{"id":3318,"date":"2024-01-23T15:14:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T20:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/?page_id=3318"},"modified":"2024-01-23T15:20:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T20:20:35","slug":"jewish-insider-rep-jamaal-bowman-praises-speaker-who-celebrated-oct-7-hamas-attacks","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-rep-jamaal-bowman-praises-speaker-who-celebrated-oct-7-hamas-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"JEWISH INSIDER: Rep. Jamaal Bowman praises speaker who celebrated Oct. 7 Hamas attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
UNITED STATES – JUNE 7: Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., arrives for the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing titled “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Labor,” in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Julie Su, acting labor secretary, testified. (Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Matthew Kassel<\/a>, Jewish Insider<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) introduced a controversial anti-Israel scholar, Norman Finkelstein, who has accused Jews of exploiting the Holocaust to legitimize Israel\u2019s treatment of Palestinians, at a panel discussion<\/a> on the Israel-Hamas war last Sunday in Westchester County, where the congressman expressed his admiration<\/a> for the polarizing author and activist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a bit starstruck,\u201d Bowman said<\/a> of Finkelstein, whose 2000 polemic, \u201cThe Holocaust Industry,\u201d has faced allegations<\/a> of promoting conspiracy theories about Jewish extortion, and the other guests who participated in the discussion at the Andalusia Islamic Center in Yonkers. \u201cI watch them all the time on YouTube.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finkelstein, a political scientist who in 2007 was denied tenure<\/a> at DePaul University amid charges of antisemitism, which he dismissed as politically motivated, has long been a divisive figure for his comments on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Jewish son of Holocaust survivors has voiced support for Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia in Lebanon, and compared Israel to Nazi Germany, among other incendiary remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 terror attacks, Finkelstein also celebrated<\/a> the massacre as a \u201cheroic resistance\u201d akin to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, writing that \u201cit warms every fiber of my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his introductory remarks, Bowman made no allusion to those comments as he thanked the scholars who had joined the panel \u201cfor being here and coming to Yonkers and delivering the truth to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Bowman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Finkelstein, the panel included Fida Adely<\/a>, a professor at Georgetown University who supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and has accused Israel of engaging in \u201cethnic cleansing\u201d of Palestinians, among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a fiery speech last weekend, Bowman, who currently represents a sizable Jewish community in Westchester County, accused the U.S. government of providing weapons to Israel as it carries out what he described as \u201catrocities\u201d in Gaza, urging attendees to hold elected officials \u201caccountable\u201d for remaining silent. \u201cIf you\u2019re not voting for a cease fire,\u201d he told the audience, \u201cyou are complicit in the mass murder of women and children.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one is telling the truth,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cThe fact that you all have put together this incredible panel to tell us the truth about what has been happening there for 75 years is incredibly important for this community. We have fed ourselves a myth and a lie and propaganda as facts, and truth and knowledge, and as a result of that, people are consistently dying and being slaughtered and killed, mostly women and children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman also characterized the civilian death toll in Gaza as \u201cover double the amount that have been killed in the Ukraine over a year\u2019s period of time\u201d \u2014 a claim unconfirmed by United Nations estimates. \u201cWe have to root ourselves, continue to root ourselves, in this sort of truth telling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the left-wing lawmaker, a prominent Squad member who recently drew a formidable primary challenger, reserved his most biting remarks for what he called \u201cpowerful lobbies that bully, that intimidate and use scare tactics\u201d to oppose critics of Israel. \u201cThey\u2019re calling you antisemitic whenever you offer criticism,\u201d he said, describing such accusations as \u201ca tool used for them to maintain power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll say again what I always say: I don\u2019t want Jewish children to be killed and I don\u2019t want Muslim and Palestinian children to be killed,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cThis is not antisemitism. This is a critique of a government that has been committing harm for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as he alleged that his House colleagues are \u201cnot saying anything about\u201d Israel\u2019s actions because they fear reprisals from pro-Israel groups, Bowman insisted that \u201cthe truth will come out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf everyone knows the truth,\u201d he said, \u201cthey will begin to lose their power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman\u2019s primary opponent, George Latimer<\/a>, the popular Westchester County executive who has been critical of the congressman\u2019s increasingly hostile positions<\/a>on Israel, was encouraged to run by AIPAC, a leading pro-Israel group whose affiliated super PAC has run attack ads in the district hitting the incumbent for his views on Israel, which have drawn fierce backlash among Jewish voters.

As the event concluded on Sunday, Bowman urged attendees to \u201cremain active\u201d as he and a growing number of Squad members face challengers<\/a> who are drawing sharp contrasts over their support for Israel. \u201cI\u2019m on the ballot and many others are on the ballot,\u201d he said. \u201cYou gotta help us out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman took to X on Sunday to address<\/a> backlash to the event. \u201cI had seen a few interviews but was unaware of Norman Finkelstein\u2019s completely reprehensible comments before this event,\u201d he wrote.  \u201cAnd when he made comments on October 7th at this event, I strongly condemned his language and will always continue to do so. I apologize deeply to any of my friends and neighbors hurt by my comments and will continue to fight the scourge of antisemitism in our country and across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Matthew Kassel, Jewish Insider Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) introduced a controversial anti-Israel scholar, Norman Finkelstein, who has accused Jews of exploiting the Holocaust to legitimize Israel\u2019s treatment of Palestinians, at a panel discussion on the Israel-Hamas war last Sunday in Westchester County, where the congressman expressed his admiration for the polarizing author and activist. \u201cI\u2019m a bit starstruck,\u201d… more JEWISH INSIDER: Rep. Jamaal Bowman praises speaker who celebrated Oct. 7 Hamas attacks<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3321,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3318","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nJEWISH INSIDER: Rep. 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