Rep. Jamaal Bowman loses former colleague’s support over Israel issue

Nearly four years ago, Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman made history together. Young, left-wing Democrats, they won hard-fought primaries in neighboring districts and became the first Black men to represent New York’s Westchester County in Congress.

Now, they find themselves at odds over the Israel-Hamas war, a rift so intense that Mr. Jones vowed on Monday to help defeat Mr. Bowman in the June 25 Democratic primary and to support his opponent, George Latimer.

It was the latest sign of the extent to which the conflict in the Middle East has divided Democratic politics this election year. Mr. Latimer and Mr. Bowman have already spent months arguing over the conflict, and the race has been transformed by $10 million in outside spending by pro-Israel interest groups on Mr. Latimer’s behalf.

Mr. Jones said in an interview that he could not sit silent while Mr. Bowman established himself as a leading critic of Israel, saying his former colleague had spread “pain and anxiety” among Jewish New Yorkers and “destroyed the fabric of our community and our civil rights coalition.”

But Mr. Jones may also be considering his own political self-interest. After losing his House seat in 2022, he is now running to unseat Republican Representative Mike Lawler in a swing district to the north. Creating some distance from Mr. Bowman could help win over Jewish voters as well as other liberal voters.

“As one of the most popular Democrats in the Hudson Valley, it is my privilege to play a decisive role in ending this long, painful nightmare we have been experiencing since October 7,” Mr. Jones said. He plans to formally make his endorsement at an event on Tuesday.

For Mr. Latimer, the long-serving Westchester County executive, Mr. Jones’s endorsement could provide a crucial shield as he seeks to fight off his opponent’s charges of racism in the final weeks of an increasingly bitter contest in a district with large black and Jewish populations.

Mr Jones, who once worked under Mr Latimer, firmly stated: “George Latimer is not a racist.”

Both Mr. Jones, 37, and Mr. Bowman, 48, came into the national spotlight in 2020 amid the pandemic and national protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd. Though they did not endorse each other at the time, both campaigned against longtime incumbents and received endorsements from pillars of the Democratic left such as the Working Families Party and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Mr. Bowman, a former middle school principal, has always been more antagonistic toward his party’s power structure than Mr. Jones, a white-collar lawyer. He accepted an endorsement from the Democratic Socialists of America, and in Washington, he voted against President Biden’s signature infrastructure bill, while Mr. Jones aligned himself with party leadership.

Mr. Jones said he was motivated to get involved in the Bowman-Latimer race because of Israel in particular.

Since the war broke out last year, Mr. Bowman has emerged as one of Israel’s most outspoken critics in Congress. He was one of the first lawmakers to call for a ceasefire after Hamas attacks killed more than 1,200 Israelis. He has accused the nation of carrying out genocide in Gaza and once voiced doubts that Hamas committed sexual violence, calling the claim “propaganda.” (He later said he was wrong.)

“There is no progress in calling for a ceasefire in the days after October 7 before Israel begins to defend itself,” Mr. Jones said. “There is no progress in getting support from DSA, which promoted a pro-Hamas rally in New York City in the days after October 7.”

Mr. Jones said he would let others draw their own conclusions about whether Mr. Bowman’s statements were anti-Semitic. He also indicated he did not object to spending in the race by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and affiliated pro-Israel groups that are also supporting Mr. Latimer.

He added, “If someone is a Republican and agrees with me on this, that is a virtue of being a human being in the American political system.” (AIPAC has endorsed Mr. Jones’ opponent.)

Mr. Bowman has strongly rejected charges of anti-Semitism, saying he is a man for peace, not anti-Israel or anti-Semitic. He has described Hamas’s attack as a war crime, but argues that does not justify Israel’s retaliatory strike, which has killed thousands of Gazans, including many women and children, according to Gaza health officials.

Mr. Jones joins a growing list of current and former public officials who have endorsed Mr. Latimer, 70. They include Eliot L. Engel, a longtime congressman whom Mr. Bowman defeated in 2020; several state legislators; and nearly every local Democratic Party committee in the district.

Mr. Bowman still has the support of some powerful labor unions, left-wing lawmakers such as Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and top members of the House Democratic leadership, who regularly back incumbent lawmakers.

Mr. Latimer, who is white, said he hoped Mr. Jones’s endorsement would help put to rest allegations that he has used racist slurs, as he seeks to present Mr. Bowman as an attention-getter in Congress.

“When African Americans, Latinos and Asians are supporting me, the argument that I ran a racist campaign becomes redundant,” he said in an interview.

A spokesman for Mr Bowman declined to comment.

But the congressman recently called the growing list of political figures behind Mr. Latimer a sign that Westchester’s Democratic establishment is trying to put one of its own back in power.

“I was never his guy,” he said. “To me, what my opponent represents is acquiescence to wealthy, elite corporate interests and special interests, particularly as it relates to AIPAC and Israel.”