[News] DSA (and Jacobin) fails Palestine test by giving Jamaal Bowman a pass

[Anti-Imperialist News]

electronicintifada.net
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/dsa-fails-palestine-test-giving-jamaal-bowman-pass>
DSA
fails Palestine test by giving Jamaal Bowman a pass

Ali Abunimah <https://electronicintifada.net/people/ali-abunimah> - 4
December 2021
------------------------------
[image: Two men in suits with their backs towards one another]

Congressman Jamaal Bowman turned his back on earlier commitments by voting
to re-arm Israel.
CQ Roll Call

Congressman Jamaal Bowman
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/jamaal-bowman> survived an effort to
expel
<https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-top-progressive-group-opts-to-not-expel-u-s-congressman-over-israel-trip-1.10436455>
him from the Democratic Socialists of America on Thursday.

This came after several Palestinians and Arab Americans stepped in to
shield the New York Democrat from growing grassroots anger over his support
for Israel.

Bowman, a member of the new intake of “progressives,” defeated heavyweight
pro-Israel incumbent Eliot Engel
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/eliot-engel> in a hotly contested
battle
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-f-brown/democrats-pushing-against-biden-confront-ossified-views>
last year.

Yet Bowman quickly betrayed the hopes and expectations of many supporters.

Earlier this week, the DSA’s Palestine solidarity working group called
<https://medium.com/@dsapalestinesolidarity/dsa-bds-working-group-formally-calls-for-the-expulsion-of-rep-jamaal-bowman-fa92eba6854a>
for Bowman’s expulsion.

In November, DSA members met Bowman and concluded that the congressman was
“not ready to accept our most significant demands.”

DSA members want Bowman to end his relationship with J Street and other
Israel lobby groups. They also demand his unequivocal support for
Palestinian human rights groups falsely labeled
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/they-are-criminals-we-believe-justice>
as “terrorist” by Israel and that he oppose any further US funding for
Israel.
DSA fudge

In a forceful condemnation
<https://www.dsausa.org/statements/on-the-question-of-expelling-rep-bowman/>
on Thursday, DSA’s National Political Committee called Bowman’s recent
pro-Israel moves “egregious.”

The group cited Bowman’s September vote
<https://www.dsausa.org/statements/dsa-stands-with-the-palestinian-people-national-political-committee-condemns-iron-dome-vote/>
to give additional US funding to Israel’s Iron Dome missile system and his
meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during a November
junket organized by J Street.

— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) November 10, 2021
<https://twitter.com/naftalibennett/status/1458378103940583428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

This evening at the Knesset, I met with a delegation of Democratic members
of Congress. I thanked them for supporting the replenishment of the Iron
Dome missile defense system, and we discussed the importance of continuing
to strengthen the US-Israel relationship. 🇮🇱🇺🇸
pic.twitter.com/DBiJI8gDcL <https://t.co/DBiJI8gDcL>
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid🟠 (@yairlapid) November 8, 2021
<https://twitter.com/yairlapid/status/1457790332532236294?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

The National Political Committee said there was “no excuse” for Bowman’s
decision “to increase funding for the Israeli military” in violation of his
earlier pledges.

It called his participation in the J Street “propaganda trip” to Israel
part of an effort to “legitimize an apartheid state.”

Bowman’s support for the standalone Iron Dome bill in September followed
his July vote for a foreign aid bill that included more than $3 billion
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4373/text> in
military funding for Israel.

The congressman endorsed the aid only months after Israel’s horrific
massacres
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/al-wihda-street-massacre/33366> of
entire families in Gaza.

But after laying out a seemingly clear-cut case for Bowman’s expulsion,
DSA’s leadership opted for a fudge: The progressive group will not expel
Bowman but neither will it re-endorse him in 2022 “unless he is able to
demonstrate solidarity with Palestine in alignment with expectations we
have set.”

DSA’s platform states
<https://www.dsausa.org/dsa-political-platform-from-2021-convention/> that
the group will “stand in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against
apartheid, colonialism and military occupation, and for equality, human
rights and self-determination, including the boycott, divestment and
sanctions (BDS) movement.”

At this point, however, it is hard to see how Bowman could reverse the
damage he has done to Palestinians or why he should be given another chance.

At the very least, he should have been expelled from DSA but invited to
re-apply for membership when he has clearly met its political conditions.

Instead, DSA has demonstrated that it will allow celebrity members including
<https://www.dsausa.org/statements/dsa-stands-with-the-palestinian-people-national-political-committee-condemns-iron-dome-vote/>
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/alexandria-ocasio-cortez> and Bowman
to violate fundamental principles with little meaningful accountability.

Notably, Ocasio-Cortez – along with Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/rashida-tlaib> and Cori Bush
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/cori-bush> – was among only three
Democrats to vote against the July appropriations bill providing billions
to Israel.

