In response to the pro-"Israel" lobby spending millions of dollars to unseat a well-known member of the progressive Democratic "Squad" in Tuesday's St. Louis primary, Representative Cori Bush issued a warning, telling them "to be afraid."

Bush claimed that her defeat to St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell following the extreme American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) targeting of her for opposing "Israel's" genocide in Gaza had allowed her to openly challenge the influential organization, which has pledged to spend $100 million to sway US elections this year in favor of "Israel".

Bell, with strong support from his party, is now heavily favored to win this overwhelmingly Democratic district in the upcoming November elections, where the Democratic Party aims to regain control of the US House of Representatives.

"I am committed to serving the St. Louis region in Congress with integrity, transparency, and dedication. Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive," Bell said in his victory statement. 

Bush told her supporters, “They’re about to see this other Cori, this other side."

“AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down," she said challengingly, adding, “All they did was radicalze me, so now they need to be afraid."

Although AIPAC has boasted about its ability to garner congressional support, critics claim that the lobby group should be required to register as an agent of a foreign government because it prioritizes "Israel's" interests over US ones. Bush did not specify how she plans to take on AIPAC going forward.

Bell's campaign significantly benefited from the backing of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose super political action committee, United Democracy Project (UDP), invested $8.5 million to unseat Bush. She faced criticism and targeting due to her vocal disapproval of the Israeli occupation's onslaught on Gaza since October 7, following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

 

 

 

 

 

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This strategy had previously succeeded in New York, where UDP spent $15 million in June to defeat another Squad member, US Representative Jamaal Bowman, who lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israeli occupation centrist.

AIPAC took to X to celebrate, saying, “Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics.”

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But pro-Bush groups revealed that almost none of the UDP advertising addressed the war on Gaza or Bush’s demand for a ceasefire. Rather than focusing on relevant matters, the UDP attacked her on her congressional voting record.

Foreign interference

A coalition of progressive Jewish organizations called Jews for Cori said that "AIPAC's interference" in favor of Republicans and "Israel" was responsible for Bush's defeat.

In a statement, it said, “While AIPAC targeted both [Jamaal] Bowman and Bush because of their support for Palestinian human rights, the group did not highlight or even mention this issue in their smear campaigns. While AIPAC will claim their positions are ‘good policy and good politics’ it is clear that they are well aware that they are losing the battle for public opinion."

Justice Democrats, which donated $1.8m in support of Bush, called Bell “an empty suit for AIPAC and its GOP mega-donors to advance their own interests."

The pro-"Israel" lobby's massive expenditures to unseat certain members of Congress, according to the group's director Alexandra Rojas, are a show of weakness.

“As AIPAC’s influence in Congress wanes and the rightwing network that props it up is exposed, AIPAC has to spend historic amounts in Democratic elections to continue advancing their interests at the expense of the Democratic mainstream that overwhelmingly supports a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza,” she noted.

Read more: 'Israel's' online influence operations target US lawmakers

If AIPAC intended for attacks on Bush and Bowman to serve as a warning to other Congresspeople about the consequences of criticizing the policies of the Israeli government and taking positions in opposition to the US significant military aid to "Israel", then the strategy may have the desired effect of inciting other politicians to refrain from criticizing "Israel" for fear of facing a well-funded adversary.

Many of AIPAC's previous targets, including "Squad" members who were well-known for criticizing "Israel", had escaped the assault because of their widespread support in their communities.

In the 2022 primary, a challenger supported by significant pro-"Israel" funding nearly defeated Ilhan Omar, another member of the Squad who has faced accusations of antisemitism due to her criticism of "Israel". Next week's Democratic primary will see Omar take on the same opponent, Don Samuels, once more; however, AIPAC and comparable organizations have not invested as much funds or time in this year's contest. According to polls, Omar has a significant advantage.

The UDP focused its efforts this year on Bush and Bowman, who were vulnerable to attack on issues other than "Israel" and Gaza, which many voters agree with them on. Both members of Congress struggled to justify voting against Joe Biden’s trillion-dollar infrastructure bill – a primary line of attack of negative advertising.

Bush, remaining steadfast in her beliefs during her concession speech, declared, "We will keep supporting a free Palestine," to which a crowd member responded, "Free, free Palestine."

Bush had previously described the Israeli onslaught on Gaza as an "ethnic cleansing campaign" and criticized the Israeli occupation's actions on social media.