Rep. Jamaal Bowman is ‘not concerned’ with AIPAC’s campaign to unseat him and ‘Squad’ members
U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York told theGrio, “I’m not concerned” after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) announced it would invest millions of dollars to unseat him and other congressional Democrats known as “the Squad.”
“I’m still going to continue to speak truth to power and continue to focus on doing the work for the people of my district,” said Bowman.
Last month, AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group, launched a $100 million initiative to have Bowman and fellow Squad members — Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Summer Lee, D-Pa., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. — removed from office due to their views on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Since the Middle Eastern conflict began, those members have continuously called for a cease-fire in the region and for Palestinians to receive humanitarian aid. They have also called on the Biden-Harris administration to reprimand Israel for war crimes that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of women and children in the Gaza Strip.
“Historically throughout our history in this country and globally, whenever people of color, Black men, Black women speak up and push back against the system that’s unjust, the system is going to push back,” Bowman said.
“This is AIPAC pushing back and as an actor mostly for a foreign country trying to control our democracy, which is unbelievable,” he added. “The entire country should be pushing back on that.”
In a previous interview, a spokesperson for Pressley told theGrio, “AIPAC has become a right-wing group that spends millions in Republican donor money to silence anyone who advocates for…Palestinians, Israelis, and all people.”
“It’s unsurprising they would target progressive women of color…whose advocacy for a cease-fire is overwhelmingly supported by the American public,” the spokesperson continued.
Bowman told theGrio that in the meantime, “We’re going to continue to focus on fully funding public schools, dealing with the issue of economic inequality, uplifting the issue of reparations and fighting for universal health care.”
“Fighting for green, clean, renewable energy in our spaces, pushing back against the criminal justice system that targets Black and brown people,” are also priorities, he continued.
Bowman told theGrio, that “nothing AIPAC is going to do is going to stop any of that work from being done.”
“So let them spend all the money they want. We got the people, we love the people, we work with the people,” he added. “Organized people beat organized money every time.”
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US Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York is not concerned about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) plan to invest money to unseat him. AIPAC plans to remove Bowman and other Democratic congress members known as “the Squad” because of their views on the Israel-Hamas war. The Squad members have called for a cease-fire in the region and for Palestinians to receive humanitarian aid, as well as reprimanded Israel for war crimes resulting in deaths. AIPAC is targeting them for their advocacy, which they argue is overwhelmingly supported by the American public. Despite AIPAC’s attempts, Bowman is focused on continuing the work for his district, which includes fully funding public schools, addressing economic inequality, uplifting the issue of reparations, universal healthcare, and fighting for renewable energy and against the criminal justice system that targets Black and brown people. He is confident that the people’s support will prevail over organized money. Other members of the Squad, like Rep. Ayanna Pressley, expressed similar sentiments regarding AIPAC’s targeting of progressive women of color.