The New York Times quietly changed the headline of a story about New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s defeat in the Democratic primary, originally reporting that Bowman’s savage loss was the result of an “influx of pro-Israel money.”
Bowman, a member of the far-left “Squad” who has consistently railed against Israel and its supporters, was heavily defeated in Tuesday’s election by Westchester County Mayor George Latimer, a moderate, pro-Israel Democrat, by double digits.
The headline of an earlier Gray Lady article published Tuesday was “Bowman loses House primary, pushed by influx of pro-Israel money.”
The eyebrow-raising statement drew harsh criticism on social media, including accusations of anti-Semitism.
” [New York Times] Did he think that the people of New York were unhappy with Bowman’s performance as a senator? Of course not. It must be because of the Jews.” Aviva Klompas tweeted:author and co-founder of the advocacy group Boundless Israel.
“No. Bowman fell from grace because he was an extremist, had bad policies and was widely disliked in his own district,” human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky wrote, sharing a screenshot of the original article. In X’s post.
“but, [The New York Times] To use a vile anti-Semitic trope.”
The headline was updated by Wednesday morning to remove the anti-Israel overtones and read, “Bowman defeats Latimer in Progressive Democrats.”
The Times did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment, and as of late Wednesday afternoon, no editor’s note had been added to the story explaining the change.
Months before his spectacular failure in the primary, the soon-to-be congressman stepped up his attacks on Israel, calling it an “apartheid state” and claiming at a rally last year that reports of rape and child murders by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terror attacks were “lies,” though he later retracted the comments.
He also accuses Israel of committing “massacre” in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for attacks that killed more than 1,200 civilians.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), along with other prominent pro-Israel groups, has funded primary challenges to politicians who have made anti-Israel statements, such as Bowman and fellow Squad member Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
AIPAC has spent a record $14.5 million on its effort to oust Bowman, including an intense advertising offensive that began in mid-May and filled New York City television screens with pro-Latimer attack ads.
Bowman was already trailing Latimer by 17 points as of April 3, six weeks before AIPAC’s primary spending frenzy.
His attacks on the Jewish state steadily intensified during the final months of his desperate reelection battle.
Two days before the primary, Bowman held a rally in the Bronx, hoping to inject some energy into his own faltering campaign from fellow progressives Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The sparsely attended event did bring some attention to Bowman, but it wasn’t the kind his campaign had intended.
The rally was widely panned as an embarrassment, featuring Bowman’s trademark wild and bombastic behavior and hurling vulgarities at his favorite targets.
“We’re going to show AIPAC the power of the motherfuckers in the South Bronx,” he roared to the crowd of about 300 people.
The controversial removal of the lawmaker was welcomed by both Republicans and Democrats in New York.
New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox said “goodbye” to the two-term progressive congressman following his party’s primary debacle.
“Just because you’re a little to the left is not a reason to run against somebody because they’re taking positions on issues that don’t actually help their constituents,” former New York Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat, told The Post about Bowman’s double-digit loss.
“It’s more of an ideological thing than a service to the people who sent you there.”
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) also sharply criticized Bowman on X, comparing his political acumen to that of a pre-teen.
“Tonight, the middle school student who set off a fire alarm and then carried it out while denying that rape is a weapon of war has lost. And progress has won,” the Democrat said, referring to an infamous incident last year when Bowman set off a fire alarm to delay a vote on a government shutdown.
“You can’t be a true progressive without making ‘progressions’. Now you can!” he added.
Bowman, who was first elected to represent the 16th District in 2020, is the first member of the “Squad” to lose his job after the election. In terms of advertising spending, it was the most expensive congressional primary in history.
Latimer will be heavily favored to represent the heavily Democratic Bronx and Westchester district of the 16th Congressional District in the Nov. 5 general election.
