A Far-Left Congressman, Jamaal Bowman, Loses J Street Support in Democratic Primary, as Challenger Gains Key Local Endorsements
The Squad member has become embroiled in a series of controversies involving his anti-Israel stance, ultimately resulting in the progressive Jewish group withdrawing their endorsement. Meanwhile, his moderate challenger, George Latimer, continues to pick up key endorsements.
On Friday, a Jewish progressive advocacy group, J Street, rescinded its endorsement of a far-left congressman, Jamaal Bowman of New York. J Street in its decision to withdraw support reportedly accused Mr. Bowman of “singling out” Israel for the war in Gaza and alleging it was guilty of genocide.
In an interview with the Jewish Daily Forward, J Street’s president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, added that while many of J Street’s candidates have criticized Israel, Mr. Bowman has gone too far. “Bowman crossed the line here,” Mr. Ben-Ami told the publication.
In particular, Mr. Ben-Ami pointed to a January 14 event during which Mr. Bowman celebrated a divisive anti-Israel academic, Norman Finkelstein, during a panel on Israel in his district.
In his 2000 book, “The Holocaust Industry,” Mr. Finkelstein, who is Jewish, accused his co-religionists of exploiting the Holocaust to promote Israel. In the days following October 7, Mr. Finkelstein praised Hamas’s actions as “heroic resistance in Gaza” akin to the bravery of the Jews who fought to the death in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Seemingly well-versed with Mr. Finkelstein’s work, Mr. Bowman stated that he “watched him all the time on YouTube” and was “starstruck” during a January 14 panel on Israel at Yonkers, New York.
Mr. Bowman later apologized on X for his praise of Mr. Finkelstein, calling the academic’s comments regarding October 7 “deeply reprehensible.”
The withdrawal of support stands as a reversal of an earlier J Street position, reported in the Jewish Insider in December, that the group would not re-evaluate its endorsement of the far-left “Squad” member. As of Friday afternoon, Mr. Bowman’s name is not to be found on the J Street website’s list of endorsed candidates.
The loss of support from J Street is but the latest in a wave of setbacks for Mr. Bowman.
On Thursday, an investigation into the congressman regarding his illegal pulling of a Capitol Hill fire alarm in September concluded. The Office of Congressional Ethics found that the investigation is now “moot” given the House’s decision to censure the 47-year-old former school principal on December 8.
Yet despite the decision to drop the investigation, the ethics office did not mince words regarding Mr. Bowman’s transgression, referring to his explanation for his action as “less than credible or otherwise misleading.”
At the time, Mr. Bowman stated he made a mistake. “Today as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open,” Mr. Bowman said in a statement on X released shortly after the incident.
However, the Office of Congressional Ethics wrote in its report, “Surveillance video obtained by the OCE shows Rep. Bowman deliberately pulling the fire alarm lever without ever looking back to determine whether the alarm facilitated the opening of the emergency doors.”
The committee added, “More importantly, at the time of this incident, the House stood adjourned. Rep. Bowman, contrary to statements issued by his office, was enroute to an emergency Caucus (Democrat) meeting—not to cast an imminent vote,” the ethics report added. “At approximately 11:58 am, Rep. Bowman received several messages via Signal private messaging app from Sarah Iddrissu, Chief of Staff, alerting him of the emergency meeting. Ms. Iddrissu informed Rep. Bowman that Members were instructed to meet in room HVC215 within the U.S. Capitol Building.”
Mr. Bowman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor over the fire alarm incident on October 26. He served three months of probation and paid a $1,000 fine.
Riding on the tailwind of the congressman’s scandals is his moderate challenger, George Latimer, the Westchester County executive, who has secured key endorsements in recent days.
On Friday, Mr. Latimer received a major endorsement from the Democratic council for Mr. Bowman’s district’s fourth-largest city, White Plains.
The endorsement for Mr. Latimer was preceded by a key endorsement, also for Mr. Latimer, from one of the district’s representatives in New York’s assembly, Amy Paulin, on Tuesday.
Neither J Street nor Mr. Bowman immediately responded to the Sun’s request for comment.
