Jamaal Bowman criticizes AIPAC for ‘Republican racist MAGA Trump money’ in last debate

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) bashed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in his final debate against challenger George Latimer, denouncing their support for his opponent as “Republican racist MAGA Trump money.”

Bowman’s race has been defined by the intervention of AIPAC, who turned on him following his change of position on Israel during the war in Gaza, from which he has emerged as one of the congressmen most critical of Israel. According to Punchbowl, AIPAC has devoted $14 million to the race, bashing Bowman and boosting Latimer. In their final debate, the incumbent continued his theme of bashing the donations as right-wing dark money.

In his closing statement, Bowman said that AIPAC is “spending more money in this primary than any PAC has ever spent in U.S. history. Why? Because I’m an outspoken Black man. I fight against genocide in Gaza, and I fight for justice right here.”

At another point, he said that there was an avalanche of “Republican racist MAGA Trump money” attacking him.

Bowman has come under fire since Hamas’s surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, which began the deadliest clash between Israel and Palestinians since Israel’s founding in 1948. Jewish leaders have denounced Bowman’s hesitation to firmly side with Israel, whom he used to support prior to the current conflict. His current stance is in line with that of other progressives, such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

Bowman’s opposition to Israel has grown as the conflict has dragged on. Last week, in a meeting with the Democratic Socialists of America, he said that his views align with theirs and that he would soon announce his support for the boycott, divest, and sanction movement — seen by many Jews as antisemitic. He has denounced the war in Gaza as a genocide and voiced opposition to funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

The impact of the surge of funds was made evident during the TV debate when a single ad break featured three different attack ads against Bowman.

Israel was a prominent topic during the debate, with Bowman responding to a question about whether the United States should fund the Iron Dome, saying no more money should be given to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“This race is really about the many versus the money,” Bowman said. “It’s about the working class people, the people in the district who have felt ignored for a very long time, versus powerful, very wealthy special interests, mostly Republican billionaires, who are trying to buy this seat from the people and bombard the people with advertisements and mailers to paint me as this bad person in Congress.”

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Latimer repeatedly called the incumbent a liar, and accused him of hiding behind progressive rhetoric rather than delivering for the people of the district.

Bowman is set to be the first incumbent Democrat to lose his primary, with a June poll from PIX showing him trailing Latimer by 17 points.