Rep. Jamaal Bowman hosted a fundraiser with an extremist Muslim leader who praised Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel and has been personally condemned by the White House.
The event took place this week at a private residence in Fairfax, Virginia which promised Bowman and alongside Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American–Islamic Relations, according to a flier viewed by The Post.
News of the event was first posted to X by Jewish Insider.
During his time in Congress, Bowman has become one the top Israel-haters in Washington, accusing the Jewish state of crimes in Gaza. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has said it plans to spend millions in an effort to unseat him, with the first ads expected to roll out in the coming weeks.
Bowman is using opposition from the pro-Israel lobby as an opportunity to fund-raise.
“As a direct result of his call for a Gaza ceasefire, AIPAC has vowed to spend $100 million against progressive members of Congress—and Jamaal is their top target,” the flyer for the Bowman event reads.
AIPAC, and other more moderate Democrats are backing George Latimer, the popular Westchester County Executive. One alarming poll for Bownan showed Latimer dominating the race — but insiders expect it to be close.
Back in December, Awad publicly said he “was happy to see” the Hamas slaughter in Israel which left some 1,200 dead and hundreds taken hostage. He added that “The people of Gaza have the right to self-defense.”
The remark prompted the White House to sever ties with the organization — which has long been accused as being an incubator for domestic terrorism.
“We condemn these shocking, antisemitic statements in the strongest terms,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said at the time.
“The horrific, brutal terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on Oct. 7 were, as President Biden said, ‘abhorrent’ and represent ‘unadulterated evil.’”
The White House swiftly moved to scrub CAIR from its “National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.”
In a Facebook post, Awad lauded Bowman as a “staunch defender of Palestinian rights” and urged anyone who wanted to attend to send him a private message.
Reps for Bowman did not respond to request for comment.
