(Headline USA) “Squad” Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., tried to explain away his denial that Hamas sexually assaulted women during its Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, claiming the bombastic statement in support of violent terrorists was just part of his nature.
“I think that’s representative of the kind of person I am and the kind of representative that I have tried to be,” he said, downplaying the comments.
“I am not going to be perfect; I am going to make mistakes; I’m going to say things that harm people even though I don’t mean to,” he said. “And when I do, I’m going to take accountability for it.”
Bowman made the controversial remarks shortly after the Oct. 7 attack, telling a pro-Palestinian rally in Westchester, N.Y., that the witness accounts and graphic images detailing the traumatic acts of sexual violence were Israeli propaganda.
“There was propaganda used in the beginning of the siege,” he said to a crowd of around 50 demonstrators on Nov. 17.
“There’s still no evidence of beheaded babies or raped women,” he claimed, despite strong documentation from the Israeli Defense Forces, who granted media access to the crime scenes and encouraged people not to turn away from the horrific images. “But they still keep using that lie [for] propaganda.”
Bowman has since been forced to walk back that claim, especially as his primary race against Democratic challenger and Westchester County Executive George Latimer has tightened.
In March, he released a statement clarifying that he stands “against sexual violence in all forms and … for peace for all.”
And in an interview with WNYC this week, he again tried to distance himself from his earlier rape denial.
“Immediately when the [United Nations] provided additional evidence, I voted to condemn the sexual violence,” he claimed. “As soon as I got the additional information from the UN, we condemned the sexual violence, we voted to condemn it, and we’re continuing to do the work.”
However, the lawmaker, best known for pulling a fire alarm last year during a critical vote on a government shutdown, rarely appears to accept any actual accountability for the harm his actions may cause.
In fact, after prominent Democrats including Hillary Clinton recently endorsed Latimer to replace him due largely to his anti-Semitic statements and tacit support for terrorism, Bowman accused his fellow Democrats of racism.
He previously accused Latimer of using racial dogwhistles against him for criticizing his anti-Semitic remarks.
4/ Bowman: “They (the crowd) understand that we need passion at this moment. You want to go to Washington and play nice with Marjorie Taylor Greene?
Latimer: You vote with her, so why shouldn’t you go play nice with her! pic.twitter.com/CKhgDWcpFi
— Dovi Safier (@safier) May 14, 2024
“It’s the ‘Southern strategy’ in the North!” Bowman claimed.
A recent poll by Emerson College/WPIX found Bowman trailing Latimer by 17 points among likely voters.
