Marjorie Taylor Greene Breaks With Her Party on Gaza and Calls U.S. Aid to Israel "Genocide Funding"
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, has once again put herself at the center of controversy. On Saturday morning, she posted a lengthy statement on X urging Americans to speak out against what she called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to demand an end to U.S. military aid to Israel.
What makes this significant is that Greene has gone further than most of her Republican colleagues. She recently became the first Republican in Congress to use the word genocide when describing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The word carries weight—legally and diplomatically—because under United Nations law, genocide refers to the deliberate attempt to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
Israel has strongly denied this accusation, pointing instead to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that killed around 1,200 people and saw over 250 hostages taken. Since then, the response in Gaza has left more than 62,000 dead, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Greene’s choice of words has put her sharply at odds with Republican leadership, who have consistently backed aid to Israel and rejected such language. Still, she doubled down on Saturday, posting that Americans should imagine if the same devastation was happening in their own towns and the world ignored their suffering because of how their government acted.
In her words: “Does Hamas deserve it? Yes. Do innocent people and children deserve it? No.” She emphasized that Gaza’s civilian population is not synonymous with Hamas and argued that U.S. taxpayers should not be forced to “pay for genocide in a foreign country.”
This is not her first public clash over U.S. foreign policy. She recently introduced an amendment to cut funding for Israel’s missile defense system, though it failed overwhelmingly in the House. She has also criticized Donald Trump for what she called a “bait and switch” on his promise to keep America out of foreign wars.
Other voices in Washington have weighed in as well. Progressive Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders have used similar language, warning that U.S. aid is enabling atrocities in Gaza. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson and most Republicans continue to stand firmly with Israel.
Greene’s stance is unusual, not just because it breaks from her party, but because it highlights a rare moment of overlap between a far-right Republican and some progressive Democrats. Whether it changes policy is unclear, but it’s adding to the growing debate about America’s role in the Gaza war.
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