Earlier this month, a powerful pro-Israel group gathered donors at a summit outside Washington, where organizers played a video montage of some top targets for defeat in this year\u2019s Democratic primaries. It ended with a clip of Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) \u2014 and a surprise in-person appearance from his primary challenger, George Latimer. The crowd erupted in applause as a QR code appeared on a screen behind Latimer for donors to give to his campaign.<\/p>\n
The appearance at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee gathering, which two attendees with knowledge of the event described on the condition of anonymity to speak about a private meeting, showed the frictions at the heart of the Democratic primary in New York\u2019s 16th Congressional District, one of the highest-profile tests of the divisions and evolving attitudes in the party over the Israel-Gaza war. From New York to Pennsylvania to Missouri, disputes over the war and the U.S. response have become focal points in Democratic primaries.<\/p>\n
The tensions \u2014 which span ideology, policy and race \u2014 are evident in Bowman\u2019s district, which includes affluent suburbs of Westchester County, home to one of the nation\u2019s densest population\u2019s of Jewish residents, and dips into a slice of the north Bronx, a largely Black borough of New York City, where Bowman, who is Black, worked as a school principal. The voting-age population in the district is nearly half people of color.<\/p>\n
Bowman has been one of the most outspoken critics of Israel\u2019s military response to Hamas\u2019s deadly terrorist attacks last fall, decrying what he calls the \u201cslaughter of civilians\u201d in Gaza. Some of his allies have branded Latimer \u201cGenocide George\u201d and questioned the challenger\u2019s support for Muslims \u2014 a charge Latimer says is outrageous. Bowman and his supporters have also likened the Israeli military\u2019s treatment of Palestinians to police treatment of Black Americans in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack people and Palestinians are criminalized just for existing,\u201d wrote Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American in Congress, in a fundraising email for Bowman in February.<\/p>\n
Powerful pro-Israel groups have rallied behind Latimer and have vowed to spend millions unseating Bowman. Latimer, the Westchester County executive, visited Israel weeks after Hamas\u2019s attack and said he was motivated to run in part because of Bowman\u2019s criticism of the country\u2019s government, which he has said has the right to defend itself. He suggested in an interview last month that Bowman doesn\u2019t care about Israelis, \u201conly the plight of Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n
The competition comes amid growing Democratic anger with Israel\u2019s military efforts, even as divisions remain stark in the district, according to interviews with strategists and activists. A Gallup poll conducted this month shows 18 percent of Democrats nationwide approve of Israel\u2019s military actions, down from 36 percent who said they did in November.<\/p>\n
After Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,200 people and taking hostage around 250 more, Israel swiftly launched military attacks in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 30,000, nearly 2 million Palestinians are displaced and the area is without adequate food, water and medicine. Many Democrats initially voiced staunch support for Israel, but recently prominent leaders including President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have stepped up criticism of the Israeli government.<\/p>\n
Latimer has endorsed Biden\u2019s embrace of an immediate cease-fire of at least six weeks \u2014 a reflection of the larger change in tone within the party. Bowman knocked Latimer for the time it took for him to arrive at that position and argues that Biden\u2019s proposal still does not go far enough, as he has kept up his calls for a permanent cease-fire.<\/p>\n
Clear disagreements remain between Latimer and Bowman. Democratic primary voters will pick a nominee on June 25, and strategists and observers see a competitive race. The winner is considered a lock to win the seat in November due to the district\u2019s strong Democratic tilt.<\/p>\n
National polls show voters under 40 are more likely to oppose Israel\u2019s military actions. Noel Casey, a 29-year-old community organizer in Yonkers, said people her age are very upset about the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe destruction is so uneven, disproportionate, people can\u2019t sit by and have the Biden administration blindly support this with no end sight,\u201d Casey said. \u201cI think the way Jamaal has handled it is the most levelheaded you could be about this.\u201d She added that Biden and other Democrats wouldn\u2019t have shifted their tone \u201cif the original folks like Bowman\u201d had not been so vocal.<\/p>\n
But critics of Bowman, such as Catherine Parker, a Westchester County legislator who unsuccessfully challenged Bowman in the 2022 Democratic primary, say he\u2019s not the right fit for the district.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I sense and have been sensing throughout the district is people have come together in solidarity with Israel, people have been standing together, and unfortunately Congressman Bowman has been glaringly absent at much of that. Jewish constituents feel really betrayed. It\u2019s a very deep hurt,\u201d Parker said.<\/p>\n
