Politics

What Jamaal Bowman’s loss says about Israel’s influence

Published

5 months ago

June 26, 2024

Jamaal Bowman, who lost his primary on Tuesday night.
Photo: Getty Images

Representative Jamaal Bowman started his political career as a progressive supporter of Israel. He was one of several Black candidates who rode the protest-friendly fervor of the George Floyd summer to political triumph in 2020, defeating three-decade incumbent Eliot Engel, one of the staunchest Israel supporters in the House, in New York’s 16th Congressional District by drawing voters from whiter and more affluent parts of Westchester County and Blacker, more Latino and working-class sections of Yonkers and the Bronx.

His position on Israel began to change in 2021, when as a freshman congressman he visited Israel and returned with a dim view of the government’s willingness to pursue a two-state solution, according to HuffPost. His winning coalition began to splinter as his denunciations of Israel became more acute and fell apart in the aftermath of October 7, when he characterized the Israeli assault on Gaza as a genocide. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee recruited George Latimer, an Israel hawk, to primary Bowman with a campaign that painted him as out of touch with his constituents. On Tuesday, Bowman was easily defeated.

Bowman’s reelection campaign revealed a deep degree of naïveté about how to win elections; there was no way he could galvanize enough antiwar votes to overcome Latimer’s appeal to Israel’s supporters. But Bowman’s brief tenure in Congress also revealed the predicament that Black Democrats find themselves in because of the war in Gaza, which has forced them to compromise the very moral bona fides that gave them political clout to begin with.

When considering Bowman’s downfall, it is worth comparing his trajectory to that of Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, a former pastor for Martin Luther King Jr.’s parish in Georgia who won his 2020 race in part because of the groundswell of support for civil-rights leaders in the wake of the Floyd killing. He is now considered a moral beacon for his colleagues in Congress. “Special and important and extraordinary” is how his fellow Georgia senator Jon Ossoff has described Warnock’s blend of governance and godliness.

On Israel, though, Warnock started his political career on the other side of Bowman — as an Israel critic. When he was preparing for his 2021 runoff election that would determine the partisan balance of the Senate, he was confronted with a letter he had signed in 2019 with other clergy likening Israel to apartheid South Africa. The position he endorsed at the time was in line with a growing identification among Black activists with the Palestinian cause, which many saw as a continuation of the anti-colonial struggles of the mid-20th century.

The letter became a minor scandal, and Warnock was compelled to pen a correction proclaiming it a “mistake” to condition military aid earmarked for “the greatest proponent of democracy in the Middle East.” He characterized his affection for Israel as an extension of the solidarity once demonstrated by Jews in Georgia toward Black Christian civil-rights activists — a “tradition of interfaith understanding and respect.” He expressed concern about the expansion of settlements in Palestinian territory and advocated for a “two-state solution” but otherwise remained a strong supporter of the Israeli government as he made his way to Capitol Hill, where he is now a reliable pro-Israel vote.

The calculation might appear to be as simple as it is cynical: Support Israel or face the electoral consequences. It is a calculation that could apply to lawmakers of any race. Except the situation is different for Black lawmakers, who are valuable to the Democrats and others precisely because of their association with civil rights.

This was made clear in March, when the Israeli watchdog FakeReporter revealed that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu had launched a disinformation campaign against more than 100 American lawmakers with a special focus on influencing Black Democrats. A Tel Aviv–based political marketing firm called Stoic was paid $2 million last year by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs to set up roughly 600 fake profiles on X, Facebook, and Instagram, along with three fake news websites. Stoic used these proxies to post more than 2,000 often AI-generated comments and fabricated articles per week expressing support for Israeli military action in Gaza and undermining pro-Palestine activists. The posts could be slapdash. More than one account featured a Black male avatar that self-identified as a middle-aged Jewish woman.

It is telling that the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs felt that Black lawmakers were either particularly susceptible to flip or particularly desirable to have on Israel’s side. Both the Palestinians and the Israelis seem eager to claim the moral authority that comes from having the support of the self-styled inheritors of America’s civil-rights legacy — high-minded Black officials of the kind that mid-century activists once dreamed of electing. The campaign’s targets included Brooklyn’s Hakeem Jeffries, who could become the first-ever Black Speaker of the House; Representative Ritchie Torres from the Bronx, one of the House’s most vocal Zionists; and Warnock.

The campaign has been covered by the New York Times, Politico, and others, yet no sense of outrage can be detected emanating from Washington. If you consider what the response would have been if Russia or China had been behind such aggression against American officials, it becomes even more apparent that Netanyahu, a nominal ally of the U.S., finds laughable the notion that he might be obligated to act like one. No matter how many times the prime minister snubs his nose at Joe Biden’s entreaties or how deep the public revulsion grows over Israel’s destruction in Gaza, the loyalty of the U.S. political class toward the Israeli government remains ironclad.

Warnock recently led calls for President Biden to negotiate more aid for beleaguered Gazans and to recognize a “non-militarized” Palestinian state, even if it remains to be seen whether there will even be a state to recognize once Israel is through. By and large, though, he has been a loyal ally, and that was not enough to stop Netanyahu’s government from treating him like a foreign asset — to say, essentially, that it was going to openly leverage the civil-rights legacy that he and his Black colleagues have inherited and expect him to say and do nothing about it.

One of the themes of America’s post-Floyd politics is that the shining promise of 2020 has dimmed as politicians of all stripes have turned against the movement and what it stood for. This has primarily manifested as retreating from law enforcement reform and doubling down on cops and criminalization. Yet the movement’s greater promise lay in how broadly its ethos could be applied. If Black humanity was no longer negotiable in the U.S., the same must be said for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Instead of delivering a mandate to pro-justice candidates, the movement’s aftermath has seen their influence harnessed to replenish Israel’s arsenal.

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Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

2 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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