{"id":1500002,"date":"2024-02-14T19:14:19","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T19:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/?p=461181"},"modified":"2024-02-14T19:14:19","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T19:14:19","slug":"primary-challenger-bankrolled-by-aipac-says-bowman-takes-money-from-hamas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/02\/14\/primary-challenger-bankrolled-by-aipac-says-bowman-takes-money-from-hamas\/","title":{"rendered":"Primary Challenger Bankrolled by AIPAC Says Bowman Takes Money From Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At a Black<\/u> History Month event in New Rochelle over the weekend, George Latimer said Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., whom he is challenging in a Democratic primary, was taking money from the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terror organization. On Tuesday, Bowman\u2019s campaign threatened to sue<\/a> Latimer for defamation over the remarks and demanded he retract them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latimer\u2019s comments came when a constituent, who requested anonymity for personal safety, approached the Democratic challenger with two questions: Why was he running, and why was he taking money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee? AIPAC had recruited him to run for the congressional seat and, as The Intercept previously reported<\/a>, is Latimer\u2019s largest campaign funder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

When the constituent said Latimer was \u201ctaking money from the devil,\u201d Latimer responded that Bowman was too \u2014 that the incumbent was \u201ctaking money from Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incendiary charge came in a Democratic primary where AIPAC is playing an outsized role in trying to oust a progressive member of the Squad. The flagship Israel lobby\u2019s quest to unseat Democratic incumbents and replace them with centrist and moderate candidates who vigorously support Israel has become the most prominent theme of the 2024 primary season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s outright disturbing and dangerous that he has doubled down on his Islamophobic comments,\u201d Bowman said in a statement to The Intercept. \u201cHe should apologize to a community he continues to vilify and endanger, not double down on hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latimer had offered his broadside against Bowman with little proof. Challenged on the comment, which was first reported by the website Black Westchester<\/a>, the constituent asked Latimer to offer proof and Latimer took their email. AJ Woodson, who runs Black Westchester and wrote the article, confirmed the constituent\u2019s account of the remarks, which Woodson witnessed from several feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Latimer later sent the constituent a link to an article<\/a> from the right-wing news website Washington Free Beacon with the headline \u201cThey Endorsed Hamas Terrorism. Then They Hosted a Big-Ticker Fundraiser for Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush.\u201d While the article points to controversial remarks made about the October 7 Hamas attack by groups with ties to the campaign donors \u2014 one organization, for instance, said acts of resistance should not be condemned \u2014 it does not allege that any of the fundraiser\u2019s participants are linked to Hamas in any way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked by the press about his allegation, Latimer did not deny the remarks and again sought to tie Bowman to Hamas. \u201cLet me set the record straight \u2013 my opponent takes money from those who endorse Hamas’ terrorism, those who try to justify the murdering of children, the kidnapping of civilian hostages, and the raping of women as acts of \u2018resistance,\u2019\u201d Latimer said in statement to City & State<\/a>. (Latimer did not respond to The Intercept\u2019s request for comment.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republicans for Latimer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Latimer\u2019s comments were part of a strategy by his campaign and AIPAC to stoke fear about Bowman among Westchester\u2019s Jewish residents, said the constituent who confronted the candidate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of like the northeast version of the southern strategy.\u201d<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of like the northeast version of the southern strategy,\u201d they said. \u201cNow the Latimer strategy, or more like the AIPAC strategy, is to link progressives who may want a ceasefire and that recognize what\u2019s in Gaza is terrible, to link them in a racist way to Hamas, when that is not what they\u2019re engaged in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woodson, the Black Westchester writer, was a vendor at the New Rochelle event and said he also spoke to Latimer about frustration that his campaign was courting Republican voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AIPAC endorsed Latimer\u2019s campaign just days after he held a fundraiser hosted by a Republican donor who supported former President Donald Trump. An AIPAC donor has also encouraged Jewish Republicans to switch parties<\/a> to vote in the primary against Bowman.<\/p>\n\n\n