From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Latimer celebrates primary win as Bowman attacks AIPAC, vows to keep fighting to free Palestine
In a victory speech after defeating Israeli critic Jamal Bowman in the Democratic primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District, George Latimer calls for more civility following the contentious election.
“We have to fight to make sure we don’t vilify each other and we remember that we’re all Americans, and our common future is bound together,” he tells supporters at an event in White Plains.
“We argue, we debate, we find a way to come together,” says Latimer, who got into the race at the urging of Jewish leaders and had heavy financial backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The centrist adds that all representatives had a duty to find ways to work across political divides and prevent the country from splintering.
Bowman meanwhile concedes defeat and vows to keep battling for his policies, including in the Middle East.
“We will continue to fight for a free Palestine now, and God help us build a better world where everyone understands when we say ‘Free Palestine,’ it is not antisemitic,” he says.
Bowman angered many Jews in his district after October 7 with his harsh criticism of Israel, and pro-Israel advocacy groups poured a record amount of funding into the primary contest. The race was seen as a referendum between the progressive and centrist wings of the Democratic Party, which are split over the Israel-Hamas war.
Bowman had made AIPAC a focus of his campaign, and keeps up his attacks against the group after conceding defeat.
“We should be outraged when a super PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn’t true,” he says. “They spent a record amount of money, the most in US history, to beat this Black man.”