Bowman, who ousted a staunch pro-Israel hawk, Eliot L. Engel, in the Democratic primary four years ago, swiftly called for a cease-fire in the Middle East after Oct. 7. He was one of only nine Democrats to vote against a resolution weeks later avowing support for Israel and condemning Hamas. Bowman said he voted against it because it made no mention of what Palestinians in Gaza were enduring. He stood outside the White House at the end of November and accused Israel of \u201cgenocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the fighting erupted last fall, Bowman won praise for his stance from liberal activists and outrage from many Jewish constituents. Weeks after the attack he convened a \u201chealing breakfast\u201d in the district to try to ease tensions.<\/p>\n
For many of the Jewish attendees, his appeals didn\u2019t work, according to a friend of Bowman who attended.<\/p>\n
\u201cJamaal was working really hard at trying to get people to see the nuance, but the disappointment and anger were there,\u201d David Greene, who is Jewish, said late last year. The message from many people in the room, according to the liberal activist and retired teacher: \u201cWe loved you, and now we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
In January, Bowman lost the endorsement of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group that backed away from him because its leaders felt he embraced extreme rhetoric about Israel, according to Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street\u2019s president. A final straw, according to Ben-Ami, was Bowman celebrating provocative anti-Israel activist Norman Finkelstein, who said on Oct. 7 that \u201cit warms every fiber of my soul\u201d to \u201csee arrogant Jewish supremacist oppressors have, finally, been humbled.\u201d The congressman later apologized for his support.<\/p>\n
Bowman recently walked back comments Politico first reported this week that he made at a November pro-Palestinian rally, calling reports that Israeli women were raped on Oct. 7 \u201cpropaganda\u201d and \u201ca lie.\u201d He said in a statement this week that the United Nations confirmed that Hamas committed rape, \u201ca reprehensible fact that I condemn entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as images of the death and destruction in Gaza have circulated, more Americans have come to feel that Israel has gone too far in its response, polls show. Greene said he has talked to people who were upset with Bowman\u2019s viewpoint on Israel and have now \u201cmellowed a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe district and the country has evolved. We have people who want to see us take a diplomatic approach to the Middle East. And the majority of people want to see our Jewish brothers and sisters be safe, but also our Palestinian and Muslim brothers and sisters to be safe as well,\u201d Bowman said in an interview last month.<\/p>\n
He and his campaign have stepped up criticism of Latimer\u2019s support from AIPAC and other well-funded pro-Israel groups, arguing they are working to unseat Black and Brown members of Congress. \u201cThis isn\u2019t hard! The civilian death toll is catastrophic. Children are starving. We must listen to constituents. Not a closed-door room of GOP donors,\u201d he posted on X this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really don\u2019t want AIPAC deciding who our political representatives are,\u201d said Peter Bernstein, chairman of the local Working Families Party and a Bowman supporter. \u201cThey don\u2019t care about the district needs; they only care about Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming off the protests over the killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, Bowman successfully pitched himself as more attuned to the needs of the district, particularly the plight of lower-income people in Black communities. When asked in the interview last month about Israel, he pivoted to other issues that he says are more pressing to people in the district.<\/p>\n
Bowman and his allies have also hit Latimer for drawing support from non-Democrats. The Jewish advocacy organization Orthodox Union launched a group called Westchester Unites, which persuaded 2,000 Republicans and independents to register as Democrats ahead of the primary, according to a person familiar with the group\u2019s plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss strategy. The organization\u2019s goal is to build support for Latimer, the person said.<\/p>\n
Latimer said of Bowman: \u201cThere are a lot of people that are angry with him that predates my involvement in the race. I can\u2019t control what those [groups] do.\u201d He noted that AIPAC supports other Black lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of (D-N.Y.). \u201cAnd it\u2019s because of their position on Israel not the color of their skin,\u201d Latimer said. Jeffries on Thursday endorsed Bowman\u2019s reelection.<\/p>\n
Beyond Bowman\u2019s record on foreign policy, Latimer has portrayed his rival as a showboat.<\/p>\n
