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Bowman and Bush’s Demonization of Israel Moves from Congress to the Screen
Then-US Reps. Cori Bush (left), Jamaal Bowman (right), and Rashida Tlaib (center). Photo: Reuters
The political landscape was dealt a positive development last year when two anti-Israel House Democrats — Jamaal Bowman (NY) and Cori Bush (MO) — were defeated in their respective Congressional primaries.
While America and the 119th Congress are better off without these two agitators using their political perch to smear and slander the Jewish State, pro-Israel Americans should temper reveling in Bowman and Bush’s ouster.
The two former lawmakers have now taken their demonization of Israel and splashed it over their new show — Bowman and Bush — which will be featured once a month on the Zeteo network’s YouTube channel.
Zeteo was launched in April 2024 by Mehdi Hasan, the former MSNBC host and UK-born journalist whose slew of public diatribes targeting Israel, which included falsely accusing Israel of bombing a Gaza hospital, was a step too far, even for MSNBC.
While claiming on its website to be a space for “independent and unfiltered journalism,” the interviews, podcasts, and columns featured on the network confirm that the only thing unfiltered about Zeteo is its raw, unapologetic hostility towards Israel.
That Bowman and Bush would find a home at Hasan’s outlet reflects a new and damaging avenue through which these two individuals, who harbor dangerous beliefs, are able to shape the public discourse surrounding American support for the Jewish State.
During their tenure in Congress, Bush and Bowman’s verbal assaults and unhinged rants targeting Israel intensified, culminating in Bowman’s remarks in November 2023, when, speaking at an anti-Israel protest, he said that the October 7 rape of Israeli women and beheading of babies by Hamas was based on “lies” and “propaganda.”
For her part, the former Missouri Congresswoman has backed ending US support for Israel while accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing” during its war against genocidal Hamas terrorists. Bush’s revenge-fueled concession speech last August served as a portent for future plan, when she promised the pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), that she “was coming to tear your kingdom down.”
The depth of understandable disgust for Bowman and Bush galvanized communities nationwide to engage in the political process. Bowman’s primary race against former Westchester County Executive George Latimer was the most expensive primary House contest in US history. Bush’s race, against past St. Louis Prosecutor Wesley Bell, came in second.
Settling in plush chairs and bantering comfortably about their trendy monochromatic outfits, Bowman and Bush, who titled this month’s inaugural show “Let’s Talk AIPAC,” wasted no time steering into their established zone of promoting antisemitic tropes and masquerading their delegitimization of Israel as fighting for “Palestinian Liberation” and standing for “equality.”
The co-hosts devoted the nearly hourlong talk to positioning themselves as victims of the pro-Israel political community and greedy special interest groups, with Bowman saying he believes that Republican oligarchs fund AIPAC.
The duo likely felt that their tirade aimed at Jewish Americans, who overwhelmingly support Israel, could be buoyed by platforming a Jewish guest. With the program entering its final few minutes, Simone Zimmerman, founder of the radical anti-Zionist group IfNotNow, appeared on the screen.
Playing the role of concerned armchair psychologists and fellow haters of Israel, Bowman and Bush projected an easy familiarity with Zimmerman as they shared in their collective horror over watching “a genocide unfold,“ while casting Zimmerman as a sympathetic figure whose anti-Israel activism led to fissures between her and the traditional Zionist community in which she was raised.
The network aims to appeal to a younger and rising progressive cohort of Americans by straddling trendy and welcoming production space with a provocative and diverse lineup of shows. Hasan, who said he received four million dollars from family and friends to help start Zeteo, is pursuing an untapped medium for American progressives.
Zeteo’s mix of programs, columns, and media figures captures today’s red-green alliance, providing leftist connoisseurs with an amalgam of personalities and reading material from which to sift.
Since its launch, Zeteo’s guests have ranged from the serious, such as Democrat Congressman Dean Phillips (MN), who last year appeared on “Mehdi Unfiltered,” to provocative names like Egyptian-born comedian Bassem Youssef, who sat down with Hasan last month on the network’s “We’re Not Kidding” broadcast.
Unfortunately, the end of Sex and the City hasn’t prevented Cynthia Nixon from still appearing on screen, as the actress-turned-anti-Israel activist has a slot on the network called “Stage Left,” where she helps advance Zeteo’s anti-Jewish drift, and its anti-Israel hatefest.
