Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) has been a vocal member of Congress since being elected in 2020, but his comments on Israel could land him a primary challenger.
Justin Brasch, Democratic president of the White Plains Common Council, told Jewish Insider that the Jewish community in Bowman’s district, which includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, is “furious” after the “long and recent chain of events.”
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“The Jewish community is furious, and it comes from a long and recent chain of events,” Brasch said. “People text, email, and call me every single day, expressing frustration with congressman Bowman.”
Bowman recently defended Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) after she called Israel a “racist state,” a comment that was condemned by various people in both political parties, with some decrying it as antisemitic. Jayapal later apologized for her comments and voted in favor of a resolution that supported Israel.
Only nine members of the House of Representatives voted against the resolution supporting Israel, with Bowman being one of them. After Jayapal’s comment caused an uproar, but prior to the vote, Bowman questioned how he could be antisemitic as a “black man in America” while defending critique of Israel as not being antisemitic.
“Being critical of Israel is not anti-Israel, is definitely not antisemitic. I’m a black man in America — how the hell can I be antisemitic toward anybody else? I know what it is to suffer and be oppressed and be threatened and killed because of who you are,” Bowman told NBC News.
Bowman also declined to attend Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s joint address to Congress on Wednesday.
A prominent Democratic leader in Bowman’s district told Jewish Insider there has been interest in finding a primary opponent for Bowman in 2024.
“The recent vote and joint session issues have spiked interest in finding an opponent. There’s been a lot of consternation and disappointment,” the anonymous Democratic leader said.
Bowman won his district in 2020 after defeating incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel, 55.4%-40.6%, in the Democratic primary and cruising to victory in the general election. He was reelected with little challenge in the primary of general elections in 2022.
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New York’s 16th Congressional District has a partisan voting index of Democratic +20, per the Cook Political Report, and the district is rated as “solid Democrat.”
Another member of the “Squad” in Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), had to fight off a difficult challenge in the Democratic primary in 2022. She defeated fellow Democrat Don Samuels, 50.3%-48.2%, in the primary in last year’s elections.
