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Anti-Israel ‘Squad’ at Risk of Another Big Election Loss as Poll Finds Cori Bush Trailing Opponent by 23 Points
US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) raises her fist as US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses a pro-Hamas demonstration in Washington, DC. Photo: Reuters/Allison Bailey
US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), one of the fiercest critics of Israel in Congress, is trailing her Democratic primary opponent by a staggering 23 points, according to a new poll.
The findings come as Bush faces an uphill battle to avoid becoming the second member of the so-called “Squad” of far-left US lawmakers outspoken against Israel to lose to a more moderate Democrat this election cycle.
St. Louis prosecutor Wesley Bell leads Bush by a margin of 56 percent to 33 percent in the Aug. 6 primary for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, according to a survey conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for the CCA Action Fund and first reported by the New York Post.
Among Democrats, Bush holds a favorability rating of 50 percent and an unfavorability rating of 47 percent, the poll found. Meanwhile, Bell touts a favorability rating of 70 percent and an unfavorability rating of just 18 percent.
The numbers suggest that Bush’s support within her district has crumbled at a rapid rate. A poll conducted by The Mellman Group from June 18-22 showed a much tighter race, with 43 percent of respondents indicating support for Bell and 42 percent indicating support for Bush. In January, Bush enjoyed a commanding lead of 45 percent to 29 percent lead among Democratic primary voters.
Bush has been vocally critical of Israel in the months following the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 slaughter of more than 1,200 people throughout southern Israel. The congresswoman called for an “immediate ceasefire” only nine days following the atrocities of Oct. 7, dismissing Israel’s military response to terrorism as “retaliatory violence.”
In late October, Bush penned an op-ed for the left-wing publication Jacobin accusing Israel of exacting “collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza” and categorized the Jewish state’s defensive military operations as a “war crime.” In December, Bush accused Israel of deliberately “targeting civilians” and committing a so-called “genocide” in Gaza. Bush has also repeatedly denigrated Israel as an “apartheid state.”
In contrast, Bell has declared his support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas’ terrorism.
“We want to see a peaceful resolution. I want to be part of the coalition that brings a peaceful resolution to that region,” Bell said, according to St. Louis Public Radio. “But it is a tough situation. But in the meantime, we do have to stand by our allies.”
The poll came on the heels of the resounding Democratic primary defeat of US Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) last month to George Latimer, a moderate, pro-Israel candidate. Bowman repeatedly lambasted Israel and its war effort against Hamas in Gaza throughout his campaign, earning widespread criticism among Jewish and centrist voters in the primary.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, has announced that it will throw its weight behind Bell, further compounding problems for the progressive firebrand’s struggling campaign. AIPAC, which played an integral role in helping secure Bowman’s defeat by spending a record-shattering $14.5 million in the New York Democratic primary, has called on its supporters to help oust Bush.
“On Tuesday night, the pro-Israel community helped ensure anti-Israel Rep. Jamaal Bowman won’t be returning to Congress next year,” AIPAC texted its supporters following Bowman’s June defeat. “With your support, we can also help defeat Rep. Cori Bush, another member of the anti-Israel Squad.”
The post Anti-Israel ‘Squad’ at Risk of Another Big Election Loss as Poll Finds Cori Bush Trailing Opponent by 23 Points first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.