My first interaction with Jamaal Bowman was in 2021. I was advocating for a full reopening of schools that had been closed early in the pandemic. A year later, while many schools were still closed or operating on dysfunctional hybrid schedules, I could no longer ignore the harmful impacts that remote “learning” was having on the most vulnerable children in our community. Many other countries and states had already reopened schools or had never closed them, and as an essential worker, I was well aware that the risk of COVID-19 to children was minimal. I joined a group of parents desperate to get their vulnerable children back to school.
We reached out to Congressman Jamaal Bowman multiple times, but he was never receptive. When he responded to our questions, he was on the flippant side, like many other progressives. I remember him occasionally responding to us on Twitter, saying he would rather suffer from not being able to go to school than have kids die and teachers get sick.
Of course this is true, and I know Senator Bowman himself has been affected by the pandemic, but it was remarkable how he downplayed our concerns as parents, and continued to follow the school closure policy even after teachers were prioritized for vaccinations.
From then on, until the 7th of October, I thought little of him. His attitude changed from a casual disregard for parental concerns to something more sinister, and I could no longer harbor any suspicions towards him.
Just a month after Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel, its militants mass-murdering, mass-raping, and burning alive entire families, men, women, children, and families, Bowman was already accusing Israel of propaganda, a term he used to refer to the well-documented rapes of Israeli women. (After his approval ratings in the polls began to fall, Bowman apologized for calling Hamas' rapes “propaganda.”)
Rep. Jamaal Bowman speaks at a campaign rally in the Bronx on June 22, 2024. On Monday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a colleague of Bowman's, endorsed Westchester County Mayor George Latimer, who is Bowman's primary opponent. Rep. Jamaal Bowman speaks at a campaign rally in the Bronx on June 22, 2024. On Monday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a colleague of Bowman's, endorsed Westchester County Mayor George Latimer, who is Bowman's primary opponent. Steven Ferdman/GC Images
Jews in his district and across the country began to notice that he was repeatedly repeating the talking points of the Hamas-led “Gaza Ministry of Health” while denying or ignoring the trauma Israelis experienced that day. He called for a unilateral ceasefire, barely mentioned the hundreds of hostages still held by Hamas, and ignored the growing anti-Semitism in his district and across the country.
After George Latimer, a Democratic politician with deep roots in Westchester County, ran against Bowman, Bowman focused exclusively on AIPAC and its funding of his primary opponents, seemingly unaware that AIPAC might be spending millions of dollars to try to take him down because of his flagrant anti-Semitism.
And it's anti-Semitism. According to Politico, he accused Jews of living in “segregated” communities, citing racism in the South. “There are places where Jews live and are concentrated,” Bowman said. “Scarsdale, parts of White Plains, parts of New Rochelle, Riverdale. I'm sure they decided to do that for their own reasons… But that's why I've always maintained in terms of fighting anti-Semitism: We've been segregated, discriminated against and miseducated for so long. We need to live together, play together, go to school together, learn together, work together.”
Apparently living in a community where Jews can pray and educate their children is too much for Jamaal Bowman and justifies anti-Semitism!
This comment made it clear that his obsession with Israel is not limited to Israel's war on Gaza. While our district deals with many issues including homelessness, drug abuse, borders, education, housing, and health care, Bowman is especially obsessed with the only Jewish state in the world and the Jews who live in that state.
Last Saturday, Bowman rallied with progressive stars Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, and seemed focused on blasting AIPAC. Does Rep. Bowman really think his supporters care that much about the pro-Israel lobby? Of course, we should be discussing super PAC contributions, but should we be focusing on this issue? He even lost the support of J Street, which is ideologically far removed from AIPAC.
Why won't Bowman talk about his performance in his first two terms or what he wants to do next?
It's creepy that Bowman thinks doubling down on “Jews” will boost his abysmal poll numbers (he may be looking beyond this election, perhaps to the work of UNRWA).
Jews around the world are traumatized not only by what happened on October 7th, but also by the reaction that occurred in much of the world in its immediate aftermath: the celebrations, the calls for a ceasefire even before Israel retaliated, and the constant gaslighting of what anti-Semitism is. Hint: we will not tolerate people graffitiing our businesses, harassing and assaulting our college students, desecrating our synagogues, or threatening us with calls to resist “by any means necessary.”
Many of us also want this war to end, but to speculate about American Jews (we're all living together, as Bowman suggests) or to blame them for the actions of foreign governments is something that any other group would find anathema.
Bowman may claim he is not anti-Semitic, but his sole focus on Israel in a diverse district with so many issues is telling.
Here's the truth: By demonizing AIPAC, Senator Bowman is freeing himself from having to talk about his few accomplishments during his time in office.
I've always voted Democratic. I was born and raised in New York City and have always loved the diversity of this city. I remember attending college in upstate New York and quickly noticing the lack of diversity, which felt very strange and inauthentic. Although I have family in Israel, we are not religious and are left-to-center politically. But the past nine months have forced Jews like me to think more deeply about our identity and seek solidarity within our community in ways I haven't before.
There are now Jewish college groups that parents join to know where it is safe to send their children. Synagogues have become scenes of violence in the name of Gaza. Many Jews say that in X, there is a new Charlottesville every day.
Bowman ignores it all, complaining that he is the victim of dark money. He calls Israel a “Zionist state.” But even without Israel's involvement, shouldn't this U.S. congressman be interested in protecting his own constituents from anti-Semitism?
No, because he can't help but yell about Jewish money all day long.
For these reasons, I will proudly vote for George Latimer and encourage my neighbors to do the same.
Ilana Horowitz is a social worker in New York City.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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