{"id":3610,"date":"2018-01-08T17:10:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-08T22:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/?page_id=3610"},"modified":"2024-07-03T17:12:52","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T21:12:52","slug":"cnn-new-york-democrat-who-sharply-criticizes-israel-faces-ouster-threat","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/cnn-new-york-democrat-who-sharply-criticizes-israel-faces-ouster-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN: New York Democrat who sharply criticizes Israel faces ouster threat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York speaks prior to President Joe Biden delivering remarks during a visit to SUNY Westchester Community College Valhalla in Valhalla, New York, in May 2023.\u00a0
Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Edward-Isaac Dovere<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Manu Raju<\/a>, CNN<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The war in Gaza is reverberating all the way through north Bronx and Westchester County, defining the most competitive primary an incumbent House Democrat is facing anywhere in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, who got to Washington four years ago by winning a primary against one of Israel\u2019s then-most adamant defenders in Congress, is now facing a major challenger of his own, driven in part because of criticism of Israel that opponents say has put \u201cSquad\u201d-aligned politics ahead of what his district wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman became a central figure in taking on Israel from the first days after October 7, almost immediately supporting<\/a> a resolution calling for a ceasefire that made no mention of Hamas or the return of Israeli hostages. By December, he was standing with hunger strikers outside the White House, upping his criticism of the actions in Gaza. He has called Israel an apartheid state, and in a video that surfaced of him<\/a> speaking at a demonstration in November, said it was \u201cpropaganda\u201d and a \u201clie\u201d that Hamas raped Israeli women in the October 7 attacks, though he later attempted to clean up that remark. (A United Nations report in March<\/a> found \u201cconvincing\u201d evidence that Hamas raped hostages.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s gone far enough out that even the left-leaning Israel advocacy group J Street withdrew its endorsement of Bowman in January<\/a>, complaining that he had crossed a line in putting the blame for the conflict too much on Israel and not on Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now even many of Bowman\u2019s fellow New York Democrats in Congress say privately they doubt he will win \u2013 but more than that, when asked by CNN, several pointedly refused to say that they want Bowman to win, or that they would support him as the race enters its final month ahead of the June 25 primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Bowman says antisemitism is \u201cabhorrent\u201d and that his criticism is targeted at the way Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is conducting a war he believes could constitute genocide,\u00a0in some parts of\u00a0his\u00a0district,\u00a0his\u00a0response to October 7\u00a0is top of mind.\u00a0Even\u00a0Bowman supporters acknowledge he was already in deep trouble holding on to his seat by October 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With national and international politics mixing into the race \u2013 and the situation only becoming more fraught as President Joe Biden distances himself<\/a> from Netanyahu and a likely mass casualty invasion of Rafah looms \u2013 several leading Democratic operatives in Washington groaned at the mention of Bowman\u2019s name, upset that the situation has come to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shelley Mayer, a state senator whose district largely overlaps with the congressional district, initially backed Bowman. Bowman\u2019s response to the Hamas attack convinced her to switch\u00a0to endorse Westchester County Executive George Latimer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that effective representation requires developing a bridge of trust and respect for all your constituents, even when there are disagreements,\u201d Mayer told CNN. \u201cAfter October 7, it was extremely evident that our congressman had failed to develop that relationship with almost every part of our large Jewish community, and I could not accept that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth personally as a Jew and as an elected official,\u201d Mayer added, \u201cI knew we deserved better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman\u2019s response to the war crystallizes larger problems, including\u00a0\u00a0pulling a fire alarm in a House office building<\/a>\u00a0last fall and public\u00a0shouting matches with Republican colleagues, who say he has gotten caught up in \u201cSquad\u201d-style politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a reaction, though, that has made him so identified with the opposition to Israel that, within the space of three minutes last week on Capitol Hill, Bowman was first pressed by a Fox News reporter to call people who broke into university buildings \u201cdomestic terrorists\u201d (\u201cDo better,\u201d he scolded), and then praised by a young protester with a keffiyeh wrapped around her shoulders as one of the few members who gives her hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman said he knows people have called him anti-Israel because of moments like these, but, \u201cwhat they don\u2019t understand is us being critical of an ally, makes our allies stronger and safer in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we are not critical in a healthy way, it leads to the cycle of violence that we\u2019re in right now,\u201d he added, telling CNN, \u201cIt\u2019s not criticism for criticism\u2019s sake, it\u2019s about how do we govern from the perspective of human rights and diplomacy and justice and \u2026 a free Palestine?