Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress on July 24, 2024. He spoke of the strong ties between Israel and the U.S. and their mutual enemy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. He thanked Presidents Biden and Trump for being reliable allies, helping Israel fight its enemies and forge peace with those willing to coexist with the Jewish State.
The speech was addressed to a bipartisan audience of past, present and future Democratic and Republican presidents and members of Congress, and reflected the bipartisan and bicameral invitation to Netanyahu.
Yet only one party attended en masse. Only one party rose to their feet again and again during Netanyahu’s remarks. Only one party closed ranks with a strong ally in the middle of a horrific war.
The Republicans.
There was also one party which stood divided about Israel. One party who disrespected and disparaged the Israeli leader. One party whose shrill anti-Israel voices drowned out those who support Israel.
The Democrats.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) was angry that Netanyahu came to address Congress as “bad faith efforts by Republicans to further politicize the U.S.-Israel relationship.” In truth, the bipartisan invitation did not politicize the relationship but laid bare the pro-Hamas and anti-Israel wing of woke politicians and Americans.
Nadler, a Jewish Congressman, insulted Netanyahu as “the worst leader in Jewish history.” He spent his time at Netanyahu’s speech reading from a book highly critical of Netanyahu that he brandished about like garlic before a vampire.
Rep. Jerry Nadler read highly critical biography of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while the prime minister addressed a joint session of Congress on July 24, 2024.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) who had invited the Israeli Prime Minister, refused to shake the leader’s hand. Schumer had sharply criticized Netanyahu four months earlier in Congress, calling for new elections and meddling in foreign affairs of a democratic ally.
There were some Democrats who were supportive of Netanyahu and the Jewish State. Reps. Torres, Gottheimer, Hernandez, Manning, Franel and Wasserman-Schultz were clear about being proud Zionists, voicing full bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, calling for bringing home the hostages held by Palestinian Arabs, and blasting the antisemitic protests on the streets of Washington, D.C.
Yet few people took notice of their comments which were viewed only a few thousand times on X.
The anti-Israel and anti-Netanyahu politicians were much more popular.
Many far-left members of Congress boycotted the speech. According to Axios, roughly half of the Democrats in the Senate and the House did not attend the address, including Vice President Kamala Harris who chose to attend another event, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.), former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). That’s over two times the number of Democrats who boycotted Netanyahu in 2015.
When the generals of wokedom Sanders and AOC posted about their feelings of “war criminal” Netanyahu and skipping the speech, MILLIONS of followers took in the bile. Even Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) who has already lost his seat in Congress for the next term, had nearly five times the number of views as Rep. Ritchie Torres.
The streets of Washington were filled with woke antisemites. Some held placards calling for the “final solution” in a reference to Hitler’s plan for a genocide of Jews. Some painted on governmental monuments that “Hamas is comin.”
The left-wing media joined the fray. The New Republic published an article about how horrible it would be for Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, to choose Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), an Orthodox Jew. Such a move would “ruin Democratic Unity” and “fracture the party” because Shapiro is a Zionist. Jacobin wants Harris to pick 82-year old Bernie Sanders as her Vice President, enjoying his vilification of Israel and capitalism.
According to a Gallup poll in March 2024, the favorability rating of Americans about Israel dropped below 60% for the first time since March 2004. It was mostly driven by young people 18-34 whose favorability ratings for Israel dropped in the last year to 38% from 64%, while their opinions barely budged for the Palestinian Authority. As it relates to the war, Democrats and the youth were the only segments to have a higher favorability rating for Palestinians more than Israelis.
By every measure, in just 75 years, Israel built a successful and thriving liberal democracy in the heart of the Middle East. Despite its success, the ongoing war against Gazan terrorists have sapped the support of the young and most left-leaning Americans, according to another poll by Gallup in late March 2024. Whether justified or not and fought minimizing harm to civilians or not, the anti-war movement amongst the young is not just drawing support from the Jewish State, but accelerating a movement to attack it and Zionists globally.
The messages of turning on Israel and Zionists continue to gain momentum, even among progressive Jews. Little known members of Congress like Rep. Sarah Jacobs’ (D-CA), not coincidentally the youngest Jew in Congress, post about boycotting Netanyahu got one million views on X, a platform more often used by young people.
Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress did not “politicize the U.S.-Israel relationship.” It exposed the deep rot of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in a growing segment of the Democratic Party, much like the Congressional hearings about antisemitism at universities shed light on the noxious Jew-hatred metastasizing in woke establishments.
ACTION ITEM
Contact Rep. Jerry Nadler and tell him he’s a vile and childish putz for insulting a leader of an American ally who was invited by a bipartisan and bicameral Congress. Call (202) 225-5635
Israel is the most liberal country in the entire Middle East by leaps and bounds. It has freedoms of religion, assembly and press which are not found amongst its neighbors. It has a diverse population and laws which protect minorities. The country’s western values make it an anomaly in the illiberal region.
Yet despite being a very liberal state, the Israeli people voted for a conservative and religious government to lead them, seemingly at odds with the pluralistic nation’s values. It begs the question as to what drives the disconnection.
Israel Is A Country At War
Israel is not like the United States with only two neighboring countries, each of which recognizes the USA. Israel is surrounded by hostile countries.
Israel is not like Norway which has been at peace for decades. Israel’s neighbors have repeatedly gone to war to destroy the country.
Israel is not like Slovenia, devoid of terrorist groups surrounding it. Israel is surrounded on all sides by terrorist groups and their sponsors.
