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Jamaal Bowman Faces Long Odds in NY Democratic Primary Where His Anti-Israel Stance Has Taken Center Stage
US Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks during the National Action Network National Convention in New York City, US, April 7, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a progressive lawmaker and prominent critic of Israel, is facing an uphill battle to secure a victory in his Democratic primary race on Tuesday.
Bowman, the representative of New York’s 16th Congressional District, will attempt to defend his congressional seat against Westchester County executive Mark Latimer. The progressive firebrand has drawn the ire of pro-Israel Democrats in recent months after issuing a series of harsh condemnations against the Jewish state and Zionists writ large.
In the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, Bowman has accused the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and enacting an “apartheid” regime in the West Bank. Bowman infamously dismissed the widely reported and corroborated allegations of Hamas terrorists raping Israeli women during the Oct. 7 onslaught as “propaganda” before being forced to walk back his remarks. The congressman has also voted against sending Israel much-needed military aid and, at a recent debate, asserted that the US government should “stop all funding” to Israel — including Iron Dome, an air defense system that saves Israeli lives from rockets and missiles launched by neighboring terrorist groups.
In a heated primary that has been largely defined by the two candidates’ position on Israel, Bowman finds himself as an underdog. Latimer, a self-described progressive who has positioned himself as a staunch ally of the Jewish state, is expected to cruise to an easy victory.
A June Emerson College poll shows Bowman trailing Latimer by 17 percentage points, 48 percent to 31 percent. The poll also revealed that NY-16 voters align with Latimer’s position on Israel more than Bowman’s by a margin of 45 percent to 29 percent.
Bowman’s repeated excoriations of Israel made him an exceptionally vulnerable candidate in the leafy suburbs of Westchester County, an affluent enclave dominated by moderate Democrats. Former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) opted to endorse Latimer over Bowman, citing Latimer’s support for Israel as a major reason.
“Jewish residents in my district who feel anxiety, fear, and anger due to Representative Bowman’s words and actions in particular and an overall climate in this country,” Jones said.
Furthermore, Bowman’s support also cratered among progressive Jewish voters. J-Street, a liberal Zionist advocacy group, ultimately walked back its endorsement of Bowman, citing “significant differences” on their positions on Israel.
“I was always having to be his defender,” said Danielle Tagger-Epstein, chair of the Rye City Democratic Committee. “And I could no longer defend his behavior.”
Additionally, Bowman’s vilification of the Jewish state led the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a bipartisan advocacy group that works to strengthen US-Israel ties, to insert itself into the NY-16 primary competition. AIPAC has poured a staggering $14.5 million into the race in an attempt to dislodge Bowman, making it the most expensive House primary contest of all time. In response, Bowman has spent the past few months attacking AIPAC, accusing the organization of being aligned with “racist” Republicans and specifically trying to remove “black and brown” members of Congress.
“We’re gonna show f—king AIPAC the motherf—king power of the South Bronx,” Bowman said at a campaign rally over the weekend.
“This race offers an unambiguous choice. George Latimer is a progressive, pro-Israel candidate while Jamaal Bowman has refused to support the Jewish state as it fights a moral and just war against Iranian terrorist proxies,” AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said of the primary contest.
Some consider Tuesday’s primary a test of whether anti-Israel positions are still a liability with Democratic voters. Progressives fear that a Latimer victory could embolden moderate forces to pull the party back to the center on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In recent months, high-profile Democratic lawmakers have called on Israel to implement a “ceasefire” and abandon its mission to dismantle the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.
“If Bowman wins, it might be interpreted by some as an indicator of where the Democratic Party broadly is headed on support for Israel — which is away from it,” said Daniel DiSalvo, a political scientist at City College of New York, according to Vox. “If Latimer wins, it might be interpreted as the other way, which is that there is still stronger support for Israel inside the Democratic Party.”
The post Jamaal Bowman Faces Long Odds in NY Democratic Primary Where His Anti-Israel Stance Has Taken Center Stage first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Harris, Trump Are in Tight Race in Michigan and Wisconsin, NYT/Siena College Opinion Poll Shows
Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris waves from the stage on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, Aug. 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Wurm
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump are in a tight race in the key states of Michigan and Wisconsin, according to an opinion poll by the New York Times and Siena College released on Saturday.
The NYT/Siena College poll found that Harris received 48% support among likely voters in Michigan with Trump garnering 47%, while in Wisconsin Harris holds 49% support to Trump’s 47%.
