On his eponymous Sunday show, anti-Israel MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin spoke with Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and gave the "Squad" radical a forum to bash Israel while claiming to support the Jewish state.
Mohyeldin, a former correspondent for Al-Jazeera English whose mother is Palestinian, set up the segment by oddly labeling former Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a "moderate" in spite of her stridently liberal record as he recalled a recent increase in congressional Democrats pushing President Joe Biden to pressure Israel over how it is conducting military operations in Gaza:
So, for months, progressive lawmakers have been vocally denouncing Israel's disproportionate retaliation in Gaza, and now today, six months into the war, that view is actually held by a majority of Americans. According to a Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans disapprove of Israel's military actions in Gaza. That is the majority. And, as we mentioned before the break, moderate Democrats including Nancy Pelosi who are, you know, strong supporters of Israel, have now joined that chorus.
He added: "In a letter, they have asked President Biden to suspend weapons transfers to Israel until a full independent investigation into the World Central Kitchen convoy attack is complete."
After Congressman Bowman talked up the likelihood of more Democrats joining together to be more critical of Israel, Mohyeldin followed up by sympathetically asking about AIPAC targeting his guest and other anti-Israel Democrats in their primaries:
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee -- or AIPAC as we know -- expected to spend $100 million on trying to oust Democrats like yourself in their primaries before they even get to the general election. Another group -- the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC -- just endorsed George Latimer, the AIPAC-endorsed candidate who's running against you in New York's primary. What do you make of this? What do you say to these groups who are coming after you on this issue? Have you ever experienced anything like this in your short term in politics so far?
He then followed up:
Why though? Why is this happening? And, again, I don't know of another part of our politics or a policy issue -- it doesn't happen -- the gun lobby does not do this with your opponent. They don't primary you if you're not taking it -- the climate lobby doesn't do this. The labor lobby doesn't do this. So why is this happening?
The far-left Democrat then made incendiary claims about Israel, calling it an "apartheid state" and referring to the founding of Israel that displaced Arabs as the "Nakba" (which means "disaster" in Arabic). Bowman:
They don't want any criticism of Israel. Listen, Israel is an ally. We want them to remain an ally. But just like your brother or your cousin or your friend, when they're doing the wrong thing, you have to tell them they're doing the wrong thing and hold them accountable so they can improve. Israel has been doing the wrong thing not just as it relates to this collective punishment in Gaza and the starvation that's happening right now in Gaza, but prior to that, labeled an apartheid state, occupation, a blockade, the Nakba which nobody ever wants to talk about.
Mohyeldin supportively asked that "one of the critiques is like you're too focused on foreign policy -- you're not focused enough on your district -- and that's what they're trying to do with Rashida Tlaib in Michigan with other progressives. Does that hold any water?" The New York Democrat answered:
My district doesn't want bombs and weapons and billions to be sent to Israel to kill babies. My district wants that money sent to our district so people can afford housing and child care and utilities and have better paying jobs and can afford food and take a vacation. We want peace, and we want investments in the American economy and the American people -- particularly those black, brown, marginalized and left behind.
Transcript follows:
MSNBC's Ayman
April 7, 2024
7:17 p.m. Eastern
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: So, for months, progressive lawmakers have been vocally denouncing Israel's disproportionate retaliation in Gaza, and now today, six months into the war, that view is actually held by a majority of Americans. According to a Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans disapprove of Israel's military actions in Gaza. That is the majority. And, as we mentioned before the break, moderate Democrats including Nancy Pelosi who are, you know, strong supporters of Israel, have now joined that chorus. In a letter, they have asked President Biden to suspend weapons transfers to Israel until a full independent investigation into the World Central Kitchen convoy attack is complete.
New York Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman is one of those who signed that letter. He joins me now. Let me start off with -- I don't know if you had a chance to see our previous segment, but one of the critiques was: It's only 37 lawmakers so far. You're one of those lawmakers. Give us a -- give us a response to what you say of that critique.
CONGRESSMAN JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): Yeah, I mean, it's 37 lawmakers responding to the American people. The majority of the American people demand a permanent ceasefire. We see what's going on right in front of our eyes. We see hundreds of thousands of people and children starving to death in Gaza. So the American people are with us. We're just leading the way and responding to what the people in our own districts are saying. And so, yeah, I mean, you say it's 37 lawmakers now. It was only a few at the very beginning calling for a permanent ceasefire, and that number has grown exponentially. So you're going to see this number grow. I think you're going to see this number grow pretty rapidly.
MOHYELDIN: Are you seeing any initial response or any backdoor channels of communication with the White House? How do these things work? You've sent the letter -- you've signed onto the letter. Do they start signaling to you, "Hey, we welcome this, and you're helping us, giving us more space so that we can -- the President can come out there now and start being critical of Israel on this issue"?
(BOWMAN)
Let me ask you about the Wisconsin vote again. We were talking about this in the previous segment. What do you make of the fact that the domestic politics in this country -- and you're talking about democracy, the representation of the American people. You had about 48,000 unrestricted voters in Wisconsin. The President won that state by 20,000 votes. Is that a cause of concern for the reelection of President Joe Biden?
(BOWMAN)
Let me ask you about what you're going through in terms of your own personal campaign. I want to kind of make sure I just got the number. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee -- or AIPAC as we know -- expected to spend $100 million on trying to oust Democrats like yourself in their primaries before they even get to the general election. Another group -- the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC -- just endorsed George Latimer, the AIPAC-endorsed candidate who's running against you in New York's primary. What do you make of this? What do you say to these groups who are coming after you on this issue? Have you ever experienced anything like this in your short term in politics so far?
(BOWMAN)
Why though? Why is this happening? And, again, I don't know of another part of our politics or a policy issue -- it doesn't happen -- the gun lobby does not do this with your opponent. They don't primary you if you're not taking it -- the climate lobby doesn't do this. The labor lobby doesn't do this. So why is this happening?
BOWMAN: They don't want any criticism of Israel. Listen, Israel is an ally. We want them to remain an ally. But just like your brother or your cousin or your friend, when they're doing the wrong thing, you have to tell them they're doing the wrong thing and hold them accountable so they can improve. Israel has been doing the wrong thing not just as it relates to this collective punishment in Gaza and the starvation that's happening right now in Gaza, but prior to that, labeled an apartheid state, occupation, a blockade, the Nakba which nobody ever wants to talk about. So, because people like me are in Congress actually speaking the truth to hold Israel accountable so they can do better for themselves and for a free Palestine, now, AIPAC wants to come after us. They don't want any criticism of Israel which is absurd and unacceptable and is not going to help us maintain a good relationship or maintain lives in Israel or Palestine.
MOHYELDIN: One of their -- and we're almost out of time -- but one of the critiques is like you're too focused on foreign policy -- you're not focused enough on your district -- and that's what they're trying to do with Rashida Tlaib in Michigan with other progressives. Does that hold any water?
BOWMAN: Yeah, every accusation is a confession. My district doesn't want bombs and weapons and billions to be sent to Israel to kill babies. My district wants that money sent to our district so people can afford housing and child care and utilities and have better paying jobs and can afford food and take a vacation. We want peace, and we want investments in the American economy and the American people -- particularly those black, brown, marginalized and left behind. That's what my district wants.
MOHYELDIN: Congressman Jamaal Bowman, always a pleasure.
