Democratic mayoral contender Andrew Yang revised his staunchly pro-Israel tweet amid the ongoing conflict with Palestinian militants — after critics on the left, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, blasted him for the stance.
Yang posted a mea culpa on Twitter Wednesday for not acknowledging the toll on the Palestinian side following a discussion with longtime volunteers who were upset by an earlier post that said he stood with “the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks, and condemn the Hamas terrorists.”
His first tweet, published Monday night, continued, “The people of NYC will always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere.”
On Wednesday, he struck a different tone, saying his volunteers “felt that my tweet was overly simplistic in my treatment of a conflict that has a long and complex history full of tragedies. And they felt it failed to acknowledge the pain and suffering on both sides.
“They were, of course, correct,” Yang wrote. “I mourn for every Palestinian life taken before its time as I do for every Israeli.
“Support of a people does not make one blind to the pain and suffering of others,” Yang added.
The 46-year-old entrepreneur is a front-runner in the crowded field of candidates for the June 22 primary.
Yang offered no public schedule Wednesday after pro-Palestinian activists confronted him over the tweet on the campaign trail in Queens Tuesday. A campaign spokesman said Yang was engaged in briefings and preparing for the race’s first televised debate, scheduled to air Thursday on NY1.
A local Muslim group canceled an event with Yang to distribute food to mark Eid al-Fitr, the celebration at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The Democratic candidate drew praise from the GOP for his initial tweet, but swift condemnation from the left, with Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) calling out his “chest-thumping statement.”
Yang’s tweet even sparked the hashtag #YangSupportsGenocide.
Even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) expressed support for the mayoral contender’s initial stance. “Bravo to Yang for opposing the rabidly pro-Hamas & anti-Israel attacks from fellow Dems Omar & Tlaib,” Cruz wrote on Twitter, referring to two more members of Ocasio-Cortez’s “Squad,” Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Local Jewish leaders were largely unfazed by Yang’s revisions.
“It’s definitely not going to hurt him,” said Brooklyn government relations consultant Ezra Friedlander, who is backing Yang’s opponent Scott Stringer.
“He expressed his support [for Israel] and I think people appreciate that,” Friedlander said.
David Greenfield, who runs the Manhattan-based Jewish charity Met Council, said the criticism of Yang was unfair.
But his clarification that he cares about Palestinians while also supporting the State of Israel is “the viewpoint of most people of good conscience,” said Greenfield, who hasn’t made an endorsement for the June 22 election.
Yang has received backing of key leaders in the city’s politically powerful orthodox Jewish community including Brooklyn pols Councilman Kalman Yeger and state Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein.