Zeteo’s running list of writers also reflects a disturbing coalition of ideologues promoting an anti-Western ethos that embodies contemporary progressivism.
Americans should not discount Zeteo’s motives or dismiss the network as a marginal media presence. According to its website, Zeteo has amassed over 600,000 subscribers on its YouTube channel, and is sixth in US political publications on Substack.
Throughout the years, organizations and influencers peddling outlandish and unsavory ideas have been granted footholds in America’s mainstream cultural movement.
Celebrations surrounding Bowman and Bush’s exit from Congress should be met with a dose of humility. No longer confined to following political norms, the end of their Congressional careers does not signal the finale to their years-long anti-Israel and anti-Jewish reel. On the contrary, Bowman and Bush certifies that these two colleagues are still working on their opening scene.
Irit Tratt is an American and pro-Israel advocate residing in New York. Follow her on X @Irit_Tratt.
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Surge of Antisemitic Incidents Rocks France Amid Growing Security Concerns
The Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint last weekend. Photo: Screenshot
France has been hit by a wave of antisemitic incidents in recent days, despite increased security at Jewish sites nationwide following last month’s antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC — prompting urgent calls from the country’s Jewish community for stronger government action amid growing fears of escalating violence.
On Friday, a French rabbi was violently assaulted by three drunken individuals in the town of Deauville, located in the Normandy region of northwestern France.
According to local police, Rabbi Eli Lemel — a prominent figure in French Jewry — was attacked around 3:30 pm by three men who approached him, repeatedly punched him in the stomach, and shouted antisemitic slurs.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the assault, but no arrests have been made so far.
After the incident, Lemel called on the Jewish community to draw spiritual strength amid the increasing hostility that Jews are facing across France.
“I’m deeply moved by the outpouring of support following the attack. Thank God, I’m okay,” the Jewish leader wrote in a post on X. “I was struck and verbally abused in a language I didn’t understand.”
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after climbing a synagogue in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in north-central France, removing an Israeli flag from its façade, and attempting to set it on fire.
According to local media, the suspect — who was already known to authorities for prior offenses — confessed to committing the attack and admitted to being intoxicated at the time.
French police confirmed that the man is being charged with trespassing in a place of worship, theft by climbing, and causing damage to property on religious grounds.
The local Jewish community has voiced deep concern following this incident, viewing it as part of a broader surge in hostility targeting Jewish institutions across France.
Sandrine Dos Santos, the city’s mayor, expressed “[her] solidarity, as well as that of the city, toward the Jewish community directly targeted by these unacceptable antisemitic acts.”
“Faced with the increase in violence, our commitment against discrimination remains unwavering and will not waver. We repeat it loud and clear: no form of racism or rejection of others has a place in Poissy,” the French leader said.
In a separate incident on Saturday, three Serbs were arrested near Antibes in southeastern France, suspected of painting several Jewish community buildings green in Paris — an act currently under investigation as possible foreign interference.
Last weekend, the Paris Holocaust Memorial, three synagogues, and a Jewish restaurant were all vandalized with green paint in an incident denounced by the French government.
On Monday, an elementary school in Lyon, east-central France, was set on fire and defaced with antisemitic and pro-Palestinian slogans, as well as swastikas, marking one of the latest antisemitic incidents to impact France in recent days.
As the school had no direct connections to the Jewish community, local police have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the attack.
French authorities reported that the fire was limited to the outdoor bathrooms, causing no significant damage to the school. They also found antisemitic graffiti and swastikas in three classrooms.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), denounced the attack, saying that “the Palestinian cause is used as justification for burning down a school” and that the “Nazification of Israel serves as fuel for crass antisemitism.”
“When a populist pro-Palestinian narrative is allowed to take hold, it is French Jews who ultimately pay the price,” Arfi wrote in a post on X. “The twisted use of the Palestinian cause is turning into a rallying cry of hatred against both Jews and the Republic itself.”
Voilà où nous en sommes !
La cause palestinienne sert de justification pour incendier une école
Quand on laisse gagner un discours populiste propalestinien, ce sont les Français juifs qui en paient le prix.… https://t.co/dMaQBnbfqi
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) June 1, 2025
Beyond France, other European countries have also experienced a surge in antisemitic incidents in recent weeks.
On Monday, several headstones were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in a suburb of Belgrade, located in north-central Serbia, marking the second such incident in the country in recent weeks.
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
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Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
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