The surveys were conducted by telephone between Sept. 21 to 26, where interviewers spoke with 688 likely voters in Michigan and 680 likely voters in Wisconsin.
The margin for sampling error among likely voters is about plus or minus four percentage points for each poll.
The polls also found that Harris had a lead of nine percentage points over Trump in Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, whose lone electoral vote could be decisive in the Electoral College.
The post Harris, Trump Are in Tight Race in Michigan and Wisconsin, NYT/Siena College Opinion Poll Shows first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Regional Politicians, Others React to Killing of Hezbollah’s Nasrallah
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, April 22, 2024. Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/Pool via REUTERS
The following are reactions by regional politicians and others to the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday:
IRAN’S FOREIGN MINISTRY
The ministry said in a statement that Nasrallah’s “path will continue and his goal will be realized in Jerusalem’s liberation”.
YEMEN’S IRAN-ALIGNED HOUTHIS
The group said it mourned the killing of Nasrallah, adding: “The martyrdom … will increase the strength of sacrifice … determination and continuity.”
MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI, IRAQ’S PRIME MINISTER
He said the killing of Nasrallah showed “the reckless desire to expand the conflict at the expense of all the peoples of the region and their security and stability.”
HERZI HALEVI, ISRAEL’S CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF
“Nasrallah indiscriminately murdered Israeli civilians and aimed to end this war with the destruction of the State of Israel. We made sure that did not occur. We eliminated him, and we will continue to grow stronger. Hezbollah has murdered innocent people worldwide, hiding his weapons under the homes of families, women and children and turning them into human shields. As we have shown, we will not allow such a threat to our citizens. We are determined to continue destroying the Hezbollah terrorist organization and to keep fighting.”
MOQTADA EL SADR, IRAQI SHI’ITE MUSLIM POLITICIAN
He said he mourned Nasrallah as “his companion in resistance”.
GEBRAN BASSIL, LEADING LEBANESE CHRISTIAN POLITICIAN
He said he mourned the death of Nasrallah as a major loss and said it was a hard time for all Lebanese, adding: “In the face of the Israeli enemy, we have no choice but to be together as Lebanese.”
MICHEL AOUN, FORMER LEBANESE PRESIDENT
In a statement mourning Nasrallah, he referred to “the dangers our country is witnessing as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression which requires rising to the highest level of national solidarity that protects and fortifies our unity because that is the true salvation”.
SAAD AL-HARIRI, FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER
“The assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has plunged Lebanon and the region into a new phase of violence. It is a cowardly act condemned in its entirety by us, who paid dearly for the lives of our loved ones when assassination became an alternative to politics. May God have mercy on Sayyed Hassan and my sincere condolences to his family and comrades. We often disagreed with the deceased and his party and met a few times, but Lebanon was everyone’s tent. In this extremely difficult phase, our unity and solidarity remain the foundation.”
TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN
In a post on X after the killing of Nasrallah but which did not name him, Erdogan said he condemned recent attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called an Israeli policy of “genocide, occupation, and invasion” and said the Muslim world should show a more “determined” stance.
The post Regional Politicians, Others React to Killing of Hezbollah’s Nasrallah first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran’s Khamenei: ‘Zionist Criminals Too Weak to Succeed Again the Resistance’
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 2, 2022. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Responding on Saturday to the assassination by Israel of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has delivered familiar staples of Islamist rhetoric.
“The killing of defenseless civilians in Lebanon,” he said, “has once again revealed the savage nature of the rabid Zionists to everyone. On the other hand, it has proven how shortsighted and insane the policies of the leaders of the occupying regime are.”
The cleric inveighed against “the terrorist gang ruling the Zionist regime” that “hasn’t learned from its yearlong criminal war in Gaza & doesn’t understand the massacre of women, children and civilians cannot hurt the strong structure of Resistance or bring it to its knees. Now they’re testing the same absurd policy in Lebanon.”
“The Zionist criminals need to know that they are far too weak to be able to inflict any significant damage on the solid structure of Lebanon’s Hezbollah. All the Resistance forces in the region stand with and support Hezbollah. The Resistance forces will determine the fate of this region with the honorable Hezbollah leading the way.”
The post Iran’s Khamenei: ‘Zionist Criminals Too Weak to Succeed Again the Resistance’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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