On Saturday, just over six months to the day that Israel was attacked by Hamas on October 7, our ally in the Middle East was attacked by Iranian missiles, though most were intercepted, according to the IDF. As news of the attack came in, with many members of Congress on both side of the aisle expressing support for Israel, Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) decided to go in a different direction.
In a since deleted post, Bush's personal account shared an April 11 clip from the Justice Democrats account. That April 11 clip is still up.
"It's time to reject anti-democracy candidates like my primary challenger, hand-picked and bankrolled by Republican billionaires and Trump mega-donors," Bush noted in her post, using the exact language from the video clip. "St. Louis and I #RejectAIPAC and stand on the side of peace, democracy and reproductive freedom. Join us," she boldly declared, despite how she could very possibly lose her August primary against DA Wesley Bell.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) deleted an anti-AIPAC tweet she posted tonight as Israel started getting attacked by Iran. pic.twitter.com/cwagINcgu5
— Daniel Lippman (@dlippman) April 14, 2024
As the Iranian regime sends missiles & drones to Israel, Congresswoman Cori Bush tweets our more false, inflammatory garbage about AIPAC.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) April 13, 2024
MARK YOUR CALENDARS St. Louis (District 1) - August 6th Democratic Primary VOTE Wesley Bell and help sack Cori Bush. pic.twitter.com/4zWnq5ootq
The video clip in question plays cheery music as it claims the answer to the question of "why are so many Democratic politicians afraid to speak out against the Israeli government," is because of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The video refers to AIPAC as "one Republican-funded acronym," leaving out how they support members from both parties.
The video clip then focuses on race, as it laments, this time to more foreboding music, how "AIPAC is planning to spend $100 million against a handful of black and brown Democratic incumbents."
"Where is this money coming from," the narrator then asks to more foreboding music, linking to far-left sites such as Salon and Slate to claim nine of the top 10 donors to the United Democracy Project--the super PAC for AIPAC--are Republican. The video then goes off even more off the rails to hysterically warn they're "the same donors funding anti-abortion, anti-IVF, pro-NRA Republicans." There's also foreboding warnings about how AIPAC endorses "insurrectionist Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 election."
The video then also calls on President Joe Biden, who was featured earlier in the clip from older footage in his younger days proudly declaring his attendance at AIPAC events, to remind that, as he's claimed as president, "you can't be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy, you can't be pro-insurrection and pro-American."
Clips of somber protesters, revealed to be pro-Hamas agitators in favor of a ceasefire, are then shown as music plays that's no doubt meant to be a call to action. "While voters watch in horror as American tax dollars fund Israel's massive killings, AIPAC's only remaining tactic is to silence Democratic incumbents with multimillion dollar primaries funded by Republican dark money, the narrator declares. It is at that point that Bush is shown side-by-side against her and Bell.
"We call on all voters, elected officials, and political organizations to reject AIPAC." More inspiring music plays as the video issues another call to "reject candidates hand-picked and bankrolled by Donald Trump's donors. Reject silence as tens of thousands of Palestinians are murdered. When we reject AIPAC, we're one massive step closer to rejecting the grip of all corporate super PACs on our elections."
Not only does the video lament "Israel's massive killings" and how "Palestinians are murdered," via figures used as propaganda, but it never once mentions that it was Hamas' brutal attack on Israel from October 7, resulting in 1,200 Israelis killed and 240 hostages taken, that started this conflict.
Bush may have deleted her post sometime on Saturday night, but Justice Democrats has continued to put out posts and reposts arguing against supporting our ally in the Middle East. One post of theirs, which resposted a statement of theirs from December 8, doubled down on demands a ceasefire, referring to it as something that "isn't a choice," but rather "a mandate."
Further, as of early Sunday morning, neither of Bush's accounts have made any mention of Iran's attack against Israel.
And, the most recent post of hers from her political account that is still up, from Thursday, is a "Protect the Squad" livestream from Justice Democrats in which she and other members of the anti-Israel Squad sought to raise money for their reelection efforts. Not only is Bush at risk of losing to Bell, but so is Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who is facing a primary challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
"I'm a threat to AIPAC," the post from Thursday claims. "Because they can't buy me, they can't silence me, and with your help—even with $100M—they won't beat us."
I'm a threat to AIPAC.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) April 11, 2024
Because they can't buy me, they can't silence me, and with your help—even with $100M—they won't beat us.
Our movement is strong, but our Squad is under attack. Tonight, we’re raising money to #ProtectTheSquad!
Join us now: https://t.co/dYUPRQpha5
Bush hasn't just turned her back on Israel with a badly timed post and any lack of support. She, like so many other members of the Squad, has voted against funding for the Iron Dome that has been crucial to protecting Israel.
The other Squad members have also failed to post about the attack against Israel, even though some of them, like Bowman, did make unrelated posts on Saturday.
Bell reposted a statement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). In addition to being endorsed by AIPAC, Bell was also more recently endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel. When announcing his campaign late last October, Bush's primary challenger also spoke positively about Israel and shared his appreciation for the Iron Dome's capabilities.
Statement in connection with Iran’s unprecedented attack against the State of Israel. pic.twitter.com/70KpoudsIj
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) April 13, 2024
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