Pro-Israel Dems to challenge Squad members in primaries

Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman and Rashida Tlaib are on the firing line for their safe, Democratic seats, due to their pro-Palestinian stances.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Members of the so-called “Squad” of progressive House Democrats will be facing Democratic challengers in the upcoming primaries over their stance on Israel, following the Hamas invasion of October 7th.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell announced last week that he will be challenging Congresswoman Cori Bush, who has represented St. Louis, Missouri, since 2020.

“I think we have to stand with our allies, and Israel has always been an ally,” Bell, who is black like Bush, told The Jewish Insider after his announcement. “As a country, we have to be reliable partners. We have to stand by our fellow democracies, and we have to stand against terrorism. Hamas is a terrorist organization and I will not waver in my support for Israel.”

Along with her history of anti-Israel remarks and voting record in Congress, Bush has called Israel’s fight against Hamas an “ethnic cleansing campaign,” among other spurious charges.

“The U.S. government should not be funding Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people,” Bush posted to X on Friday.

Demanding that the Biden administration force a cease-fire, she also wrote, “We choose peace and love.”

Bush has failed to mention the fact that the current war was sparked by the Hamas terrorist organization, and its October 7th invasion of southwestern Israel.

During the invasion, over 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians, were massacred, with thousands more injured.

In addition, over 240 Israelis were taken captive to the Gaza Strip.

Freshman congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York will have to face off against Westchester County Executive George Latimer.

“I have been asked to do it by people who are important and friends of mine,” Latimer told The New York Post. “They have expressed an unhappiness with the incumbent over a lot of different issues. Israel is obviously very high on that list. I am a strong supporter of Israel.”

Bowman has condemned Hamas’ attack, demanded the release of the hostages and denounced antisemitism, which has spiked sharply in the U.S. since last month.

But he has also voted along with fellow Squad members against a Congressional resolution supporting Israel after the country declared war on the Iran-backed terror group Hamas, and cosponsored a separate resolution three weeks ago with Congresswoman Bush which called for an “immediate ceasefire,” and failed to mention Hamas’ mass slaughter or kidnappings.

Rabbi Evan Hoffman, the head of the Westchester Board of Rabbis, said that as a result, “The relationship with the congressman has hit rock bottom, and he knows it, we know it. There’s no point in dancing around it anymore.”

Two-term Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib is another very likely target. Tlaib is the first female Palestinian-American in Congress and has been an outspoken critic of the Jewish state since her first day in office.

Although no candidate has stepped forward yet to oppose her, potential donors are already lining up to fund a primary challenge.

Dmitri Mehlhorn, political adviser to multi-millionaire Reid Hoffman, the primary backer of the Mainstream Democrats super-PAC, told CNBC Thursday that he would be “eager to raise support” for the effort to oust both Tlaib and Bush because they are so “extreme” on Israel. He is “hopeful,” he said, that the PAC “will come back to me with good news.”

The Democratic Majority for Israel, which also supports the super-PAC, launched a six-figure ad buy in Detroit Thursday accusing Tlaib of always siding “with those who support Israel’s destruction,” giving as evidence her votes against Iran Dome funding and refusal to publicly condemn Hamas. “Tell Rashida Tlaib she’s on the wrong side of history and humanity,” the ad finishes.

Cori BushDemocratsJamaal BowmanRashida Tlaibsquad