Last March, Bowman got into a public yelling match with a Republican lawmaker over gun control, then in May had another altercation with far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). He pulled a fire alarm in a U.S. House office building, forcing an evacuation that led the House the formally censure him and for authorities to charge him with a misdemeanor.<\/p>\n
Bowman said last year if his actions bring attention to important issues then he makes \u201cno apologies for being demonstrative and loud, and drawing national attention on myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a video launching his campaign in December, Latimer singled out Bowman\u2019s vote against the November Israel resolution, showing the congressman on the House floor speaking against it.<\/p>\n
In an interview later that month, Latimer criticized Bowman\u2019s posture on Israel in sharp terms. He slammed Bowman\u2019s early comments after the Oct. 7 attacks offering sympathy to Israel but also criticizing the Israeli government\u2019s treatment of Palestinians.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything before the word \u2018but\u2019 is bulls\u2013t. Because what you really want to say is what comes after the word \u2018but,\u2019\u201d Latimer said.<\/p>\n
AIPAC is backing Latimer because Bowman had \u201caligned with the anti-Israel extremist fringe,\u201d said AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittman. Individual donations made to Latimer via AIPAC totaled around $400,000 between December 2023 and February, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings.<\/p>\n
AIPAC is expected to spend as much as $100 million trying to unseat some members of the \u201cSquad\u201d of liberal lawmakers of color, currently focused on Bowman and Rep. Cori Bush (Mo.), but \u201clooking hard\u201d at other Squad members facing primaries, according to a person familiar with AIPAC\u2019s thinking who was not authorized to speak on the record.<\/p>\n
Another pro-Israel super PAC, Democratic Majority for Israel, is also expected to put its full weight behind ousting Bowman.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the animating force behind the Latimer candidacy when it comes to where the money and the most enthusiastic support is from,\u201d said Evan Roth Smith, a New York Democratic pollster, speaking of the pro-Israel groups backing Latimer.<\/p>\n
In an interview in February, Latimer said that Israel \u201chas got a lot to answer for too,\u201d referring to the number of Palestinian deaths. But he added, \u201cIsrael did not start this with a horrific attack on Palestinian people. This began with Hamas, with a well-planned effort to murder people. And that to me is the seminal act that triggers everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
A longtime presence in local politics with a penchant for campaigning in intimate settings, Latimer has been a well-liked county executive here for nearly six years and before that served in state and local government since 1987.<\/p>\n
AJ Woodson, editor of Black Westchester, a local publication that focuses on African American issues and labeled Latimer \u201cGenocide George,\u201d said he had been supportive of Latimer as county executive but was angry when he decided to run against Bowman, the first Black person to represent Westchester in the U.S. House.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis election will sort of be about Israel and it shouldn\u2019t because it has nothing to do with the Westchester county community,\u201d Woodson said.<\/p>\n
When he arrived at the Scarsdale Village menorah lighting on the sixth night of Hanukkah last December, Latimer\u2019s recently launched campaign was on the minds of many Jewish attendees gathered on a crisp evening for latkes and jelly doughnuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not in favor of justice, unfortunately, you\u2019re just not someone that I want sitting up and speaking for me,\u201d said Sergi Flaster, 53, over pulsing music in Hebrew. Flaster, who hurried over to shake Latimer\u2019s hand, added, \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see [Bowman] go and be replaced by George.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few days after the Oct. 7 attacks, Latimer gave an impassioned speech at a vigil in a local synagogue that left many attendees in tears and ended with a standing ovation, according to people who were there.<\/p>\n
Nearly six months later, Latimer said that people do \u201cwant to see the bloodshed stop\u201d but that he believes most people who support a cease-fire want to see Israeli hostages released as part of any pause in fighting.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are reacting to the way these issues are being framed,\u201d Latimer said this week. \u201cIf you frame it as, remember how this began, Hamas is not an honest player. Hostage lives are still being used as a pawn and that is not right, it\u2019s just not right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clara Ence Morse contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, a powerful pro-Israel group gathered donors at a summit outside Washington, where organizers played a video montage of some top targets for defeat in this year\u2019s Democratic primaries. It ended with a clip of Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) \u2014 and a surprise in-person appearance from his primary challenger, George Latimer. The crowd […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}