately set off a storm of criticism, including from an assortment of prominent individuals.
Meanwhile, several conservative Republicans rushed to Yang's support. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, tweeted, "Bravo to Yang for opposing the rabidly pro-Hamas & anti-Israel attacks from fellow Dems Omar & Tlaib."
Stephen Miller, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, praised Yang as being "exactly right," while Meghan McCain, the conservative TV celebrity, lent the candidate her support with a retweet accompanied by the hashtag #YANGGANG.
By Tuesday afternoon, a Queens community group that Yang was supposed to help distribute groceries to Muslim families had asked him not to show up. Mohamed Jabed Uddin, the treasurer at the Astoria Welfare Society, said he’d canceled Yang’s invitation after receiving a barrage of concerned calls and texts from community members Monday night.
“It would not be a good political sign to come here and speak,” Uddin said. “That’s why I needed to make a decision.”
The center planned to give out food to 300 families celebration of Eid, the Muslim holiday that begins Wednesday and marks the end of a month of fasting during Ramadan. Uddin said he thinks Yang made a mistake and should apologize to the city’s Muslim community.
“Before leadership makes a decision, we have to think twice about what we’re going to say, especially because he’s running for mayor,” he said. “We know that he’s a nice person, but I think [he] divided the community.”
Jake Sporn, a spokesperson for the Yang campaign, declined to comment further. Asked at a press conference Tuesday about the event’s cancelations Yang said, “the organizers of the event decided it would be better if we did not attend and we were happy to abide by their wishes.”
Confronted by two individuals at the event who asked him about his tweet, Yang called the violence "heartbreaking" but stopped short of condemning Israel for its actions.
The day was capped by a tweet from Ocasio-Cortez, whose district includes Astoria. The congresswoman, who is yet to endorse a mayoral candidate but could prove to be a powerful influence on the race, called Yang "utterly shameful."
Yang is one of several candidates, along with Eric Adams and Scott Stringer, that have tried to court votes from conservative and Orthodox Jews in New York City, although none have faced as much scrutiny.
Ray McGuire tweeted a message saying, "I stand proudly with Israel." Similarly, Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, said, "I stand shoulder to shoulder with the people Israel at this time of crisis."
But some noticed that Adams's tweet was briefly deleted before resurfacing within an hour.
On Wednesday morning, Yang released a lengthy statement saying that his own volunteers confronted him yesterday, expressing they "felt that my tweet was overly simplistic in my treatment of a conflict that has a long and complex history full of tragedies." He added that he "failed to acknowledge the pain and suffering of both sides."
