Then-US Democratic Reps. Cori Bush (left), Jamaal Bowman (right), and Rashida Tlaib (center). Photo: Reuters

Former US Democratic Reps. Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, both of whom lost their reelection campaigns during the 2024 election cycle, ripped into the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) during the premiere of their new show last week, arguing that the prominent lobbying group exerts undue influence over the US Congress. 

During the first episode of “Bowman and Bush,” a new show on the controversial Zeteo network, the duo launched a roughly 23-minute tirade against AIPAC, arguing that the organization unfairly targeted them for showing “love” to the Palestinian people. 

Bush claimed that during her initial run for Congress in 2020 she was “introduced” to a representative of AIPAC, who allegedly encouraged her against advocating in favor of so-called “Palestinian liberation.” She claimed that after rejecting guidance from AIPAC, the organization smeared her as “antisemitic” and distributed flyers to voters that “darkened” her skin color. Following her eventual 2020 congressional victory, Bush alleged that AIPAC warned her to stay “silent” on the issue of Israel. The progressive firebrand claimed that AIPAC attempted to sway her position on Israel by offering her money and “propaganda trips” to the Jewish state. 

Bush rejected accusations of antisemitism, pointing out that she collaborated on statements and policy proposals with organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow during her tenure in Congress. 

Recent polling has shown that Jews across the US overwhelmingly oppose the views and tactics of JVP and other anti-Zionist organizations that oppose Israel and, according to mainstream Jewish leaders, push an extremist agenda.

Bowman alleged that AIPAC lobbied against the “Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act,” which he claimed would have prevented Israel from using US funds for the purpose of “detaining Palestinian children in the West Bank.” The lawmaker said that his decision to co-sponsor the bill triggered an avalanche of angry protests and phone calls to his office, preventing him from doing his job effectively. 

Bowman added that “anytime a piece of legislation came up as it related to Israel, it was also a piece of legislation that was undermining the humanity of Palestinians.” The former congressman lamented that his votes against Israel were supposedly “weaponized as antisemitism” by supporters of the Jewish state. Other members of Congress voted in favor of pro-Israel legislation which “dehumanized” Palestinians to prevent angering AIPAC, Bowman argued. 

“Every week, it was like we were voting on something AIPAC wanted us to vote on,” Bowman lamented.

Bush and Bowman both blamed AIPAC for their recent primary losses, arguing that the organization weaponized their funding to spread “lies” and “misinformation” about them to their constituents. Bush claimed that AIPAC flooded her district with a “hard and fast” barrage of negative television and print advertisements to secure her defeat. Bowman stated that AIPAC is part of the “corruption” crisis in Congress. 

Following Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, both Bush and Bowman issued intense criticism of the Jewish state’s defensive military efforts in Gaza.

The progressive former lawmakers called for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group less than a month removed from the Oct. 7 massacre. They each falsely accused Israel of engaging in an array of war crimes in Gaza, including “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing,” and imposing a “famine.” The duo also dismissed Israel’s counterterrorism initiatives in the West Bank as “apartheid.”

Bowman specifically declared the mass rapes of Israeli women on Oct. 7 a “hoax,” before walking back his comments following widespread backlash. He has accused Israel of advancing “white nationalism” and “settler colonialism” and also suggested he may no longer support Israel’s unequivocal right to exist or defend itself. 

Bush ultimately lost her reelection campaign to St. Louis attorney Wesley Bell in August while making her opposition to Israel a key talking point of the race. Bowman came up short against Westchester County executive George Latimer. 

Zeteo, the network on which “Bowman & Bush” is set to air, has positioned itself as a major source of anti-Israel content creation. Mehdi Hasan, the network’s founder and main host, has declared the ongoing war in Gaza a “genocide” and repeatedly pressured US lawmakers to implement an arms embargo against the Jewish state. Hosts on Zeteo have also downplayed Hamas’s attacks against Israel, oftentimes referring to the terrorist group as a “resistance.”

Moreover, Zeteo’s high production value and elaborate sets have raised questions surrounding its funding sources, with critics alleging it has received money from Qatar. In response, Hasan has denied receiving “any money from foreign governments or foreign citizens,” adding that “every investor in Z is an American citizen [who] has nothing to do with Qatar.”