Israel has been in a constant state of war with its neighbors since its founding, and still has dozens of terrorist groups alongside it sworn to the country’s destruction.
Israel Is Under Assault At The United Nations
Israel is not like Turkey with no standing resolutions at the U.N. about its occupation of Cyprus. There is a standing resolution against only one country: Israel.
Israel is not like Pakistan without a unique U.N. agency dedicated to descendants living in a neighboring land labeled “refugees” who are being pushed to move back. The UN created and maintains UNRWA, a unique refugee agency apart from the global refugee agency, which pushes to have all those descendants move into Israel.
Israel is not like the Vatican which allows full and open prayer for Catholics in the holy city. The U.N. has an official policy of denying Israeli Jews the right to pray at their holiest location on the Temple Mount.
Israel is not like Argentina which has no edicts about Argentinians living in disputed places like the Falkland Islands. Yet Israel has U.N. resolutions to ban Israeli Jews (but not Israeli Muslims) from living in disputed lands.
Israel is not like Cyprus whose capital Nicosia is deemed a united city under its control. Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem is not officially recognized by the global body, and it wishes to divide the city in two as it was during war.
Israel is not like India or the United States which labels products made in territories as made in the country. Yet the U.N. and European Union demand that products made in the Israeli territory of Area C in the West Bank be labeled distinctly, if produced by Jews.
United Nations “refugee” camp with a key on top to tell descendants of Arabs who left Israel while they waited for the Jewish State to be destroyed, that the U.N. is the portal to reclaim old homes inside of Israel.
Israel is perpetually treated as an offensive guest at the United Nations, and not a member state like other countries.
Israel Is On Active Defense
Israel is a liberal democracy at war with illiberal jihadi entities, and consequently elects right-wing governmental officials whom it believes will protect the country and its people, even though the populace strongly desires to elect new leadership.
American media that berates Israel’s right-wing government without simultaneously vilifying the antisemitic Palestinian jihadists, are effectively parroting hateful Hamas propaganda.
American politicians that boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress are essentially supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s mission to isolate and destroy the Jewish State.
We know how America, France and other liberal democracies address jihadi terrorism which has no existential threat to the survival of the country. We know how those countries’ liberal citizens vote in elections when their basic safety and human rights are compromised.
People demand safety first and foremost from their governments, and will elect leaders who provide such security, especially when under brutal attack. Demonizing those elected leaders for doing what their liberal citizens require for survival is a reward to terrorists. In Israel, such prize goes to the genocidal Palestinian maniacs who wish to ethnically cleanse the holy land of its Jews.
ACTION ITEM
Write Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jerry Nadler to stop condemning the Israeli government for fighting to protect its citizens from genocidal Palestinian Arabs.
Antisemitism on college campuses has been growing reality for several years. The explosion of Jew-hatred since the popular Palestinian political-terrorist group Hamas‘s slaughter of 1,200 people in Israel has made many school environments toxic for Jews. Not Israelis; Jews. They’ve hidden in their dorm rooms and worked from home. They’ve transferred to different schools. They’ve sued their universities.
In the noxious wake of this antisemitic bilestorm, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) summoned the heads of major universities to investigate the situation on campuses.
The work revealed a systemic bias against Jewish students who were harassed, intimidated and attacked repeatedly. A dynamic which would never have been tolerated for majority-minority groups like Blacks and Hispanics had been given a passing grade.
When the public witnessed the testimony there was an uproar. When it read the subpoenaed texts circulated among college deans about the state of antisemitism, there was widespread disgust.
University presidents and deans lost their jobs. Lawsuits filed by Jewish students were filed and settled.
The revelations of the hearings were not only that Jew hatred had become embedded in universities from the students to professors through the administration, but that the concern was seemingly NOT bipartisan.
Several Democratic members of Congress like Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) used their time at the hearings to ponder why there was no investigation about Islamophobia rather than tackle the subject at hand. The media accused Republicans of holding a partisan spectacle and didn’t really care about Jews, such as The New York Times which wrote “The drubbing is part of a campaign by Republicans against what they view as double standards within elite education establishments — practices that they say favor some groups over others, and equity over meritocracy. Others see it as partisan attack.”
The framing is seemingly peculiar. There is no question that antisemitism on college campuses reached outrageous levels post-October 7. Why would Democratic politicians and liberal media not want to protect young Jews going to school, a community which historically always voted Democratic?
A compulsion to protect DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) which often prioritizes Blacks and Hispanics over Jews and Asians
It begs the question: should Democrats become the majority in Congress in the next election, will Jewish students be abandoned to be tormented at universities around the United States?
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) talking to gathering concerned about the state of antisemitism in universities, July 17, 2024 (Photo: First One Through)
It is both shocking and repulsive to imagine that Democrats would abandon young American Jews but the reactions of Democrats to the past hearings as well as Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) refusal to advance several bills in Congress (since Democrats control the Senate, he controls which bills come forward for a vote) like the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 and the DETERRENT Act make one believe it to be the case.
It would appear that not only is Israel now a partisan issue, but antisemitism has become one as well.
Shabbos Kestenbaum, Jewish Harvard graduate, speaking at Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024
In May 2021, President Biden’s Jewish Engagement Director Aaron Keyak posted on X “It pains me to say this, but if you fear for your life or physical safety take off your kippah and hide your magen david (Jewish star),” in response to growing antisemitic attacks.
