AIPAC Donor to Jewish Republicans: Switch Party to Beat Bowman

Members of Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue in suburban Westchester County, New York, received an email Thursday afternoon from a group of congregants.

“We are all looking to do what we can to help Israel in its time of need,” the email said. “I am part of a group in our shul which is focused on one singular thing we can all do—and that is helping to defeat our current Congressman Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary which will take place on June 25, 2024.”

“It is critically important that if you are a registered Republican, at least for this election you should re-register as a Democrat so you can vote in the primary (against Bowman).”

Bowman, whose New York district includes the Bronx and parts of Westchester County, is being targeted in his primary next year for criticisms of Israel and calls for a ceasefire in its war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. His challenger, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, is being backed by pro-Israel groups, including the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The congregant who wrote the email to the New Rochelle synagogue, Jonathan Harris, was urging the synagogue’s Republican members to change parties before the primary so that they can vote for Latimer.

“If you are a registered Republican voter, you are not eligible to vote in the all-important Democratic primary,” says Harris’s email, a copy of which was obtained by The Intercept. “It is critically important that if you are a registered Republican, at least for this election you should re-register as a Democrat so you can vote in the primary (against Bowman).”

Harris and the congregants responsible for the email went on to lay out three other ways synagogue members could help defeat Bowman. They urged New Israel congregants to donate to Latimer’s campaign against Bowman — asking that they give money through a portal set up by AIPAC. (Neither AIPAC nor Latimer’s campaign immediately responded to a request for comment.)

“Any pledge you can make to support him in the primary will be extremely helpful,” Harris wrote. “Please let me know what you are willing to contribute so I can add it to the list being generated for our shul. Please process the amount of your pledge on the website AIPAC has created to gather donations to Latimer.”

In an interview with The Intercept, Harris said he did not have a “direct connection” with the Latimer campaign. When asked about an indirect connection, he asked to go off the record. Harris declined to answer more questions on the record and did not answer multiple follow-up calls.

The Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue denied any knowledge of the email. “Please note that the referenced Harris email and solicitation was not done by or on behalf of the Young Israel of New Rochelle or its leadership,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Over the past three years, Harris has donated $10,500 to AIPAC’s political action committee, according to public election finance records.

AIPAC Versus Bowman

AIPAC has said it plans to spend upwards of $100 million to oust members of the Squad, a group of progressive Democratic members of Congress who have been critical of Israel’s human rights violations. AIPAC and allied groups have become the central players in Democratic Party primaries — a dynamic that kicked into overdrive with Israel’s war on Gaza.

The email from Harris to his fellow congregants is the latest effort to mobilize voters upset with Bowman’s criticisms of Israel.

AIPAC’s super PAC began recruiting Latimer over the summer, around the same time Bowman boycotted a congressional address from Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Despite AIPAC, which bills itself as a single-issue venture, spurring on his candidacy, Latimer is seeking to draw attention away from his Israel stance. Instead, he has billed himself as a progressive.

Since Hamas’s October 7 attack launched the latest Gaza war, Bowman has been especially vocal in condemning what he sees as a disproportionate response from Israel and joining in protests outside the White House.

Harris’s email also urges congregants to act on a looming decision from the New York State Appellate Court that will result in the congressional lines being redrawn.

“If this happens and the Jewish community is divided amongst different districts, it will highly increase Bowman’s chances of being re-elected,” the letter reads. “Attached here is the text of a form letter you can use to object to redistricting.”

Latimer’s deputy in Westchester County, Ken Jenkins, leads the redistricting commission. Earlier this month, Latimer told City and State that he doesn’t discuss the redistricting with Jenkins, but told Gothamist a day later, “He and I have talked about it a couple times, that’s it.”

New York’s congressional map was redrawn prior to last cycle as well, and it kicked off a long, tumultuous midterm season that left the Democratic Party with four fewer seats than it started out with. Bowman was one of the only members in the tristate area who represents a solidly blue district. He won his primary by nearly 30 points, with 54 percent of the vote.

To Bowman’s north, Mondaire Jones is running to unseat Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. Jones and Bowman used to do campaign events together, but since announcing his latest bid, Jones — who has said he has a “great relationship with AIPAC” — has declined to endorse Bowman when asked.

Latimer, for his part, just returned from a three-day trip to Israel sponsored by the UJA-Federation of New York, a local Jewish group, where he met with leaders including Herzog, the Israeli president. Herzog has said that it is the “entire nation” of Palestine that bears responsibility for the October 7 attacks.

On the latest war in Gaza, where about 1,300 Israelis and more than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed, Latimer told the New York Times that he did not know enough to judge whether Israel’s counteroffensive violated international law.

He said, “I’m not a secretary of state.”

Correction: December 10, 2023
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that George Latimer recently traveled to Israel on an AIPAC-sponsored trip. The trip was funded by UJA-Federation of New York.