Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised some eyebrows with a seemingly innocuous Hanukkah message which also included a dig at President Donald Trump.
The 29-year-old New York Democrat, who will be the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress, tweeted a Hanukkah greeting “to our loved Jewish families + neighbors in the Bronx, Queens and across the country” on Sunday.
Hanukkah Sameach to our loved Jewish families + neighbors in the Bronx, Queens and across the country!
May our hearts fill up with light, hope, and strength over the next eight days.
And thank you, Rabbi Ruttenberg, for this beautiful reminder. https://t.co/lZoVKXmW4p
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 2, 2018
But her thanks to Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg for a “beautiful reminder” for the Jewish holiday seemed to contain more than what met the eye.
We know now, better than ever, that we have to make the miracles ourselves.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
The tweet from Ruttenberg, in fact, was the last in a long thread that drew a ridiculous comparison between the ruler of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and Trump. In the Hanukkah story, the Maccabees revolted against this ruler who oppressed the Jews.
While Ocasio-Cortez got back many thanks on Twitter for her greeting, others took the extra step to follow the linked tweet from Ruttenberg and called out the progressive freshman lawmaker’s real message.
Beautiful reminder? The rabbi shoots of some hate filled pablum and you consider it glorious.
— FallingDebris (@VolatileAmine) December 3, 2018
Read the thread written by a leftist Rabbi that was linked to in her tweet. In it she draws an absurd comparison between President Trump who moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem recognizing Israel’s eternal capital, to the despot Antiochus who oppressed Jews.https://t.co/AWV4tNP5dN
— Illoominati (@OrenBalaban) December 3, 2018
It wasn’t “a beautiful reminder”, it was the end of a thread comparing @POTUS to a tyrant.
— ??#IAmTheNRA Rosenblum (@StevenRosenblum) December 3, 2018
Yuck. Did you even read that horrible rant? It was just another version of “Trump is literally Hitler”. Can’t you just leave it at “Happy Hanukkah” and skip the political jab?
— Terra (@StormyDoggie) December 3, 2018
Others slammed Ocasio-Cortez for extending a holiday greeting to Jews while ” hanging out with known antisemites” and being critical of Israel.
Weren’t you just hanging out with known antisemites Linda Sarsour and Omar? Seems hypocritical for you to wish happy Hanukkah while associated with people who call for the murder of all Jews.
— I am Spartacus (@Hill_Tim_J) December 2, 2018
Honoring a Jewish holiday while embracing an ideology and people which wants to exterminate them. Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me.
— Eomer-Son of Eomund (@EEomund) December 3, 2018
Said the new Congress-member that pals around with anti-Semitic gal pals. So are you sincerely wishing everyone a Happy #Hannukah or are you just faking? @ACTBrigitte @jihadwatchRS @PamelaGeller pic.twitter.com/uG6Fb8Cjni
— Smug Nancy Pelosi (@SmugNancy) December 2, 2018
Ruttenberg’s final tweet came after a lengthy thread detailing the comparison of Trump and “an insecure, despotic ruler” of the Seleucid Empire.
Here’s a lil’ thread about Hanukah and the Trump Administration. 1/x
In 175 B. C., an insecure, despotic ruler came to power. He was narcissistic and known for a level of extravagance and display that bordered on the bizarre.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
Despite his occasional ability to captivate his subjects by appearing gracious, he was said to have, in his heart, a cruel tyrant’s contempt for his subjects.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
Political positions under him were easily bought; he installed unqualified cronies in high positions and quickly turned on one if another offered him more money for the same job.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
“He was quick to anger, and it wasn’t long into his reign that he began curtailing civil liberties, restricting the freedom of religion, and pillaging his subjects’ resources for his own profit,” the rabbi continued, noting how the ruler “seized rule illegitimately ” and took the kingship “by force.
“Bribes drove his appointments of the high priest; he plundered the treasury of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem for its gold, Ruttenberg tweeted. “In a fury about a humiliating loss in Egypt, he cracked down in Judea, outlawing observance of the Sabbath and ritual circumcision and defiling the temple by erecting an altar to Zeus there, complete with pig sacrifice.”
“He sent his officers to slay and destroy, with an agenda that was less about Hellenism — that is, the demand that the Judeans assimilate into the kingdom’s dominant Greek-influenced culture — than it was about denationalization, a full eradication of their way of life,” Ruttenberg added before noting the “parallels to U.S. politics” and even outrageously remarking on “Trump’s illegal rise to power.”
The parallels to U.S. politics are hard to ignore. The questions about Trump’s illegal rise to power, stacking the administration with people who benefit his purse; the kleptocracy, collusion with brutal regimes; assaults on civil liberties and human rights.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
He has sacked the Temple of our democracy and social safety nets. He’s been trying to destroy us entirely.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
The tweets continued to recount the historical story of the Maccabees’ revolt against the despotic ruler before concluding with that final tweet and advice on combating the current administration since “we still have Trump in the White House.”
This administration has forced us to become smarter and savvier than we had been, to be resourceful and make use of all the assets we have — perhaps not by hiding in caves but by building coalitions, developing protest strategies, creating novel uses for technology.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
We have had to become quick, light and strategically flawless, and we have had to settle in for the long haul. We killed the midterms, but we still have Trump in office, a GOP senate and two stolen SCOTUS seats to contend with. We’re not done.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
But we have done extraordinary work, and Hanukah is a time to pause and both celebrate the resistance and bravery of the last two years, and to fill up with light as we recommit to the work that lies ahead for us.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
We know now, better than ever, that we have to make the miracles ourselves.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) December 2, 2018
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
[email protected]
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
- INSIDER: Victor Davis Hanson questions the motivation behind pro-Hamas protests, offers a roadmap to end it - April 23, 2024
- Mike Johnson hits campaign trail for Republican who accused GOP colleagues of terrible things on CNN - April 23, 2024
- Biden admin slaps convenience store chain with ‘insane’ lawsuit same day as Joe’s awkward campaign stop - April 23, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