The government official did not state that governmental authorities would do whatever it can to protect Jews and prosecute those who harass, intimate and attack Jews. He told Jews to go undercover and erase their identity out of fear.
The situation for Jews has only worsened over the past three years as Jews are being forced from the public arena.
In September 2021, Hollywood opened a new museum, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. By design, the building exhibited a movie industry which was shaped by many Jews, showcasing virtually no Jews. Its desire to be “radically inclusive” of minorities’ contribution to the film industry stripped the minority-minority Jews of a place which they helped create.
Marvel Studios just announced that the introduction of the 1980s Jewish Israeli superhero Sabra in the upcoming movie Captain America: Brave New World, will be stripped of her identity and instead be recast with a Russian backstory.
Plays have been canceled because producers cannot pay the increased insurance premiums that arise out of fear that antisemitic protestors may attack the venue. It happens whether the production includes Israelis or it doesn’t. Jews have been declared the enemy, a too financially and morally expensive cohort to platform.
In April 2024, Columbia University opted to move its classes online after it concluded that it could not keep Jewish students safe on campus. After being sued, the Columbia administration said it would provide “walking escorts” and create a new position called a “Safe Passage Liaison” to help get Jewish students around the school campus, acknowledging that it could not/ would not control campus antisemitism.
Jewish fear of attacks is being met with a widespread canceling of Jews, not the perpetrators. It is reminiscent of the British response to the heinous slaughter of Jews in Hebron in 1929: rather than prosecute the Palestinian Arabs who committed the atrocities, they expelled the Palestinian Jews from their homes into other cities.
The explosion of antisemitism is not being confronted with forceful laws and actions to make Jews safe but a policy of abandonment. Few politicians and non-Jews have declared that this tsunami of antisemitism is un-American, the way Van Jones did in Washington D.C. in November 2023.
Worse, leading American Jews – Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in particular – have not defended Jews from antisemitism. As the most politically powerful Jew in America, Schumer has refused to advance the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 for a vote. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY17) introduced H.R. 6090 back in October 2023 which was passed by a wide bipartisan margin on May 1, 2024. It has been sitting idly on Schumer’s desk for two and one-half months without action.
Even the most powerful Jew in the United States is hiding, lest his advocacy for other Jews make him vulnerable.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
It has become institutionalized in the government.
Jews are being erased in the public sphere and being told to hide. As they do, they are vilified and slandered for hiding in the shadows and conspiring to harm people. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) said “they do it from Gaza to Detroit, and it’s a way to control people, to oppress people… open the curtain andlook behind the curtain, it’s the same people who make money and—yes they do—off of racism.” Her comrade Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16) said “Westchester is segregated. There’s certain places where the Jews live and concentrate,” vilifying Jews – and only Jews – for not living where he has determined they should buy homes.
The alt-left and alt-right are thrilled at the disappearing Jew. They painted the small minority as too powerful, too rich and too influential for many years. They want the American Jewish footprint to be as meager as their numbers, and the Jewish State eradicated from the global map.
Jews are left with two choices: to either 1) disappear as Jews, by concealing their identity or moving away, or 2) stand and fight for their basic human rights and dignity.
Astute western democratic leaders know those options.
After the killing of Jews in a Parisian kosher supermarket in 2015, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that “if 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France. The French Republic will be judged a failure.”French President Francois Hollande made a similar statement a few days later: “French people of the Jewish faith, your place is here, in your home. France is your country.” Powerful statements from governmental officials to keep its Jewish citizens.
But where are such statements in America? How can Biden officials tell Jews to hide their religion and the leading Jewish politician refuse to bring laws to fight antisemitism?
Bret Stephens, said that the best ally for American Jewry is “America at her best.” Are we there or moving in the opposite direction?
Jews who refuse to disappear are fighting first-and-foremost for fundamental American principles, such as merit, free enterprise and creativity along with respect for tradition. America at her best will see a proud Jewish community thriving, while America unmoored will see its Jews disappear.
The fight against socialist, jihadi and alt-right antisemitism is to enact laws and elect politicians who want to see America focused on creating, not destroying; developing, not redistributing; respecting, not ripping down.
The disappearing Jew is a warning sign that western values are disintegrating, a dangerous omen for everyone.
This is from France, but it could be any Jewish community, anywhere in the world.
Anti-Israel protestors converged on a synagogue in Queens, NY, to protest an event promoting buying property in Israel. The scores of agitators were consumed “with rage,” looking for a fight against Jews whom they considered stealing “Palestinian land,” and abetting a “genocide” against Palestinian Arabs.
Not surprisingly, the mob – many with faces covered – came for a fight shouting “Free Palestine!”, “We don’t want no Zionists here!” and “We don’t want two states; we want ’48” (meaning all of the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea). In response, the Jews waved American and Israeli flags and chanted “USA! USA!,” “Am Yisrael Chai (the nation of Israel lives)”, “F*ck Hamas” and “Donald Trump!”
Rep. Grace Meng whose district includes the synagogue noted that people had a right to protest but that “harassing people outside of their house of worship is unacceptable.” She alerted the police to keep peace between the protestors but the event was disrupted by the incident.
Similar incidents have occurred in Los Angeles, CA and Teaneck, NJ. More are likely unless preventative action is taken and perpetrators face consequences.
