Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) last month paid a pro-Palestinian activist who previously raised funds for refugee camps in the West Bank that Israeli authorities say have become hubs for Hamas, a Washington Examiner review of the congresswoman’s campaign spending receipts found.
According to Ocasio-Cortez’s recently released Federal Election Commission disclosures, she gave $375 to Naurin Islam, the deputy director of Sapna NYC, in early June for expenses related to “community event entertainment.” Ocasio-Cortez appeared days later at an Eid celebration hosted by Islam’s organization to commemorate the major Muslim holiday.
A spokesperson for Sapna NYC told the Washington Examiner the work that Islam did “providing henna services at a community Eid event as well as her work fundraising for food relief for refugees in Palestine” were both done in her personal capacity and not as part of Islam’s role at Sapna NYC.
“Please note that Sapna NYC takes 501(c)(3) regulations seriously and does not engage in any non-partisan work [sic]; however, individual staff members, whether through paid or volunteer work, are allowed to engage with campaigns and support political campaigns, in their personal capacities and in their personal time,” the spokesperson said.
Sapna NYC, a Bronx-based immigration support group, has co-sponsored several protests to force “ICE Out of NYC.” Committed to combating “anti-Muslim hate,” Sapna NYC primarily serves clients from the Muslim-majority country of Bangladesh.
Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant, has crowdfunded on behalf of a Palestinian refugee camp, called al-Am’ari, where suspected terrorists allegedly tried to establish a local cell.
UNCOVERING THE TRUTH ABOUT A WEST BANK PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMP
Israeli security forces arrested two individuals in August 2025 who were suspected of working to set up a terror cell within the al-Am’ari refugee camp. According to intelligence gathered by Shin Bet, Israel’s security service, the two suspects were arrested before for terrorist activity.
The al-Am’ari refugee camp located in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah has been the site of previous Israeli counterterrorism operations. In March 2024, the Israel Defense Forces launched a six-hour raid on al-Am’ari, finding “incitement material spread by Hamas” and two suspects wanted for terrorism. Such raids, targeting terrorist networks believed to be operating out of these camps, are meant to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and prevent attacks against Israelis.
In addition to al-Am’ari, Islam’s refugee fund also aimed to send financial assistance to camps in Tulkarm and Jenin.
Israeli intelligence officials have identified the Tulkarm and Jenin refugee camps as strongholds for Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and found terrorist operatives and heads of terror cells to be living as residents of the two camps. IDF’s international spokesman said Jenin, in particular, has become a hotbed of terrorist activity, “infested with weapons, command centers, IEDs, munitions, you name it.”
In October 2024, after visiting the al-Am’ari camp herself, Islam created a fundraiser on GoFundMe for the refugee site in “occupied Palestine,” referring to the belief that the West Bank is occupied by Israeli invaders.
Islam complained about the lack of resources in the region following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, noting that the camps there face frequent raids from “[Israeli Occupation Forces],” a pejorative term for Israel’s military, resulting in “many martyrs.”
“Since October 7, there has been little to no resources, water supply is limited, and work permits have been revoked,” Islam wrote in the GoFundMe campaign’s description.
She cited the revocation of international funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s Palestinian refugee work after an internal investigation confirmed that multiple members of UNRWA’s staff participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.
Due to various countries cutting off aid to UNRWA, many of the refugee camp coordinators did not have “a salary or any source of income coming in,” Islam told donors, adding that the camps are in “desperate need of resources ranging from food, clothing, supplies, etc.”
UNRAVELING UNWRA, A UN AGENCY COMPLICIT IN TERROR
Islam said in the plea for donations that she would provide proof of the money’s disbursement once the funds were dispersed, but a YouTube video embedded below the allocation pledge is no longer playable.
Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign and Islam did not respond to requests for comment.