Opinion | No one should be surprised a Black politician is the canary in AIPAC’s coal mine (2024)

Keep in mind: The Biden administration backs a plan for Gaza that would include a cease-fire, and polls show Americans increasingly support a cease-fire. Yet AIPAC is going full steam ahead. Bowman is the lobby’s first major target. As the June 25 primary approaches, the two-term congressman is facing what could prove to be the most expensive primary challenge in history. AIPAC has pledged to spend, through the super PAC, up to $25 million to elect Westchester County Executive George Latimer.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Bowman vs. Latimer showdown for progressives. The outcome represents much more than just the issue of money in politics. It raises concerns about right-wing money being funneled into Democratic primaries and tests the ability of AIPAC to shield Israel from criticism. But bigger than that, it is a test of how far America’s right wing will go to crush progressive movements. No one should be surprised that a Black politician is the canary in the coal mine.

I recently spent some time with Bowman and his supporters to get a sense of their strategy to defeat this historic challenge.

Alicia Singham Goodwin, the political director of Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, told me that her group has been canvassing, phone-banking and organizing “Jews for Jamaal” events around the mixed urban-suburban district. “Jewish communities are already in deep mourning over [Hamas’s deadly attacks on] Oct. 7,” she told me. “Now it’s like AIPAC, the media, so many vultures have come in to press on our pain to keep us unhealed in order to serve their political aims.” Campaigning for Bowman is a way of redeeming that pain, she explained. “We organize to get out of the spiral of grief, pain and anger for something more beautiful.”

In Harlem on a recent Saturday, a group of Obama administration alums paused from campaigning for sandwiches, wine and juice. They had come together in a chat group over their discontent with President Biden’s policy for Gaza, and now they were mobilizing their energy for another Black lawmaker who symbolized hope and change they could believe in. Bowman, a former educator, was elected on a progressive platform in 2020 over the longtime Democratic incumbent Eliot L. Engel. The 16th District stretches from the North Bronx, with its vibrant Caribbean immigrant communities, to the wealthy commuter enclaves of Westchester County.

“There are 60 RSVPs for Bagels with Bowman,” one organizer announced. But the candidate could not avoid thinking of dollars and cents. “We are at 3 million now, right?” he asked his campaign manager. “Because they” — meaning Latimer’s campaign — “are at 20 million.” His lighthearted delivery gave him the air of a David going up against Goliath, and the folks in the room chuckled. “They have money,” Bowman said, “but they don’t have the people.”

Still, will that be enough? Latimer is well known in the district, and his advertising campaign has been relentless: some $13 million so far, mostly on broadcast ads. Last quarter, Bowman’s campaign raised $1.3 million.

Biden’s reelection campaign has been struggling to hold on to its large base of Black voters — a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll found the share of younger Black voters who support the president is 62 percent, compared with 74 percent in 2020 — so aiding a Black incumbent under right-wing fire would be good optics.

Because on the issue of Israel and Gaza in particular, Black leaders have become targets in more ways than one. A majority of the primary challengers funded by AIPAC are opposed by candidates of color (Cori Bush of Missouri, who also called for a cease-fire, is next on AIPAC’s list later this summer). The New York Times reported that a large number of Black lawmakers were targeted in an Israeli-commissioned social media influence campaign designed to gin up support for the war effort.

Meanwhile, the Congressional Black Caucus has largely been silent on Black incumbents under threat. AIPAC boasts that it is the top fundraiser for Congressional Black Caucus members. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), who has endorsed Bowman for reelection, is one of the top recipients of AIPAC funds. Even the NAACP released a statement urging the Biden administration to stop sending weapons to Israel and push for a cease-fire — and yet the Congressional Black Caucus can’t (or won’t) protect its own members?

As the campaign heats up, some Democratic leaders can see what’s at stake and are coming to Bowman’s aid. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) has announced her support. More Democratic leaders should do the same.

Visualizing victory on June 25, Bowman explains what it will mean to win. “Imagine how the world will change in that moment,” he said. “The many will cease to be afraid of AIPAC. Then we can have real conversations about how to fight antisemitism, and how to have a free Palestine, and how to uplift the humanity of all people.”