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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Two down. U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman was fired by voters in suburban New York last June, and on Tuesday Rep. Cori Bush of St. Louis joined him in the political unemployment line. Both are members of the “Squad,” a small group of Israel-bashers in the House of Representatives who have held the Democratic Party hostage for the last six years.
“AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down,” Bush responded in defeat.
The same day, a tenant in my apartment building griped that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who lives 10 or 15 miles away in the next county, was rejected as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate in her presidential campaign because he is Jewish. I tried to explain to her that it was more complicated than that. However, antisemitism was a factor in some form.
American Jews fared okay in two conflicts that played out in national politics on Tuesday. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that a second Israel detractor, Cori Bush, was narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary for the St. Louis-area House seat she has held for the last four years. Wesley Bell, a St. Louis County prosecutor, won 51.2 percent of the vote with 96 percent reporting to Bush’s 45.6 percent, as called by the Associated Press. Bell must still compete in the general election, but his district is a Democratic bastion in a heavily Republican state.
Harris’s choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate – instead of Shapiro – is hardly a major loss for American Jews. On the merits, Walz is a far stronger candidate for vice president, and Shapiro is essentially in an early period to audition on the national stage. Those who pressured Harris to reject Shapiro – for his stance on Israel – surely signaled antisemitism, but presumably not from Harris.
It is more significant that voters thinned the Squad’s ranks in the St. Louis and New York primaries. The Squad, formed after the 2018 elections, has grown during the last six years. Their opposition to many of Israel’s actions caught up with Bowman and Bush, who were both elected in 2020, within a range of two months.
Voters evidently sent the pair a message about their extreme criticism of Israel. Moderate to liberal voters in their districts woke up and recognized that Bowman and Bush had gone too far. Other Squad members are less vulnerable if their constituents are either anti-Israel or do not care. All the same, the Bush/Bowman outcomes could reduce the Squad’s influence in the future.
Both districts are Democratic bastions that are densely populated, and Bowman’s district covers much of southern Westchester County and a small sliver of the Bronx.
Groups aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, plunked down $14 million to force Bowman out and $9 million against Bush. AIPAC could have spent less money in New York, and maybe they did not even need to get involved at all. With a large Jewish population, Westchester voters probably did not need daily bombardment of Bowman’s flaws. Strangely enough, economic issues were stressed, so why would AIPAC get involved if the primaries were not about Israel?
Bush voted against a resolution to prohibit members of Hamas and anyone else involved in the Oct. 7 attacks, and told The New York Times, “Would they qualify to me as a terrorist organization? Yes. But do I know that? Absolutely not.”
Huh? Presumably, cutting off heads of victims and burning babies does not confirm Hamas’s status as a terrorist group.
What is problematic is that many Democratic and independent voters are sympathetic to the Palestinians on one level or another. Our worst opponents are those who habitually seek Israel’s destruction or antisemites who exploit the current crisis so as to harm Jews. However, many critics – perhaps the majority – are alarmed by the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza, as part of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of another 240 Israelis.
The Squad’s positioning as members of Congress affords Israel-bashers a sense of legitimacy.
As a caveat, there certainly is room for legitimate criticism of Israel, but Squad members frequently issue accusations against Israel without supplying facts as backup and distort the issues in the conflict.
Citizens upset with Israel could tip the election to former president Donald J. Trump if they vote for a third-party candidate or not at all.
Harris may well have been influenced by pressure based on antisemitism. Republicans are already suggesting that Harris turned down Shapiro because of antisemitism within the party. Antisemites probably played a role, but Republicans are giving them too much credit.
Some Democrats called for Shapiro’s rejection because of his support of Israel’s response in Gaza, but television analysts pointed out that the two other finalists for running mate were not challenged. Their views on Israel are similar, and neither is Jewish. So the analysts concluded that the attack on Shapiro was antisemitic.
Harris could have feared that appointing Shapiro would cost her votes.
We hope that Shapiro’s religious tradition was not the real reason for Harris’s decision.
However, there are more important considerations that would preclude Harris from even thinking about Shapiro’s views on Israel. Think like a job interviewer:
Shapiro has been a governor for nearly two years, Walz has served in the same post for almost six years; JS was an appointed staffer in Congress, TW was an elected member of the House for 12 years; both have extensive experience in state and/or local elected positions; and TW was in the military for 24 years and also a popular social studies teacher.
“You are both fine candidates for this job,” says KH. “However, Tim has had six years of executive experience to compile a successful, consistent record, and Josh is just getting started. I would think an elected congressman has a more direct line into Congress than one who was an appointed staff member. Josh, I suggest that you get elected to a second term as governor before you run for president or VP.
“I concede that there are other considerations,” KH adds. “Your critics, Josh, could cause trouble and deny me the White House, which means I cannot help either Pennsylvania or Minnesota. And by chance Tim could help me win an electoral vote in Nebraska where he was brought up.“
Can anyone blame her for thinking that way?
So Josh, I can attest that our fellow Pennsylvanians have plenty of work waiting for you. Cori, maybe Justice for Palestine will hire you. You would fit right in.
