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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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Iran, US Resume Oman-Mediated Nuclear Talks in Rome
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – A new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States kicked off in Rome on Saturday, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will negotiate indirectly through an Omani official who will shuttle messages between the two sides, Iranian officials said, a week after a first round of indirect talks in Muscat that both sides described as “constructive.”
Araqchi and Witkoff interacted briefly at the end of the first round, but officials from the two countries have not held direct negotiations since 2015 under former US President Barack Obama.
Araqchi called on “all parties involved in the talks to seize the opportunity to reach a reasonable and logical nuclear deal.”
Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Meanwhile, Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Trump, who ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six powers during his first term in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran, has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign on the country since returning to the White House in January.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what is necessary for a civilian energy program.
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Reps. Dan Goldman and Chris Smith Issue Statement Condemning Shapiro Arson Attack As ‘Textbook Antisemitism’
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) holds a rally in support of US Vice President Kamala Harris’ Democratic presidential election campaign in Ambler, Pennsylvania, US, July 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Rep. Chris Smith (D-NJ) issued a statement condemning the recent arson attack against Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) as a form of “textbook antisemitism.”
“Governor Shapiro is the Governor of Pennsylvania and has nothing to do with Israel’s foreign policy, yet he was targeted as an American Jew by a radicalized extremist who blames the Governor for Israel’s actions. That is textbook antisemitism,” the statement read.
Shapiro’s residence, the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, was set ablaze on Sunday morning, hours after the governor hosted a gathering to celebrate the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Shapiro said that he, his wife, and his children were awakened by state troopers knocking on their door at 2 am. The governor and his family immediately evacuated the premises and were unscathed.
Goldman and Smith added that the arson attack against Shapiro serves as “a bitter reminder that persecution of Jews continues.” The duo claimed that they “strongly condemn this antisemitic violence” and called on the suspect to “be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Pennsylvania State Police said that the suspect, Cody Balmer set fire to Shapiro’s residence over the alleged ongoing “injustices to the people of Palestine” and Shapiro’s Jewish faith.
According to an arrest warrant, Balmer called 911 prior to the attack and told emergency operators that he “will not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” and demanded that the governor “stop having my friends killed.”
The suspect continued, telling operators, “Our people have been put through too much by that monster.”
Balmer later revealed to police that he planned to beat Shapiro with a sledgehammer if he encountered him after gaining access into his residence, according to authorities.
He was subsequently charged with eight crimes by authorities, including serious felonies such as attempted homicide, terrorism, and arson. The suspect faces potentially 100 years in jail. He has been denied bail.
Shapiro, a practicing Jew, has positioned himself as a staunch supporter of Israel. In the days following Hamas’s brutal slaughter of roughly 1,200 people across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Shapiro issued statements condemning the Palestinian terrorist group and gave a speech at a local synagogue. The governor also ordered the US and Pennsylvania Commonwealth flags to fly at half-mast outside the state capitol to honor the victims.
Shapiro’s strident support of the Jewish state in the wake of Oct. 7 also incensed many pro-Palestinian activists, resulting in the governor being dubbed “Genocide Josh” by far-left demonstrators.
US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) chimed in on the arson attack Thursday, urging the Justice Department to launch a federal investigation, claiming that the incident could be motivated by antisemitism.
Schumer argued that the arson attack targeting Shapiro, who is Jewish, left the Pennsylvania governor’s family in “anguish” and warned that it could serve as an example of “rising antisemitic violence” within the United States. He stressed that a federal investigation and hate crime charges may be necessary to uphold the “fundamental values of religious freedom and public safety.”
Thus far, Shapiro has refused to blame the attack on antisemitism, despite the suspect’s alleged comments repudiating the governor over his support for Israel. The governor has stressed the importance of allowing prosecutors to determine whether the attack constitutes a hate crime.
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US, Iran Set for Second Round of Nuclear Talks as Iranian FM Warns Against ‘Unrealistic Demands’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a deal could be reached during Saturday’s second round of nuclear negotiations in Rome if the United States does not make “unrealistic demands.”
In a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, Araghchi said that Washington showed “partial seriousness” during the first round of nuclear talks in Oman last week.
The Iranian top diplomat traveled to Moscow on Thursday to deliver a letter from Iran’s so-called Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, briefing Russian President Vladimir Putin on the ongoing nuclear talks with the White House.
“Their willingness to enter serious negotiations that address the nuclear issue only, without entering into other issues, can lead us towards constructive negotiations,” Araghchi said during the joint press conference in Moscow on Friday.
“As I have said before, if unreasonable, unrealistic and impractical demands are not made, an agreement is possible,” he continued.
Tehran has previously rejected halting its uranium enrichment program, insisting that the country’s right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable, despite Washington’s threats of military actions, additional sanctions, and tariffs if an agreement is not reached to curb the country’s nuclear activities.
On Tuesday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said that any deal with Iran must require the complete dismantling of its “nuclear enrichment and weaponization program” — reversing his earlier comments, in which he indicated that the White House would allow Tehran to enrich uranium to a 3.67 percent threshold for a “civil nuclear program.”
During the press conference, Araghchi also announced he would attend Saturday’s talks in Rome, explaining that negotiations with the US are being held indirectly due to recent threats and US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran — which aims to cut the country’s crude exports to zero and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“Indirect negotiations are not something weird and an agreement is within reach through this method,” Araghchi said.
He also indicated that Iran expects Russia to play a role in any potential agreement with Washington, noting that the two countries have held frequent and close consultations on Tehran’s nuclear program in the past.
“We hope Russia will play a role in a possible deal,” Araghchi said during the press conference.
As an increasingly close ally of Iran, Moscow could play a crucial role in Tehran’s nuclear negotiations with the West, leveraging its position as a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council and a signatory to a now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal that imposed limits on the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018.
Since then, even though Tehran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon, the UN’s nuclear watchdog – the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – has warned that Iran has “dramatically” accelerated uranium enrichment to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level and enough to build six nuclear bombs.
During the press conference on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that “Russia is ready to facilitate the negotiation process between Iran and the US regarding Tehran’s nuclear program.”
Moscow has previously said that any military strike against Iran would be “illegal and unacceptable.”
Russia’s diplomatic role in the ongoing negotiations could also be important, as the country has recently solidified its growing partnership with the Iranian regime.
On Wednesday, Russia’s upper house of parliament ratified a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Iran, strengthening military ties between the two countries.
Despite Tehran’s claims that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes rather than weapon development, Western states have said there is no “credible civilian justification” for the country’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
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