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), made it an offense to use intimidation or physical force – such as forming a blockade – in order to prevent a person from entering a facility which provides abortions and reproductive healthcare. That 1994 law also provides protection for people using a house of worship, specifically prohibiting:
Many states have added to the national law. Some have created new agencies like New York State’s Hate and Bias Prevention Unit which focuses on education about biases, early warning detection systems and rapid response units for bias incidents.
First, these laws should be enacted around the country and must be enforced. People who intimidate or interfere with people attending synagogues should be prosecuted.
Second, additional protections should be instituted around the country. Ideas include:
Banning the wearing of face coverings/ masks at events;
Banning loudspeakers and noisemakers;
Hold the organization which call for rallies outside of synagogues – especially when using inflammatory language like “rage” – accountable;
add “buffer zones” of hundred-plus feet in which protestors cannot approach a synagogue, Jewish school or community center, similar to perimeters for abortion clinics.
The United States protects free speech, as well as freedom of assembly and worship. It does not provide protection for people to threaten, intimidate or interfere with others, especially at a house of worship. Legal protections must be enhanced and enforced to address the alarming rise of antisemitism.
The Democratic Socialists of America rescinded its endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez for appearing to care about American Jews.
In its July 10, 2024 statement, the DSA focused on three offenses committed by AOC: “a vote in favor of H.Res.888”; cosigning “a press release on April 20, 2024, that “support[s] strengthening the Iron Dome and other defense systems”; and hosting “a public panel with leaders from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.”
July 10, 2024 statement from the DSA as to the reason it has rescinded its endorsement of AOC
The reasons say much about the vile antisemitic extremism of the DSA.
For starters, H.Res 888 was a bipartisan resolution sponsored by many Jews and non-Jews. It had four key components in addressing Israel’s defensive war against Hamas which committed a brutal massacre of civilians in Israel and has promised to repeat the atrocities again and again. The four statements were that: Israel has a right to exist; denying such right is a form of antisemitism; rejects calls for Israel’s destruction; and condemns Hamas’s attack.
H.Res. 888 had broad Congressional support in defending Israel in its war against the U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization, Hamas
Secondly, Israel’s self-defense is a basic national responsibility and should be embraced by all of its allies. Denying self-defense systems in a region surrounded by radical jihadi regimes and terrorist groups is a call for the destruction of the Jewish State.
Lastly, finding AOC’s discussion of “Antisemitism and the Fight for Democracy” with two progressive Jewish women was not remotely controversial. The panelists and AOC repeatedly said that criticism of the Israeli government’s policies is not antisemitic, as does the IHRA definition of antisemitism. AOC is rightly appalled that too many far left comrades have decided to target Jews and Jewish institutions.
And such defense and association is unacceptable the socialist-jihadi group DSA.
The DSA is not simply targeting Israel for destruction but ostracizing any Zionist or people who associate with Zionists. The group has become an American front for Hamas, minus throwing gays off of rooftops.
Three administrators were “permanently removed” from their positions at Columbia University due to their private text exchanges during a hearing on antisemitism on campus, according to the Columbia Spectator. The three administrators were Vice Dean and Chief Administrative Officer Susan Chang-Kim, Dean of Undergraduate Student Life Cristen Kromm, and Associate Dean for Student and Family Support Matthew Patashnick. Josef Sorett, the dean of Columbia College, who participated in the text exchange was not removed from his position.
All will remain employed by the university.
Columbia’s Vice Dean and Chief Administrative Officer Susan Chang-Kim was dismissive of Jewish students complaints saying it “comes from such a place of privilege… hard to hear the ‘woe is me.'”
The Congressional Education and the Workforce Committee chaired by Rep Virginia Foxx (R-NC) had released a report on the texts last week. Foxx said “Jewish students deserve better than to have harassment and threats against them dismissed as ‘privilege,’ and Jewish faculty members deserve better than to be mocked by their colleagues. These text messages once again confirm the need for serious accountability across Columbia’s campus.”
The issue goes much deeper than a private text exchange on a panel meant to deal with the issue of antisemitism. The institution itself TEACHES antisemitism, fosters Jew-hatred and whitewashes antisemitism as part of its updated curriculum.
Columbia professor Joseph Massad celebrated the barbaric October 7 massacre of people in Israel in an article on October 8th as “an innovative Palestinian resistance” as a “start of the Palestinian War of Liberation.” He called the destroyed Israeli towns where families were burned alive “Israeli settler-colonies near the Gaza boundary,” as he believes and teaches his students that ALL OF ISRAEL is illegitimate.
Massad doesn’t even believe that Jews are connected to the Jews in the Bible, as he refers to the descendants of the Biblical Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as “Palestinian Hebrews.”
Imagine a university granting tenure to someone who teaches that Black people were never slaves in America, denying their history, or that they are invaders who should be denied self-determination. They would be dismissed the second students report the grave insults.
But not when Jewish students complain.
In September 2019, Columbia invited Malaysian Prime Minster Mahathir Mohamad to speak on campus, even though he is a known Holocaust denier and declared he is a “proud antisemite.” Columbia had no need to invite this Jew-hater to come onto campus to insult the Jewish students but went out of its way to do so.
This is because the university thinks that Jews are part of the “ownership class“, to quote president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, who “want to take that ladder of opportunity away from those who do not have it,” meaning deserving under-privileged minorities.
The educational system in America has been deliberately corrupted to demand that the beleaguered minority-minority Jews be sidelined and ridiculed in favor of victims of preference, the majority-minorities of Blacks and Hispanics who deserve to have their narratives elevated.