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been talking about a two-state solution for how long, man, where\u2019s the Palestinian state?\u201d Bowman asked. \u201cLet\u2019s do the work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman\u2019s mixed history on Israel support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bowman voted for Iron Dome funding in 2021 and took a trip to Israel once in office, which led to the Democratic Socialists of America\u2019s New York chapter to consider expelling him, and the congressman in frustration let his membership lapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group did not return a request for comment on whether members would support him this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman is also supporting Biden for reelection, in contrast to Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who ducked the question and walked away last week when asked by CNN whether she would vote for him. But the congresswoman, a Palestinian American who is arguably the most publicly identified Israel opponent in Washington, has formed a joint fundraising committee with Bowman to support him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explaining how his response to the Israel-Hamas war fits his district, Bowman cited a poll conducted by his campaign that he claimed showed an overwhelming majority in his district support a permanent ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman has proudly been critical of Netanyahu\u2019s handling of the war, noting that his home state\u2019s senior senator, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, has also called for new Israeli elections down the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe people of the district do not want taxpayer money and weapons going to Israel to continue to bomb children and support famine in Gaza,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cThey want that money to come to their community so they can afford child care and health care and workforce development and all those things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman argued that while he\u2019s more interested in talking about guns, education and climate justice, Israel is being made into a major issue in this race because the super PAC of the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee is planning to spend millions against him \u2013 and that much of its money comes from MAGA Republican donors who he says are trying to destroy democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a district issue because many Jews in the district care about the issue, and there\u2019s a large percentage of Jewish people in the district,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a local issue to other people because people are tired of being in war and they\u2019re tired of watching US dollars go overseas to whatever country, and US weapons go overseas to kill Black and brown vulnerable people, mostly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Bowman allies have warned Democrats that progressive voters would be deflated headed into November by seeing the incumbent New Yorker lose in a primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Biden needs Jamaal Bowman voters more than he needs George Latimer voters,\u201d said Usamah Andrabi, the communications director for the \u201cSquad\u201d-supportive Justice Democrats, which is also spending money to support the incumbent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowman\u2019s challenger says Israel support is important but not the point<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bowman and Latimer are two very different men who have both spent their lives in a district that has some of the steepest contrasts of any in the country, from inner city to suburbia, from people on food stamps to people picking out tile patterns for their third and fourth homes. Bowman is 48, Black, lives in Yonkers and was a middle school principal before he made his first run for office four years ago to unseat an incumbent who had been representing the area since Jimmy Carter was president. Latimer is 70, white, lives in Rye and has spent 35 years moving up in local politics from city council to the state legislature to Westchester County executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of Bowman\u2019s endorsements are from other members of the so-called Squad and from House Democratic leaders such as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who is from Brooklyn, rather than from local elected officials in his district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But among his supporters is Kevin Riley, a city councilman from the Bronx, who said he has never spoken with Latimer, but that on local issues, Bowman has been a \u201cgreat partner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the northeast Bronx, Riley said, Israel doesn\u2019t come up much with voters. That it\u2019s showing up in other parts of the district is another demonstration of how disparate the constituents are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be,\u201d he said, \u201cbut a lot of times when you\u2019re running for office, it does seem like it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latimer insists he\u2019s not running against Bowman so much as he is running against Bowman\u2019s approach to being in the House, promising that his pitch is not \u201cI\u2019m going down there to lead a movement, or I\u2019m going to be speaking truth to power on behalf of an identity or demographic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about how October 7 and the aftermath have influenced his candidacy, Latimer said it was a factor but quickly redirected the conversation to flooding concerns in Westchester, which he said he hoped to address in a House bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latimer entered the race in December, but he said that local leaders had been encouraging him to run for a year and that he\u2019d been in touch with AIPAC since the summer. He blames Bowman for making Israel a big factor