The Media Played Right Along with Jamaal Bowman’s Antisemitism

It’s hard pretending you aren’t antisemitic — and it’s even harder when you try to blame American supporters of the Jewish State for meddling in US elections.

Arrogantly accusing Jewish Americans of corruption for exercising their constitutional right to vote and petition government reeks of antisemitism. Naturally, it’s the exact thing that you would expect a member of Congress representing one of the most Jewish Congressional districts in the country to avoid.

But far-left “Squad” member Jamaal Bowman (D) is unashamed, as he made this narrative part of his re-election bid for NY-16. (He lost the primary election on Tuesday).

From Ilhan Omar (D-MN), to Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), to Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and on, many of his left-wing colleagues have been furthering this narrative all over their X accounts.

People everywhere need to understand how disgusting and abnormal it is for special interests to dump nearly $15 million to unseat a member of Congress in a primary.

This is corruption. It is a core threat to American democracy. It also fuels Trump.

Support Jamaal Bowman. https://t.co/HAWJjKICr7

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 16, 2024

And the mainstream media is playing along.

Media Claims “Israel” Is Top Reason for Progressive Pummeling

The media is largely backing up the far-left’s narrative, covering this election as if the central issue is Israel.

According to polling done by Emerson College, Americans prioritize domestic policies such as the economy and housing affordability by far. Policy on Israel does not even rank in the top six.

This attempt to single out Zionist Americans (both Jewish and non-Jewish) who believe that a strong US-Israel bond is in the US’ best interest, is antisemitic.

The Anti-Defamation League says antisemitism “sometimes targets Jews not as individuals but as a collective — whether that’s Jewish organizations, movements like Zionism or the Jewish State of Israel.”

One example is The Guardian’s “Pro-Israel US groups plan $100m effort to unseat progressives over Gaza”, which claims that Israel is a top issue in the primaries, and supports placing blame on pro-Israel groups’ funding:

Progressive leaders have made clear that they will not go down without a fierce fight, and outrage over the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, has rallied supporters to push back against pro-Israel lobbying groups. The unexpected strength of the “uncommitted” primary campaign in states such as Michigan and Minnesota has underscored that Gaza is weighing heavily on the minds of progressive voters this election cycle, and their mobilization could complicate campaign efforts by groups like Aipac.

The Washington Post reported that despite the heavy media emphasis on Michigan and Minnesota, uncommitted votes in 2024 were “proportionally” less than in 2012.

The media have covered these progressive claims as though they are gospel, with no regard for factual evidence. The agenda was set and they’ve just been playing along. That’s not responsible journalism.

Politico’s “Jamaal Bowman’s challenger is the Cher of suburban New York” has also described county executive George Latimer (D)’s policies on Israel and his financial backers as advantageous over the incumbent Bowman.

The bitter Democratic primary between Bowman and Latimer — one of the country’s most competitive this cycle — will test the influence of a movement politician pushing ultra-progressive national policies against a longtime local leader leveraging both his AIPAC support and his considerable community connections.

Two Democrats are pitted against each other in a narrative only one of them asked for. It’s obvious why.

There’s More to It Than the “Benjamins”

While donations and ads are a big part of any election, they are not the end-all-be-all. Another indicator is whether a candidate has good policies that voters align with.

The economy, crime, and immigration are the top three major policies that voters are paying attention to, according to Emerson. One of Bowman’s campaign promises is to lower crime, but since he’s been in office, voters may know what to expect from him.

The poll recorded that 55% of the voters believe crime has not improved in the last year, and 28% say crime has increased. Only 17% of voters say crime has gone down.

The majority (64%) of district voters also favor President Joe Biden’s executive order for border control at the US-Mexico border, whereas Bowman is vehemently against it. The number of voters who align with him is only 23%, according to Emerson reports.

Voters in Bowman’s districts seem to be fed up, and it could be because he isn’t focusing on the issues that matter. Instead, he, along with the media, led a smear campaign about Israel policies and “big money,” while millennials can’t afford to own anything. He promised to take care of his district, but the results don’t seem to have been fruitful enough in his last term.

Not only is Bowman vehemently anti-Israel, but he also seems to be denying his antisemitism. From his request for a past picture with a rabbi to prove he “is friends with Jewish people” being rejected, to making the claim that Jewish people purposely live in “segregated communities,” his views have become clear to his constituents (or his former constituents, after Tuesday’s election).

So it’s safe to assume that pro-Israel and Republican “big money” wasn’t the determining factor on June 25, at least not in this New York district. Just the candidates’ policies … which include a touch of internalized antisemitism. This begs the question: why distort Israel into a central narrative, when it isn’t? Leave the Jews alone, and just focus on the economy.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.