AIPAC’s Destructive Reach in American Politics: How it made an Example of Rep. Jamal Bowman
H. Scott Prosterman 06/29/2024
Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Rep. Jamal Bowman’s loss to George Latimer for the 16th District of New York in the Democratic primary illustrates the destructive reach of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Israel wading into American electoral politics. Their agenda is driven by a single issue, about which they are willfully ignorant and misinformed. Contrary to the allegation in the Bowman-Latimer campaign, it is not anti-Semitic to speak out and object to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (“Bibi”) Netanyahu’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. Rather, it is an invocation of deeply Jewish values to do so. But things are inverted now in today’s American rabbit hole, for Jewish Republicans in particular. Likewise, turning to Democrats, it is not an “attack on Biden” to object to his timid reluctance to be more forceful with Bibi about upholding terms of the US aid, as her opponents have argued in the AIPAC-driven effort to oust Rep. Cori Bush of St. Louis, and Bowman. AIPAC has set aside $100M to unseat people they don’t like.
Republicans are spending millions of dollars to unseat progressive officials at all levels of government. It is true that sometimes Democrats have crossed the aisle, while Democrats registering as Republicans in local primaries so they can vote out a Christian Nationalist. Going to the polls to cast a vote in one’s district, however, is not the same as spending millions to manipulate a race in a district in which they don’t live. AIPAC’s manipulative presence is US politics is more wantonly destructive than ever and foreshadows the destruction that will be wrought by Bibi’s forthcoming appearance in Congress.
The difference between “progressive” and ‘centrist’ Democrats is a growing chasm, and AIPAC is one of the forces driving it, using Republican mega-donor funds to intervene in Democratic contests. Bowman said, “Unfortunately some so-called Democrats are aligning themselves with radical, racist Republicans,” which illustrates how Republicans are using Israel as a cudgel to create more conflict. The Guardiannotes they spent $20 million in mailers and ads. That sum is what the entire British election to be held on July 4 has cost. It is probably true that Bowman would have lost anyway, given that his district was redrawn to include more of wealthy Westchester County and his real support was in the Bronx. But AIPAC dumping that much money into a primary made sure that Latimer did not face an upset.
16th District Democrats who voted to oust Bowman ignored the fact that AIPAC has supported over 100 climate deniers and election deniers in Congress, and does all it can to help re-elect Trump. AIPAC is a single-issue organization, with no regard for healthy government in the US. Since Reagan, Republicans have conned a portion of the US electorate into thinking that Republicans are more favorable to Israel than Democrats. Trump injected steroids into that agenda item, to where it’s become a wolf-tree, eclipsing other issues more relevant to American voters, such as preserving American democracy itself. The priority for Democrats should be closing ranks to stop Trump; not punish elected officials for taking a righteous stand on Gaza, however unpopular to some.
Congressmen from both parties need to reconsider Bibi’s July 24 invitation to Congress, considering that some of Israel’s most venerable and respected leaders have encouraged the US to “disinvite Bibi.” Their reasons include: “Inviting Mr. Netanyahu will reward his contempt for U.S. efforts to establish a peace plan . . .” By appointing David Friedman as US Ambassador to Israel, Trump began fulfilling every element of Bibi’s wish-list. Unlike President’s Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Trump did not stand against the Israeli Right’s compulsion for self-destructive myopia. Rather he ceded to every aspect of Bibi’s far right agenda with the phony Abraham Accords, which has had predictably disastrous results.
Bibi fueled Trump’s alliance with the Evangelical movement by declaring him to be a modern day King Cyrus, when he moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in 2018. Evangelical Republicans picked up on that, and really believe the phony “Trump prophecy.” Bibi embraced American Evangelicals as the new cash cow for Israeli tourism and fundraising, to replace the money from American Jews, who no longer support his brand of Zionism.
The Young Turks Video: “AIPAC Bullies Brag About Jamaal Bowman’s Primary Loss”
AIPAC has escalated its campaign to Netanyahu him blameless, and punish American politicians for expressing their conscience over Gaza. New York Timescolumnists Jesse McKinley and Nicholas Fandos observed, “In the end, the left could not compete with the other side’s vast resources, including a torrent of unprecedented spending by a super PAC tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The group attacked the two-term congressman over his criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza but also the vote he and other members of the “Squad” took against Mr. Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure plan.”
AIPAC is targeting progressives all over the country for objecting to genocide. The alienation and disenfranchisement in play was summarized in a letter sent to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries from over a dozen progressive organizations, including Center for Popular Democracy Action, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, New York Communities for Change and New York City Democratic Socialists of America. It noted that United Democracy Project (UDP), an AIPAC Super Pac, was “funded largely by Republican billionaires, to drown out Jamaal Bowman’s message of humanity, dignity, and a thriving future for all.” As a result, they unseated someone Jeffries had personally endorsed, who had earned “a deep well of support among the Black and brown communities in the district,” in favor of “a conservative politician with a history of racist remarks and governance.”
AIPAC’s ruthless agenda in support of Trump put a spin on reality to distort Bowman’s record, and condemned him for using his office to object to Bibi’s genocide in Gaza. One of Bowman’s campaign slogans was, “The Many Can Beat the Money.” LA Progressive publisher Sharon Kyle summarized the loss saying, “In a district that houses more than 725,000 people, less than 100,000 people showed up to vote. AIPAC proved that the money will always beat the many when the many stay home.”