in the race, both through his own actions and by invoking AIPAC as the reason why he has a primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latimer would not directly answer when asked about Bowman\u2019s accusation that he is fine with Netanyahu staying in power, or about specifics on policy related to the conflict, while pointing out that he believes in the two-state solution that Netanyahu does not, and that he finds many of the prime minister\u2019s domestic policies \u201cdisagreeable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor every member to give their opinion as if they were the secretary of state \u2013 \u2018I think Biden should have done this,\u2019 \u2018I heard about this, and \u2018I don\u2019t think he should do that\u2019 \u2013 I don\u2019t think that\u2019s productive,\u201d Latimer said. \u201cYou need to have a president who pursues a policy that includes the ability to both reward and punish and use those as part of a negotiating strategy that is not seen by the world until you\u2019ve come to some agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running in his first race, Bowman also criticized<\/a> his opponent for spending too much time talking about foreign policy at the expense of district issues. But in his interview last week, Bowman did not hesitate. He said he wanted to be clear that Israel has a right to exist, that \u201cit looks that way to me\u201d when asked whether he believes Israel has committed war crimes, and that Israel\u2019s actions have increased antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt hurts our fight against antisemitism, because Israel claims to be the state for all Jewish people and people who perceive it from the outside looking in say, \u2018What the hell is going on here? Israel\u2019s bad, which means Jewish people are bad,\u2019\u201d Bowman said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we need to fight against.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to CNN on her drive home after leaving a gala at her synagogue in Scarsdale, longtime state Assemblywoman Amy Paulin said in her fairly liberal community, it was notable how many people lined up to meet Latimer, who is Catholic, likening it to a \u201cworshipping of a hero.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the race, \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a referendum on Israel, but I do know that the Jewish community \u2013 whether they\u2019re Reform, Conservative, Orthodox or Reconstructionist \u2013 are unified about the importance of Israel to the Jewish community,\u201d Paulin said, \u201cand Jamaal has no understanding of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arguing about AIPAC\u2019s influence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Latimer hasn\u2019t made any secret of the support he\u2019s getting from AIPAC. He spoke at the group\u2019s donor conference in Washington in January. He has an online portal through the group to raise money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But AIPAC is far from the only group spending and activating in the district. The Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) has endorsed Latimer and is expecting to spend to boost him. A local group, Westchester Unites: Jewish Voters in Action, says it is spending six figures directly reaching out to thousands of Jewish voters and will amplify that with direct mail, digital ads, field organizers and grassroots events. The National Black Empowerment Action Fund is pledging six figures to mobilize Black voters against Bowman. AIPAC and DMFI are expected to be by far the biggest spenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials involved say much of their spending will be to attack Bowman for issues that have nothing to do with Israel, such as like his vote against the bipartisan infrastructure act \u2013 which some of the congressman\u2019s defenders argue is itself a measure of how unpopular support for Israel is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AIPAC affiliated super PAC United Democracy Project spokesman Patrick Dorton would not specify how much money the group plans to spend in the race, though he noted its many large Democratic donors are interested in defeating the congressman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday afternoon outside the Capitol, Bowman ran into Jeremy Ben-Ami, the executive director of J Street, the left-leaning pro-Israel group. They greeted each other with a friendly hug, despite the dropped endorsement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few minutes later, Ben-Ami downplayed any greater significance for the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Republican donors who fund the AIPAC super PAC are really excited to drive a wedge into the Democratic Party over this issue,\u201d Ben-Ami told CNN. \u201cThe majority of Democrats in the House, Democrats in the voting public, they\u2019re aligned with J Street. And that\u2019s going to be the majority position in the Democratic Party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the former Democratic majority leader who is an ally of AIPAC, brushed aside the group targeting some fellow Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAIPAC, it does what it does,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m for our incumbents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not mentioning Bowman specifically or calling out any members by name, Hoyer said some of his colleagues\u2019 rhetoric has given him pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI regret that there are members who really are in effect, I think, reflecting the views of Hamas, which are to kill Jews and eliminate Israel,\u201d Hoyer said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Edward-Isaac Dovere\u00a0and\u00a0Manu Raju, CNN The war in Gaza is reverberating all the way through north Bronx and Westchester County, defining the most competitive primary an incumbent House Democrat is facing anywhere in the country. That\u2019s where Rep. 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