At the Munich Security Conference on February 13 and 14, 2026, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) ignited a global controversy with her remarks alleging that U.S. aid to Israel had "enabled a genocide in Gaza." Her comments, delivered in Munich—the birthplace of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement—sparked immediate outrage from foreign policy experts, historians, and political commentators, who accused her of historical insensitivity and factual inaccuracy. The incident has since become a flashpoint in ongoing debates about U.S. foreign policy, the Israel-Gaza conflict, and Ocasio-Cortez’s own political ambitions.
Speaking at a town hall event during the conference, Ocasio-Cortez said, "To me, this isn’t just about a presidential election. Personally, I think that the United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws, particularly the Leahy laws. And I think that personally, that the idea of completely unconditional aid, no matter what one does, does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza. And I think that we have thousands of women and children dead that don’t, that was completely avoidable." According to Fox News, she continued, "I believe that enforcement of our own laws through the Leahy laws, which requires conditioning aid in any circumstance, when you see gross human rights violations, is appropriate."
The Leahy Laws, introduced by former Senator Patrick Leahy in 1997, prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense and State Department from providing funds to foreign security forces when there is credible evidence of gross human rights violations. Ocasio-Cortez argued that U.S. aid to Israel should be subject to these conditions, especially in light of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Her statements were met with immediate and fierce criticism. Tom Gross, an international affairs expert, told Fox News that "AOC has flown all the way to Munich—in which Hitler staged his Nazi Beer Hall Putsch that marked the beginning of the road to the Holocaust—in order to smear the Jewish people further with a phony genocide allegation." He went on to say, "Such preposterous allegations of ‘genocide’ form the bedrock of modern antisemitic incitement against Jews in the U.S. and globally. This shocking ignorance and insensitivity by Ocasio-Cortez should rule her out of any potential presidential bid or other high office."
Military historian Danny Orbach, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and co-author of Debunking the Genocide Allegations: A Reexamination of the Israel-Hamas War from October 7, 2023, to June 1, 2025, also disputed Ocasio-Cortez’s claims. Orbach explained to Fox News, "Ocasio-Cortez’s accusation that Israel committed genocide is an accusation that is incorrect both factually and legally. Under the Genocide Convention, genocide requires proof of a special intent to destroy a protected group, in whole or in part, and as a baseline condition, an active effort to maximize civilian destruction. The evidence shows the opposite."
Orbach’s study found that Israel had taken "unprecedented measures to mitigate civilian harm, including establishing humanitarian safe zones that independently verified data show were approximately six times safer than other areas of Gaza." He further noted that "Israel also issued detailed advance warnings before strikes and facilitated the entry of over two million tons of humanitarian aid, often at significant cost to its own military advantage, including the loss of surprise and the sustainment of an enemy during wartime." Orbach concluded, "No credible evidence demonstrates the kind of unambiguous, exclusive genocidal intent toward Palestinians that international law requires and that cannot be reasonably interpreted otherwise."
The context of Ocasio-Cortez’s comments is impossible to ignore. Munich is not only the site of Hitler’s infamous Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, but also the city most closely associated with the rise of Nazism—a regime responsible for the Holocaust and the murder of six million Jews. Critics argued that making such allegations against Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, in such a location was particularly insensitive. As Tom Gross put it, "Imagine going to Germany to complain about a fake genocide by Jews...in Munich, of all places. @AOC is about as smart as a clogged toilet."
The controversy unfolded against the backdrop of harrowing images from Gaza. Reuters published photographs on February 10, 2026, showing Palestinians displaced during the two-year Israeli military offensive sheltering in tent camps in Khan Younis. Another image, dated February 13, 2026, showed the remains of 53 unidentified Palestinians killed following Israeli attacks. The conflict itself began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 Israeli and foreign nationals and kidnapping 251 people into Gaza, according to Fox News.
Ocasio-Cortez’s appearance at the Munich Security Conference was further marred by what many described as policy gaffes and evasive answers. When The New York Times correspondent Katrin Bennhold asked if she would impose a wealth tax or billionaire’s tax if she ran for president, Ocasio-Cortez replied, "I don’t think that anyone...we don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax. I think that it needs to be done expeditiously," sidestepping the question of her own ambitions.
Her performance at the conference fueled speculation about her future in national politics. While she has not declared any intention to run for president, Ocasio-Cortez is widely seen as a rising power within the Democratic Party. As The Independent reported, she holds a formal leadership role in the House Democratic Caucus and has become a leading voice on progressive issues, from tuition-free college and Medicare for All to a $15 minimum wage. She’s also been a vocal critic of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection, calling out what she describes as the "cruelty and brutality" of their operations.
Despite not having passed major legislation herself, Ocasio-Cortez is on the verge of a bipartisan victory with a crackdown on deepfake AI pornography, a bill that has drawn support from Republicans and celebrities alike. Her political influence extends to her endorsements: she played a key role in the victories of Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral primary and Analilia Mejia in New Jersey’s 11th district, the latter winning a surprising victory despite heavy spending by pro-Israel groups.
Her fundraising prowess has also made her a significant player in Democratic leadership circles. Even moderates who once criticized her, such as Abigail Spanberger, have benefited from her support. Ocasio-Cortez’s leadership PAC recently contributed to Senator Jon Ossoff’s re-election campaign in Georgia, further cementing her status as an influential figure as the party looks toward the 2026 midterms and beyond.
Yet, the controversy in Munich has cast a shadow over her ambitions. While some see her as a voice for accountability and human rights, others argue that her rhetoric is divisive and factually unsound, especially in the context of Israel’s war against Hamas—a conflict marked by unprecedented civilian suffering, but also by complex legal and moral questions. As the Democratic Party grapples with its future direction, Ocasio-Cortez’s words in Munich are likely to echo for some time, shaping debates both at home and abroad.
In the end, the uproar over Ocasio-Cortez’s comments in Munich underscores the fraught intersection of history, politics, and ethics in 2026. Whether her remarks will hinder or bolster her standing in the party remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the global conversation about Gaza, Israel, and U.S. responsibility is far from over.