New York, New York - Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly vowed not to support any US spending on arms to Israel during a New York City Democratic Socialists of America electoral forum.

AOC promised to vote against any military aid to Israel during a meeting with NYC-DSA members on Tuesday night as she sought the group's endorsement for reelection, City & State reported.

"I have not once ever voted to authorize funding to Israel, and I will never," AOC told attendees. "The Israeli government should be able to finance their own weapons if they seek to arm themselves."

"If the moment presents itself in Congress, will you commit to voting 'no' for any spending on arms for Israel, including so-called 'defensive capabilities'?" one DSA member asked, to which AOC responded, "Yes."

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Last July, AOC rejected the $831.5-billion Department of Defense Appropriations Act, while also voting against an amendment proposed by then Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to block $500 million in funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

"Marjorie Taylor Greene's amendment does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it," she wrote in an X post at the time.

"What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue," she added, while noting that US military aid is being used to "perpetuate the genocide in Gaza."

Many supporters of Palestinian liberation spurned AOC's distinction between supposedly defensive and offensive aid to Israel, while DSA's National Political Committee said it was "deeply disappointed" by her decision.

AOC appeared to be in tears on the House floor after changing her vote on an additional $1 billion in Iron Dome funding from no to "present," which is essentially an abstention, back in September 2021.

AOC, who is considered a possible 2028 presidential contender, has faced criticism for what many see as a failure to take a strong enough stand against Israel amid the ongoing atrocities in Palestine.

Earlier this week, the New York Democrat had a viral spat on X with Ana Kasparian in which The Young Turks co-host took aim at her voting record on funding for Israel.

"I can deduce that voting 'no' on legislation that would cut arms to Israel amounts to supporting U.S. funded arms to Israel…as they carry out war crimes and atrocities daily," Kasparian wrote after AOC called her not "talented enough to be relevant with the truth."

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AOC previously faced backlash for claiming during the 2024 Democratic National Convention that then President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were "working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza" – all while continuing to send lethal weapons to Israel.

Despite a supposed ceasefire agreement in place since October, human rights and legal experts say Israel continues to commit genocide in Gaza.

Israel has also moved to expand illegal settlements and annex large swaths of the occupied West Bank, raising urgent warnings of ethnic cleansing.

This week, the Israeli Knesset sparked international outrage after passing a law allowing the death penalty almost exclusively for Palestinians – a measure UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk warned will "entrench discriminatory, one-sided justice."

During the NYC-DSA forum, AOC reportedly affirmed she will oppose any attempt to enshrine the International Holocaust Remembrance Association definition of antisemitism, which includes criticism of the State of Israel.