The New York Times was criticized for a headline blaming 'pro-Israel money' for Congressman Jamaal Bowman's loss to George Latimer in a Democratic party primary on Tuesday.
A headline on an article the Times published on the primary result read, "Bowman falls in House primary, overtaken by flood of pro-Israel money."
The headline was later changed to "Bowman falls to Latimer in a loss for Progressive Democrats."
Aviva Klompas, the former director of speechwriting at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations, wrote on X in response to the Times' original headline, Has the @nytimes considered that the people of New York were unhappy with Bowman’s performance as a member of Congress?"
"Of course not. It must have been the Jews," she said.
Another X user said, "You know the drill: They're already laying the groundwork to blame the Jews for their own failure."
In another article on the primary, the Times called the election results the "first big win" for AIPAC, which historically had refrained from spending money on election campaigns in this manner.
Latimer received 58% of the vote in the primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District, while Bowman received 42%.
Latimer had been leading Bowman in polls by significant margins for months, even before pro-Israel groups like AIPAC got involved in the campaign.
The clash between Latimer and Bowman set new records in spending for a Congressional primary. AIPAC contributed $15 million to the campaign to unseat Bowman. Bowman himself received millions in campaign funding from outside the state of New York.
Bowman, a member of the far-left 'squad,' has frequently courted controversy. Last year, Bowman pulled a fire alarm to disrupt a session of Congress and claimed he was attempting to open a door. He later plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge for activating the fire alarm.
Bowman has also frequently criticized Israel following the Hamas massacre of October 7, accusing the Jewish State of genocide in its attempts to defend itself from Hamas. He denied the rapes Hamas committed on October 7 as "lies and "propaganda" in remarks he recently apologized for, and has frequently called for a ceasefire that would leave Hamas in power in Gaza.
Bowman's anti-Israel animus has led to accusations of antisemitism against him.