It is the center of intersectionality – under-educated, liberal, Black women – who are consistently shown in polls to be the least knowledgeable about Jewish history such as the Holocaust. Their views and history are now educational priorities while Jewish history and basic rights are being trampled upon. By design.
The issue at Columbia University and the current state of education in America is not a few disparaging texts from some administrators, but a systemic denigration of Jews.
The “Squad” of far-left American politicians pulled out all of the antisemitic dog whistles in their fight to defend the unpopular congressman Jamaal Bowman in the New York Democratic primary. In response to his resounding defeat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said “I think we need to have a real conversation about AIPAC,” the pro-Israel group supported by many Jews.
In truth, all the alt-left did was talk about AIPAC for the prior months and did so in the most vile and slanderous manner. As such, we must have a conversation about alt-left politicians’ repulsive antisemitism.
The smears were:
AIPAC is a bunch of White supremacist racist MAGA billionaires
AIPAC doesn’t want Black and Brown people to have positions of power
AIPAC supports genocide of Black and Brown people
The people behind AIPAC are operating in the shadows
AIPAC is buying off politicians and congress
AIPAC and backers are seeking to oppress minorities around the world
The Squad is operating to defend working class people from the AIPAC racist money machine
It’s a war of us versus them
This is repulsive and mimics Nazi propaganda against Jews in the 1930s and 1940s. These are carefully organized scripts to inflame a war against Jews in the United States and around the world.
White Supremacists and Racists
Bowman’s posts on X were replete with calling the backers of his opponent George Latimer, himself a progressive, as racists of the worst sort, who try to keep Black people down.
Comments included:
“White supremacists… targeting me, our first Black Representative with racist attacks & dog whistles… don’t want to see people like us in power.” [note that lower Westchester voted for Mondaire Jones, a Black gay progressive in 2020]
“Big-money groups like AIPAC don’t like seeing people like me in power.”
“AIPAC and their MAGA billionaires don’t want to see us in power. They don’t want to see Black and brown working class people rising up.”
“We’re fighting against AIPAC and their Republican billionaires… trying to buy NY-16… our communities are not for sale.”
Billionaires Buying Politicians
Bowman, AOC and Sen. Bernie Sanders made the fight about a handful of racist billionaires buying politicians, rather than discuss issues.
Comments included:
“AIPAC and their right-wing billionaires are trying to buy this district like they bought my opponent. They don’t want to see people in power.”
“AIPAC and their Republican billionaires are spending millions to try to buy our district… their money will never defeat the people.”
“My opponent sold out to AIPAC and their right-wing billionaires. They’re spending millions to try to buy our district.”
“He’s [Latimer] so bought out by AIPAC… pawns for special interests.”
“Fight back against AIPAC and right-wing billionaires.”
“AIPAC has already spent $6 million against us. Why? because we stand for peace and justice! MAGA Republicans are trying to buy NY-16… we decide the future of our district, not them.”
“Defeat MAGA billionaires trying to buy NY-16”
AOC wrote “Big money, from AIPAC to Wall Street have poured millions to buy this election.”
Bernie Sanders wrote “tell billionaires and their corporate PACs that no, they cannot buy our democracy.”
UAW wrote “The billionairess are coming for Jamaal Bowman because he stands up for the working class… they think they can buy off Congress.”
AIPAC Supports Genocide
Bowman and friends made clear that these wealthy racists are genocidal, coming for Black and Brown people in the U.S. and Israel.
Comments included:
“AIPAC’s attack campaign against us is breaking spending records every week… Our movement is scaring their pro-genocide, pro-Netanyahu, racist MAGA donors.”
“The Israeli government is committing a genocide and OUR taxpayer money is funding it. Why do we have billions to send to mass murder”
“This election is a working class educator… against a multimillionaire handpicked by MAGA to support genocide.”
“We won’t let AIPAC stop us from fighting for peace and justice.”
“Our struggles are all connected. The same evils harming our communities here are harming communities across the world.”
Comrade Rashida Tlaib shared “Palestinian liberation and Black liberation are interconnected. From Detroit to Cleveland to Gaza.”
AIPAC Is Coming After Black And Brown Communities
Bowman framed the primary race of two progressives, one Black who is extremist and anti-Israel, and the other White and pro-Israel, as an existential battle between peace-loving working class minorities against evil nefarious forces. It’s appalling and ridiculous as Latimer has decades of strong relationships and dozens of endorsements from Black and Brown politicians, and AIPAC is focused on Israel, not local race relations.
Comments included:
“AIPAC, a right-wing lobby… don’t care about us or our communities.”
“Big money doesn’t belong in our communities Reject AIPAC”
“Black and Brown communities have been left behind for too long. We don’t need more career politicians who only cater to their billionaire friends.”
Bowman retweeted “Thanks to funding from right-wing billionaires, AIPAC is targeting progressives of color”
The Working Families Party shared the article “No One Should Be Surprised a Black Politician Is the Canary in AIPAC’s Coal Mine”
Bowman added “The people are rising up against AIPAC and their republican billionaires. We won’t let them buy our communities in NY-16 or anywhere!”
Hiding In The Shadows
AOC made clear that these racist billionaires keeping minorities down are being funded by “dark money.”
Bowman retweeted AOC comments including:
“Dark money has spent the largest sum in history to unseat Jamaal Bowman… these lobbies don’t care about the Bronx and Westchester.”
“we rallied 1200 people in the Bronx to take on dark money”
“It’s time to fight back against AIPAC and their megadonors.”
