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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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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.

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