Lapid congratulates candidate who ousted Jamaal Bowman: A victory for moderate politics

Opposition leader Yair Lapid on Wednesday congratulated George Latimer, who won the Democratic primary in New York and defeated Israel critic Jamaal Bowman.

“Congratulations to my friend George Latimer on his victory in the Democratic primary. It’s a victory for moderate politics and for a strong US-Israel relationship based on our deeply held shared values,” Lapid wrote in a post on social media site X.

Bowman, a notorious critic of Israel, lost the primary to Latimer on Tuesday night, marking the first defeat for a member of the so-called “Squad” of progressive lawmakers who are known for their anti-Israel stance.

Pro-Israel groups had backed Latimer with historic levels of spending during the campaign.

Bowman has in the past spearheaded an initiative by 14 Democrats who urged the Biden administration to ensure US taxpayer funds are not supporting “Israeli settlements projects”, and to determine whether US military aid is in violation of the Arms Export Control Act or the so-called “Leahy Law.”

Last year, he joined other members of “The Squad” in boycotting President Isaac Herzog's address to a joint session of Congress.

More recently, a video surfaced of Bowman claiming that the accusations that Hamas terrorists committed acts of rape and beheaded babies during the massacre of October 7 were "lies". He subsequently apologized for the comments.