The Alt-Left Against AIPAC
The far-left wing demonized a pro-Israel group as the epitome of evil: racist White supremacists who support genocide against minorities in the U.S. and Israel and who don’t care about anyone. They are agents who do not belong in the district or to have a voice in American politics.
Rep. Cori Bush said that these pro-Israel people “meddle in our Democratic elections,” meaning that they do not belong.
As such, they all ran under a banner of RejectAIPAC; to rally against a bipartisan organization that supports the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. To demonize the only Jewish state. To call anyone involved in pro-Israel activities pro-genocidal maniacs who should be cast from society. To strip the beleaguered Jewish State of all defenses.
No lobbying group is tarnished in such fashion by politicians. We don’t call Americans who are involved with the National Rifle Association or Planned Parenthood as “genocide supporters.” Elected officials do not slam teacher’s unions as “dark money” that “meddle” in the political process.
But the far-left has called open season on Jews loudly and repeatedly. It’s us versus them.
And it’s a completely manufactured lie. A vicious antisemitic campaign attempting to vilify Jews and push them from the public square.
We need to have a conversation about the vile antisemitism that is rife at woke colleges and among far-left politicians.
The most expensive primary race in America concluded this week in New York’s 16th Congressional District with Westchester County Executive George Latimer defeating incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman. The narrative found in mainstream and social media would have one believe that Republican billionaires funded a random White racist to defeat a popular Black politician who had the nerve to combat the Democratic establishment’s backing of Israel in its war against Hamas.
That is a complete fiction. The reality is that:
Bowman was a very flawed extremist politician
Bowman cared little for the vast majority of his district and he was quite unpopular amongst his constituents
Latimer is a very well-known and liked progressive politician in the majority of the district
Latimer likely would have won with a fraction of the spending
Mainstream and social media picked up far-left talking points tainted with antisemitic dog whistles, rather than focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates
The race is unpacked here, as some of the lessons relate to other races featuring members of the squad as well as the deeply flawed Vice President Kamala Harris.
NY’s 16th Congressional District
Bowman won his NY16 seat in 2020 when the district’s boundaries covered northern Bronx and some of southern Westchester County. When congressional district lines were redrawn in 2022 after the 2020 Census, NY16 was almost completely lower Westchester with a small nub of the Bronx.
In 2020, a good potion of lower Westchester was located in NY17, which voted for another Black progressive politician, Mondaire Jones. However, when the lines were redrawn in 2022, Jones opted to run for congress in Manhattan and left Bowman to run in NY16 with the expanded lower Westchester in the district.
Many people in the 16th district wanted to oust Bowman in 2022 for a range of actions and statements including voting against the bipartisan infrastructure bill, calling for defunding the police, his stated aims for destroying capitalism and abolishing the immigration center. At that time, some Jews in the district asked AIPAC to get involved in the primary but the pro-Israel group refused because two contenders were already facing Bowman, Catherine Parker and Vedat Gashi. As predicated, those two ended up dividing the anti-Bowman votes, and Bowman sailed to an easy primary victory with only 20,000 votes. After the primary, in September 2022, AIPAC suggested to people in NY16 that it find a single popular candidate early who would clear the field of other Democratic politicians in the next election, which they did as described below in early 2023.
In 2024, the district lines were redrawn slightly, with Co-op City swapped in for the Wakefield section of the Bronx. With the adjustment, there were roughly 252,600 voters in the district of which 41.7% were White, 26.9% Hispanic, 21.3% Black and 6.6% Asian. Jewish groups estimated that the Jewish voting age population in the district was about 25,800, or about 10.2% of the total voter universe.
Tally from the 2024 Latimer-Bowman democratic primary
Latimer won the primary with about a 17 point spread, or 13,300 votes, on the strength of his turnout in Westchester where he secured 64% of the votes. Bowman did well in Co-op City, but with a relatively small number of voters.
Jewish voters made a difference.
The Jewish Vote
Westchester Unites, a division of the Orthodox Union assembled to get out the vote effort under a tagline “Antisemitism is on the ballot.” The group stated that it brought 14,871 Jewish voters to the polls (as of 7:30pm on election night), presumably almost all of which voted for Latimer, a sum which exceeded the margin of victory. Remarkably, that figure is 57.7% of the eligible Jewish voters in the district, an incredible figure for a primary. The number also doesn’t include many of the non-Orthodox and non-affiliated Jews in the district which did not want to be part of the WU effort.
With more mail-in votes being collected in the days post-election, it is fair to estimate that Jews made up as much as one-third of Latimer’s votes.
The incredibly high rate of Jewish voters participating in a primary could not have been achieved solely with WU or AIPAC backing. Jews inside the district had been preparing for this primary battle for over two years.
The Orthodox community was particularly strong in rallying for Latimer. Estimates are that roughly 2,000 people in NY16 changed their party affiliation from Independent or Republican to Democrat to vote in the 2024 primary. Additionally, WU estimates that over 80% of the Orthodox eligible voters participated in the election, a much higher figure than for non-Orthodox.
The question is why Jews in Westchester, which had voted for Mondaire Jones, a Black progressive politician in 2020, turned on another Black progressive in Bowman a short time later, and why Jones himself opted to endorse Latimer over Bowman.
Bowman, Prioritized Blacks And Absent On Antisemitism
The press will say that Jews were offended by Bowman’s pro-Palestinian positions but while true, it misses the mark. Bowman was absent on antisemitism while he served only his preferred base of constituents in his district, the Black and Brown communities.