But in September, amid tears on the House floor, Ocasio-Cortez switched her
vote
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-f-brown/democrats-abandon-rashida-tlaib-racist-onslaught>
on the additional Iron Dome funding from “no” to “present.”
Crossing Palestine’s picket line

Last month, Palestine’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National
Committee denounced the J Street junket attended by Bowman.

“Visits by politicians and parliamentarians to Israel that are organized by
Israel lobby groups, including AIPAC and J Street in the US, cross our
nonviolent Palestinian BDS picket line and harm our struggle for freedom,
justice and equality,” the group said.

Visits by politicians and parliamentarians to Israel that are organized by
Israel lobby groups, including AIPAC and J Street in the U.S., cross our
nonviolent Palestinian BDS picket line and harm our struggle for freedom,
justice and equality. pic.twitter.com/Lcc8ThJqHc <https://t.co/Lcc8ThJqHc>
— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) November 19, 2021
<https://twitter.com/BDSmovement/status/1461764402408009740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

J Street has a long history of opposing basic Palestinian rights and BDS.

While marketing itself as kinder and gentler than AIPAC, J Street’s goal is
to bridge the gap
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/j-street-brings-together-progressives-israeli-war-criminals>
between “progressives” and Israeli war criminals.

DSA’s slap on the wrist for Bowman will comfort J Street and other
pro-Israel liberal groups. Their goal is to co-opt effective left-wing
solidarity into mere rhetorical support for the moribund “two-state
solution” at the expense of Palestinian rights and liberation.

In that respect, Bowman is a dream come true for J Street.

In May – the month after Ocasio-Cortez did her own pandering performance
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/aoc-panders-israel-lobby>
in front of the Israel lobby group – Bowman took part in an online event
<https://youtu.be/eC87V89uTeA?t=1526> with the Jewish Committee Relations
Council of New York.

During the event Bowman agreed with his host’s characterization as
anti-Semitic of many of the groups
<https://mccollum.house.gov/media/press-releases/mccollum-introduces-historic-legislation-defending-human-rights-palestinian>
that have endorsed Representative Betty McCollum’s bill
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/bill-would-block-us-funding-israels-abuse-palestinian-children>
to bar Israel from using US-funded weaponry against Palestinian children.

Bowman has co-sponsored that bill so it was particularly egregious how he
threw other supporters under the bus.

“I do not align myself with those groups, I do not support the BDS
movement,” Bowman asserted.

“Israel has a right to exist, it has a right to its homeland. It has a
right to self-determination and I’m here to support that right,” the
congressman added.

Bowman is doing everything of substance that the Israel lobby could ask of
him, from voting for bombs and bullets for Israel to opposing even
nonviolent Palestinian resistance.

But he’s adept at throwing occasional symbolic crumbs that appease the
gullible and allow opponents of Palestinian rights to sugarcoat his support
for Israel.

This was on full display during the J Street junket in November, during
which Bowman posed for photos with Palestinian children in the occupied
West Bank.

Had the honor of meeting with children today in the occupied West Bank city
Hebron.

There are streets they cannot walk and places they cannot go, simply
because they are Palestinian.

When I asked about their dreams, their answer was simple: freedom.

The occupation must end. pic.twitter.com/c0JBVuCw6q
<https://t.co/c0JBVuCw6q>
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) November 10, 2021
<https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/1458520644887384064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

“There are streets they cannot walk and places they cannot go, simply
because they are Palestinian,” Bowman tweeted. “When I asked about their
dreams, their answer was simple: freedom.”

“The occupation must end,” he concluded.

All that is rich hypocrisy from someone who voted to give Israel more
weapons to kill Palestinian children and ensure the occupation never ends.

Far from supporting these Palestinian children’s “freedom,” Bowman was
cynically using them as human shields to deflect criticism of his support
for Israel.

And it worked – at least for some.
Protecting politicians or holding them accountable?

Among those who rode in to defend Bowman as he faced possible expulsion
from DSA were a handful of Arab Americans that the Tel Aviv newspaper
*Haaretz* generously described
<https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-top-progressive-group-opts-to-not-expel-u-s-congressman-over-israel-trip-1.10436455>
as “leading Palestinian activists.”

Brilliant thread from @OmarBaddar
<https://twitter.com/OmarBaddar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> on @JamaalBowmanNY
<https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>. It ridiculous &
so destructive for folks who think they’re pure to try to punish a
wonderful progressive Congressman. This is not the way to build a mov’t.
Look at his record. We need Jamaal in Congress. https://t.co/I948JRxEaz
— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) December 3, 2021
<https://twitter.com/jjz1600/status/1466563851131006982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

They included James Zogby, longtime Democratic Party stalwart and president
of the Arab American Institute, and his former deputy Omar Baddar
<https://twitter.com/OmarBaddar/status/1466507536744472578>.

