About four years ago, Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman made history together. Young left-leaning Democrats, they won hard-fought primaries in neighboring districts to become the first black men to represent New York’s Westchester County in Congress.
Today, they find themselves deeply at odds over Israel-Hamas Wara break so abrupt that Mr. Jones pledged Monday to help defeat Mr. Bowman in the June 25 Democratic primary and to support his opponent, George Latimer.
It’s the latest sign of the intensity of the Middle East conflict dividing Democratic politics this election year. Mr. Latimer and Mr. Bowman have already spent months debating 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 stand idly by while Mr. Bowman positioned himself as one of Israel’s leading critics, saying his former ally had sowed “pain and anxiety ” among New York Jews and had torn “the fabric of the Jewish state.” our community and our civil rights coalition.
But Mr. Jones may also be thinking about his own political interests. After lose your seat in the House in 2022, it is now running to unseat Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican, in a swing district just to the north. Taking some distance from Mr. Bowman could help win over Jewish voters, as well as other moderate voters.
“As one of the most popular Democrats in the Hudson Valley, I have the prerogative to play an instrumental role in ending this long, painful nightmare that we have been living through since October 7,” said Mr. Jones. He planned to formally give his endorsement at an event Tuesday.
For Mr. Latimer, the longtime Westchester County executive, Mr. Jones’ support could provide an important shield as he tries to fend off his opponent’s accusations of racism in the final weeks of a fight increasingly fierce in a district with a large black and Jewish population. populations.
Mr. Jones, who previously worked under Mr. Latimer, said firmly: “George Latimer is not a racist. »
Mr. Jones, 37, and Mr. Bowman, 48, both emerged into the national spotlight in 2020, amid the pandemic and a moment of national protest sparked by the death of George Floyd. Even though they weren’t mutually supportive at the time, they both led campaigns against longtime incumbents and gained support from stalwarts of the Democratic left like the Working Families Party and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Mr. Bowman, a former college principal, has always been more hostile to his party’s power structure than Mr. Jones, a white-collar lawyer. He accepted the support of the Democratic Socialists of America, and in Washington he voted against the infrastructure bill signed by President Biden, while Mr. Jones aligned himself with the party leadership.
Mr. Jones said he was motivated to insert himself into the Bowman-Latimer race specifically because of Israel.
Since the war broke out last fall, Mr. Bowman has become a one of Israel’s most vocal critics in Congress. He was one of the first lawmakers to call for a ceasefire after the Hamas attack left more than 1,200 Israelis dead. He accused the nation of committing genocide in Gaza and, at one point, cast doubt that Hamas committed sexual violence, calling the claim “propaganda.” (He later said he was wrong.)
“There is nothing progressive about rushing to call a ceasefire in the days after October 7 before Israel could even begin to defend itself,” Mr. Jones said . “There is nothing progressive about being supported by the DSA, which in the days following October 7 amplified a pro-Hamas rally in New York. »
Mr Jones said he would let others draw their own conclusions about whether Mr Bowman’s statements constituted anti-Semitism. He also indicated that he had no problem with the spending on the race by the U.S.-Israel Public Affairs Committee and affiliated pro-Israel groups that also support Mr. Latimer.
“If someone is a Republican and agrees with me on this, then it’s just about being a human being in the American political system,” he said. (AIPAC supported Mr. Jones’s opponent.)
Mr Bowman strongly rejected accusations of anti-Semitism, saying he was pro-peace and not anti-Israeli or anti-Jewish. He called the Hamas attack a war crime, but says it does not justify an Israeli counteroffensive that has killed tens of thousands of Gazans, including many women and children, according to Gaza health authorities.
Mr Jones joins a growing list of current and former public servants in supporting Mr Latimer, 70. Among them is Eliot L. Engel, the longtime congressman whom Mr. Bowman defeated in 2020; many state legislators; and almost every local Democratic Party committee in the district.
Mr. Bowman still enjoys the support of some powerful unions, left-wing lawmakers like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and key members of the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives, who regularly support incumbent candidates.
Mr. Latimer, who is white, said he hoped Mr. Jones’ support would help bring an end to the situation. accusations that he used racist tropes as he seeks to portray Mr. Bowman as an attention-seeking distraction in Congress.
“The argument that I’m running a racist campaign falls flat when I have African-American, Latino and Asian people supporting me,” he said in an interview.
A spokesman for Mr. Bowman declined to comment.
But the congressman recently touted the growing list of political figures behind Mr. Latimer as a sign that Westchester’s Democratic establishment was circling to try to put one of its own back in power.
“I was never their man,” he said. “To me, what my opponent represents is acquiescence to the interests of wealthy and elite corporations and special interests, particularly as they relate to AIPAC and Israel. »