Instead, Bowman came to White Plains on the day he condemned antisemitic vandalism at Goldman’s office, and told a crowd that Israelis are lying that Palestinian Arabs raped and sexually abused women as a matter of “propaganda.” For some reason, Bowman believes it’s progressive to “believe women” as long as they aren’t Jewish, and to decry antisemitism against colleagues but not constituents.
Beyond ignoring Jews and Jew-hatred, Bowman stressed the Black and Brown communities.
When Bowman discussed student debt, he didn’t discuss it for all his constituents but focused on the Black and Brown communities. Repeatedly.
Similarly when Bowman discussed poor young people in his district, he focused on “Black and Brown kids,” downplaying poor Whites and Asians.
Bowman believes that “his” community is the Black community, which is not a problematic position for an individual, but deeply troubling for a politician when they ignore everyone else.
Bowman established a reputation for not serving all of his constituents during his two terms. He was noticeably absent in Westchester while his challenger, George Latimer, had decades of serving every community in the county.
Latimer secured a complete sweep of Democratic endorsements in Westchester with the sole exception of New Rochelle. Bowman had endorsed that city’s new mayor Yarida Ramos-Herbert when she ran for office, but she did not return the favor as she saw the writing on the walls that Bowman was a flailing politician. New Rochelle opted to not endorse anyone.
Bowman was so unaware of and unfamiliar with his constituents, that the day before the June 25 election, he held a rally in the South Bronx, miles away from his district, with politicians from outside the district like Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont. How asinine and emblematic of a failed candidate, unless Bowman had already conceded the race and was setting a stage to run in against Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY15) in two years.
It begs the question of how the narrative became so skewed. Jews in the district tried to get rid of Bowman well before the October 7th Hamas massacre. Latimer is a well-known progressive who was endorsed by Mondaire Jones, not some “random white dude.” All the Democratic committees in Westchester endorsed Latimer, not “far-right Republicans.” He got his money from inside the district while Bowman funded his campaign from outside.
Israel, AIPAC and October 7
Bowman was a poor politician who cared little for his non-minority constituents. His shenanigans of pulling fire alarms in congress made him the butt of jokes and censure in congress. His extremist rhetoric and craving of drama made him more like a 16-year old looking for likes on Tik Tok than a serious politician.
He was an easy target for any challenger.
While Latimer was initially approached to run for congress in April 2023, he didn’t formally announce until December as he canvassed the political landscape of the district measuring support. His timing of joining the race after a visit to Israel in November made it appear that he was coming after Bowman because of the congressman’s anti-Israel positions after October 7.
Bowman’s backers in the extreme far-left group Justice Democrats saw the antisemitic protests on American streets and leaned in. It launched a “Reject AIPAC” campaign, making the group appear nefarious, trying to serve as a red herring so people would forget Bowman’s ineptitude and make the primary race about the Israel-Hamas war.
Bowman loved the narrative, and used antisemitic language that AIPAC was “dark money” and were a bunch of “baby killers” in lines lifted from medieval blood libels (see concession speech 3:00 as an example).
AIPAC became Bowman’s boogeyman. In Bowman’s concession speech (9:28) he said “We should be outraged when a super-PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people about things about me that aren’t true. You should be outraged when unfortunately, some so-called Democrats are aligning themselves with radical racist right-wing Republicans.” It was an echo of fellow squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments that “Israel has hypnotized the world – may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.”
Of course, every one of AIPAC’s comments about Bowman was true; he had long proven himself to be unfit for office. In facing a well-known popular progressive politician in Latimer, Bowman knew he was doomed and decided to reframe the discussion away from his incompetence to declare himself a martyr for minorities.
Bowman’s left-wing allies under the Justice Democrats umbrella took to the airwaves and declared AIPAC to be enemy number one for coming after Bowman. They slandered the group repeatedly at rallies, in interviews and on social media, in a fictitious narrative that rich racist Jews were coming after a poor Black man.
And the press bought the bait-and-switch.
The Press Ignored Bowman’s Incompetence
The press went out of its way to absolve Bowman for his years of incompetence.
The Associated Press said that Bowman had “stumbles” portraying his actions as accidental, such as pulling the fire alarm, even though videos show that he did it on purpose.
The New York Times referred to Bowman’s “clumsy and sometimes inflammatory comments about Oct. 7,” making it sound that Bowman’s intentions were noble but poorly phrased, when in fact, his comments were deliberate and abhorrent.
A Times opinion piece discussed Bowman’s vicious actions as mere “unforced errors.”
So when the polls closed on June 25, and the obvious became public, The New York Times didn’t talk about the censured eak politician who never got to know his constituents, and instead blamed Bowman’s demise on a “flood of pro-Israel money.”
As did the BBC and other outlets.
The Jewish Vote Broadly
American Jews generally do not vote in a block. Orthodox Jews tend to vote more conservatively while non-Orthodox denominations are typically liberal. Some are pro-Israel and some are anti-Zionist.
But there are moments in time and there are politicians who can galvanize this minority-minority into a voting force.
As the bad news kept coming, many woke liberals needed to turn away to protect themselves and their families. Repeated appalling comments by Jamaal Bowman made J Street rescind its endorsement in January 2024, an action it had never previously done.
And NY’s 16th district was J Street country. Non-Orthodox rabbis in the community were on the rabbinic board as well as other left-wing groups like the New Israel Fund. If Bowman could offend people who spent a lifetime looking away from anti-Zionist comments, he had lost the whole community.
