Squad member Cori Bush issues warning to pro-Israel group after defeat
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a member of the Democratic Party’s far-left wing, often referred to as “the Squad,” promised to retaliate against a pro-Israel activist group after she lost her bid for reelection in her party's primary.
Bush is the second Squad member to lose a primary election following Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who was the first to be ousted by voters and was heavily opposed by AIPAC.
Bush lost on Tuesday to St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell, whose campaign received support from AIPAC. AIPAC’s political action committee, the United Democracy Project, spent $8.5 million to help fund Bell’s campaign, The Associated Press reported.
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In response to an inquiry from The Christian Post, AIPAC shared a published statement about Bush's loss that described the Democrat lawmaker as being among “the extremist fringe that is hostile to the Jewish state.”
“During this primary season, the pro-Israel mainstream has sent a powerful message that America stands with Israel as it battles Iranian terrorist proxies,” AIPAC stated. “Voters across America are rejecting anti-Israel voices in favor of candidates who understand the vital importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
Last month, Westchester County Executive George Latimer defeated Bowman, another far-left member of the Democrat Party. According to a page AIPAC created at the time of the race, Bowman called the creation of Israel a “catastrophe” and voted against a bipartisan resolution that condemned Hamas and expressed support for Israel.
In addition to the defeat of two Democratic lawmakers, AIPAC highlighted Republican Rep. Bob Good’s loss to John McGuire in the Virginia primary. Good’s opposition to providing aid to Israel cost him support, The Times of Israel reported in July.
“The outcome in this race — as in so many others — shows that the pro-Israel position is both good policy and good politics for both parties,” AIPAC added.
The United Democracy Project also celebrated Bell’s win in a Tuesday statement, citing it as proof that being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics on both sides of the aisle.” The group pledged to continue supporting political leaders who will help strengthen the United States’ alliance with Israel while opposing detractors.
In a speech to supporters Tuesday night following her defeat, Bush said that “pulling [her] away from [her] position as congresswoman” took “some of the strings off.” Bush said that now she no longer has to worry about those strings.
“And as much as I love my job, all they did was radicalize me, and now they should be afraid,” she said. “They’re about to see this other Cori, this other side.”
“There is nothing that happens in my life that happens in vain. So, this happened because it was meant to happen,” Bush continued. “And let me say, it’s because of the work that I need to do. And let me say this: AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”
In a November statement to National Public Radio about his campaign, Bell acknowledged that Bush’s remarks about Israel played a part in his decision to run against her. The prosecutor received endorsements from Jewish leaders who had supported Bush in the past, according to NPR.
"I think [Bush’s] comments show a lack of understanding of the nuance and complexities of an issue that's literally hundreds of years in the making," Bell said.
A few weeks after the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, Bush published a post on X calling for the U.S. to stop funding the Middle Eastern country. Hamas’ surprise assault resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the abduction of around 240 others, including 31 Americans. In response, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza to eradicate the terrorist group and secure the hostages’ release.
“We can’t be silent about Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign,” Bush said about Israel’s military operation. “Babies, dead. Pregnant women, dead. Elderly, dead. Generations of families, dead. Millions of people in Gaza with nowhere to go being slaughtered.”
Bush isn't the only far-left lawmaker who's attracted controversy for her past statements about Israel.
Other squad members who faced pushback for their remarks about Israel and support for Gaza Solidarity encampments that popped up on college campuses earlier this year include Democrat Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Ocasio-Cortez and Omar are named in a class-action lawsuit alongside Bowman for "inciting and encouraging" the violent anti-Israeli protest encampment at Columbia University.
Five anonymous plaintiffs filed the suit against the Democratic lawmakers and various anti-Israel groups. Two of the five plaintiffs behind the suit are Jewish, and they recounted the harassment and violence they faced on campus during the protests.
As the plaintiffs argued in the lawsuit, the three lawmakers visited the anti-Israel encampment in April and issued statements supporting the demonstrators. According to the plaintiffs, champions of the anti-Israel protest "not only consciously disregarded the rights of others, but the impact on the rights of others was the point of the protest: the more disruption [they] could cause for the university and the [students], the more leverage they thought they would have for their agenda."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
