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Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman Shred AIPAC in First Episode of New Show on Anti-Israel Network

Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman and Rashida Tlaib (Source: Reuters)

Then-US Democratic Reps. Cori Bush (left), Jamaal Bowman (right), and Rashida Tlaib (center). Photo: Reuters

Former US Democratic Reps. Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, both of whom lost their reelection campaigns during the 2024 election cycle, ripped into the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) during the premiere of their new show last week, arguing that the prominent lobbying group exerts undue influence over the US Congress. 

During the first episode of “Bowman and Bush,” a new show on the controversial Zeteo network, the duo launched a roughly 23-minute tirade against AIPAC, arguing that the organization unfairly targeted them for showing “love” to the Palestinian people. 

Bush claimed that during her initial run for Congress in 2020 she was “introduced” to a representative of AIPAC, who allegedly encouraged her against advocating in favor of so-called “Palestinian liberation.” She claimed that after rejecting guidance from AIPAC, the organization smeared her as “antisemitic” and distributed flyers to voters that “darkened” her skin color. Following her eventual 2020 congressional victory, Bush alleged that AIPAC warned her to stay “silent” on the issue of Israel. The progressive firebrand claimed that AIPAC attempted to sway her position on Israel by offering her money and “propaganda trips” to the Jewish state. 

Bush rejected accusations of antisemitism, pointing out that she collaborated on statements and policy proposals with organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow during her tenure in Congress. 

Recent polling has shown that Jews across the US overwhelmingly oppose the views and tactics of JVP and other anti-Zionist organizations that oppose Israel and, according to mainstream Jewish leaders, push an extremist agenda.

Bowman alleged that AIPAC lobbied against the “Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act,” which he claimed would have prevented Israel from using US funds for the purpose of “detaining Palestinian children in the West Bank.” The lawmaker said that his decision to co-sponsor the bill triggered an avalanche of angry protests and phone calls to his office, preventing him from doing his job effectively. 

Bowman added that “anytime a piece of legislation came up as it related to Israel, it was also a piece of legislation that was undermining the humanity of Palestinians.” The former congressman lamented that his votes against Israel were supposedly “weaponized as antisemitism” by supporters of the Jewish state. Other members of Congress voted in favor of pro-Israel legislation which “dehumanized” Palestinians to prevent angering AIPAC, Bowman argued. 

“Every week, it was like we were voting on something AIPAC wanted us to vote on,” Bowman lamented.

Bush and Bowman both blamed AIPAC for their recent primary losses, arguing that the organization weaponized their funding to spread “lies” and “misinformation” about them to their constituents. Bush claimed that AIPAC flooded her district with a “hard and fast” barrage of negative television and print advertisements to secure her defeat. Bowman stated that AIPAC is part of the “corruption” crisis in Congress. 

Following Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, both Bush and Bowman issued intense criticism of the Jewish state’s defensive military efforts in Gaza.

The progressive former lawmakers called for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group less than a month removed from the Oct. 7 massacre. They each falsely accused Israel of engaging in an array of war crimes in Gaza, including “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing,” and imposing a “famine.” The duo also dismissed Israel’s counterterrorism initiatives in the West Bank as “apartheid.”

Bowman specifically declared the mass rapes of Israeli women on Oct. 7 a “hoax,” before walking back his comments following widespread backlash. He has accused Israel of advancing “white nationalism” and “settler colonialism” and also suggested he may no longer support Israel’s unequivocal right to exist or defend itself. 

Bush ultimately lost her reelection campaign to St. Louis attorney Wesley Bell in August while making her opposition to Israel a key talking point of the race. Bowman came up short against Westchester County executive George Latimer. 

Zeteo, the network on which “Bowman & Bush” is set to air, has positioned itself as a major source of anti-Israel content creation. Mehdi Hasan, the network’s founder and main host, has declared the ongoing war in Gaza a “genocide” and repeatedly pressured US lawmakers to implement an arms embargo against the Jewish state. Hosts on Zeteo have also downplayed Hamas’s attacks against Israel, oftentimes referring to the terrorist group as a “resistance.”

Moreover, Zeteo’s high production value and elaborate sets have raised questions surrounding its funding sources, with critics alleging it has received money from Qatar. In response, Hasan has denied receiving “any money from foreign governments or foreign citizens,” adding that “every investor in Z is an American citizen [who] has nothing to do with Qatar.”

The post Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman Shred AIPAC in First Episode of New Show on Anti-Israel Network first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

i24 NewsThe Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.

According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.

In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.

The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.

Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.

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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen

The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.

IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.

Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.

Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.

Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.

Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.

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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

i24 NewsBlue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.

Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.

Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.

“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”

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