Bowman was so far in the extreme, that only radical fringe anti-Zionist groups like Bend the Arc and If Not Now continued to support him through the primary season.
Ramifications For Other Members of the Squad, Kamala Harris
Bowman was deeply unpopular – not only among Jews – and he would likely have lost an online poll of the 252,000 potential voters in the district by a wide margin. All that AIPAC’s money did – much sourced from inside the district – was help get out the vote; it likely changed few opinions.
The far-left’s vilification of AIPAC is both a red herring to distract from unpopular policies like a broad redistribution of wealth and power, as well as an antisemitic dog whistle to cement the jihadi-socialist alliance.
Bowman suffered from three critical matters: 1) he was broadly unpopular in the district; 2) he was up against a single well-known and liked challenger; and 3) there were enough Jews in the district to make a difference in the vote.
As people consider Cori Bush (D-MO1), a voting clone to Bowman, in her fight with Wesley Bell, those are critical factors to evaluate, even more than the amount of money spent by AIPAC to get out the vote. Similarly, as Democrats ponder a possible replacement for President Biden, they must consider the far left extremist policies of VP Kamala Harris when she was a senator, and her terrible polling numbers.
Jews know that extremism, whether from the left or right, is dangerous for their very beings. They see it has found a home in the diaspora and the media is loathe to call it out, instead choosing the lazy approach of parroting the antisemitic propaganda.
While AIPAC did spend millions of dollars on the Latimer-Bowman race, those who frame the primary as powerful Jewish billionaires trying to silence a poor Black man – which is the precise language of Justice Democrats – are engaging in vile antisemitism, in an attempt to dress up their policies as just and popular. Their use of Jew-hatred as a political tool should make clear that they are deeply anti-American, and should be shunned in society.
ACTION ITEM
In MO-1, extremist Rep. Cori Bush is being challenged by public defender Wesley Bell. Donate to Bell here.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman has long ignored the Jewish residents in his district and vilified the Jewish State. As the Democratic primary neared on June 25, he opted to raise the temperature on a hot day, riling up a crowd in the South Bronx to go to war with Westchester County, and for the Black and Brown communities to go to war with the Jews.
Bowman went to a park in the Bronx and started cursing and slamming chairs on stage. Calling himself the “hip hop congressman,” he got the crowd to chant about the south Bronx. He then said “We are gonna show f*cking AIPAC the power of the mother-f*cking South Bronx.”
He continued “People ax me why I’ve got a foul mouth. What am I supposed to do? You comin’ after me! You comin’ after my family. You comin’ after my children. I’m not supposed to fight back? I’m not supposed to fight back? We gonna show them who the f*ck we are!” He then started to jump up and down and throw his arms around in circles.
“We gonna show them who the f*ck we are! Bowman! Bowman!“
And it’s all a lying and dangerous circus. No one ever said anything about Bowman’s family and children. It was Bowman who repeatedly over many years came after Jews and the Jewish State, yet he inverted the entire cause-and-effect of the primary battle.
The unhinged rant from the deeply unpopular congressman continued his embarrassing and appalling tenure in congress. Despite being the incumbent, his challenger, Westchester County Executive George Latimer received almost all of the endorsements of the Democratic Party, including from:
Hillary Clinton (former Secretary of State and Senator from New York)
Mondaire Jones (former Congressman for lower Westchester County 2021-2)
Nita Lowy (former Congresswoman for lower Westchester County)
Eliot Engel (former Congressman for the Bronx)
David Paterson (former Governor of New Jersey)
and a very long list of state and county legislators
The sick rantings of Bowman are even starting to bring current members of Congress to endorse George Latimer, including Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). More may follow as we enter election day on June 25.
But Bowman wasn’t alone in his antics.
Alexandria “Big Money” Ocasio-Cortez joined Bowman’s rants with her own fist pumping as she yelled “I am ready to fight!”
She asked the crowd “Are we ready to take on AIPAC? Are we ready to kick some Wall Street ass?! Good!“
Not satisfied with slamming a bipartisan group which backs many Black and Latin progressives, AOC went on to continue to lie about Latimer. “He [Bowman] is being primaried by racism. He is being primaried by greed. He is being primaried by corruption of our politics. And we cannot let them win.”
The statement is beyond preposterous. Latimer is a long-time civil servant who works closely with people of all races and religions. Many Black and gay leaders in Westchester have decades of experience working with him and have endorsed him.
AOC added “The Bronx is built different. We are built different…. There’s a reason this borough [the Bronx] sent Jamaal Bowman to congress.”
But it didn’t. With redistricting, NY’s 16th district consists of 87% lower Westchester County and 13% of the Bronx. Bowman won in 2020 with very different lines that had much more of the Bronx.
AOC’s and Bowman’s claims that Latimer is being funded by outside money is another inversion of facts. The vast majority of Latimer money is coming from inside district 16 while only 10% of Bowman’s contributions are local.
The alt-left is angry that it cannot do a quick massive redistribution of wealth and power from the Westchester towns which are predominantly White with a significant Jewish population, to the predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods in the Bronx. So they are inciting riots.
Jamaal Bowman and AOC have declared a war between the South Bronx and Westchester, as well as between the Black/Brown Majority-Minorities and the beleaguered Jewish Minority-Minority. How is this progressive? Why are these alt-left extremists in office?
First One Through 