Also urging that Bowman be given a break were Margaret Zaknoen DeReus
<https://twitter.com/mzdereus/status/1466493141653983233>, director of the
Institute for Middle East Understanding, and Yousef Munayyer
<https://twitter.com/YousefMunayyer/status/1466498009299095566>, former
director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

Well said! https://t.co/29A2HijUwK
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) December 2, 2021
<https://twitter.com/YousefMunayyer/status/1466498009299095566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

“Working with Congress can be full of frustration and contradictions – we
have a lot of work to do to ensure that the US isn’t complicit in Israel’s
oppression of Palestinians,” Zaknoen DeReus tweeted
<https://twitter.com/mzdereus/status/1466493151586095104>.

“I don’t believe we do that by alienating members of Congress like
[Representative Bowman] from our movement.”

Instead, she suggested that supporters of Palestinian rights “push and
build power with” Bowman “on our path to a better world for all.”

What’s the point of getting “pro-Palestinian” people in Congress if the
minute they get there they start betraying you and arming the people who
kill you while you make excuses for them and gaslight people that it’s all
ok and we should shut up and take it?
— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) December 3, 2021
<https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah/status/1466584841596588042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

But pushing and building power is exactly what DSA members were trying to
achieve by calling for Bowman’s expulsion. They wanted to send a message
that their political principles matter and cannot be violated without a
cost.

That would tell politicians seeking the endorsement, donations and
on-the-ground work of DSA members that they must uphold the political
commitments they make.

Powerful article by USPCN & @NAARPR
<https://twitter.com/NAARPR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> leaders:

"If @RepBowman <https://twitter.com/RepBowman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> truly
wants 2 uphold progressive values ... he should listen to people in his
district & to Black liberation movement. He should support #BDS
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/BDS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>, disavow &
vote against US aid to apartheid Israel"https://t.co/QajwsuRDrw
— US Palestinian Community Network (@uspcn) December 1, 2021
<https://twitter.com/uspcn/status/1466154637879300101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

By contrast, Zaknoen DeReus and others, including ultimately DSA’s National
Political Committee, appear to believe that maintaining insider ties to
politicians is more important than holding them accountable.

Instead of defending Palestinians from the hostile and lethal actions of
politicians, the “progressive” cause becomes defending politicians from
Palestinians and their supporters. This enables and prolongs the phenomenon
of “Progressive Except for Palestine
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/jan-schakowsky-progressive-except-palestine/33836>.”


In other words, the Zionist lobby who will never support Bowman no matter
how much he grovels to them can make demands & make lines in the sand, but
not the DSA who will hope that he'll "do better" on Palestine whatever that
means. https://t.co/JTkJw67Ds4
— Adam Tawfik (@TawfikZone) December 3, 2021
<https://twitter.com/TawfikZone/status/1466869606631583752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Presumably the promise is that at some indeterminate time in the future –
due to clever enough “advocacy” – Bowman will see the light and reverse his
headlong rush into the arms of the Israel lobby.

But that is never how politics works. As anyone who has watched the
Democratic Party establishment’s ratchet ever further to the right knows,
calls for those on the left to be “pragmatic” are almost always demands
that they accept the status quo.

Bowman will undoubtedly be happy to “engage” and “dialogue” with liberal
groups like the Arab American Institute or the Institute for Middle East
Understanding forever, while he continues voting to fund Israel’s crimes
against Palestinians.

Waleed Shahid, a senior Democratic Party strategist, touted Zaknoen DeReus’
intervention as a reason to oppose the expulsion of Bowman from DSA.

Good thread. Director of Palestinian rights organization @theIMEU
<https://twitter.com/theIMEU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> defends @JamaalBowmanNY
<https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> against recent
talk of expulsion and censure from DSA related to BDS.
https://t.co/du3TLyJmj1
— Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) December 2, 2021
<https://twitter.com/_waleedshahid/status/1466509280627019789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

But while party operatives undoubtedly appreciated the efforts to shield
Bowman from accountability, the grassroots reaction was far less positive –
at least judging from the scathing criticism on social media.

DSA and Jacobin were (rightly) getting criticized for their Bowman
apologia, so right on cue the think tank Arab Americans (and their liberal
Zionist cheerleaders) all jumped in at the same time to run interference.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) December 3, 2021
<https://twitter.com/stevesalaita/status/1466600160474054662?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Writer Steven Salaita observed that just as DSA and the left-wing magazine
*Jacobin*
<https://jacobinmag.com/2021/11/democratic-socialists-j-street-bds-israel-palestine-iron-dome-aoc>
“were (rightly) getting criticized” for their Bowman apologia, “the think
tank Arab Americans (and their liberal Zionist cheerleaders) all jumped in
at the same time to run interference.”

There is only a slim hope that anti-Palestinian policies will change in the
US as a result of electoral activism. But that hope is negated entirely
when Palestinian Americans – of all people – step in to protect politicians
from the justifiable outrage at their complicity in Israel’s horrific
crimes.
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