Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Rep. Jamaal Bowman meets with Israeli Consul General after criticism of Israel’s vaccination drive

Congressman Jamaal Bowman from New York engaged in a “thoughtful conversation” with Israel Nitzan, acting Israeli consul general in New York, on Wednesday.

Bowman, who defeated longtime congressman Eliot Engel in the 16th District last year, criticized Israel earlier this year for not offering to distribute coronavirus vaccines to Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.

In a since-deleted tweet in January, Bowman, who represents one of the largest Jewish districts in the country, joined a number of his progressive colleagues in criticizing Israel for not distributing vaccines to the Palestinian population. “This cruelty is another reminder of why the occupation must end,” he wrote. After facing backlash from local Jewish leaders, Bowman sent a letter to Nitzan, saying he was “heartened” to learn that Israel sent 5,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Palestinian territories.

Bowman, 45, was a middle-school principal in the Bronx before he ran for office. Last year, he received the backing of the Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee, and Sen. Bernie Sanders in his challenge against Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who was supported by pro-Israel groups. Bowman said in an interview following his victory that part of his foreign policy focus is to be “more involved” in the humanitarian needs of Palestinians.

In his lengthy letter to Nitzan, Bowman said he’d accept an invitation to meet to learn more about the issue and develop a working relationship.

The two met in person at the Israeli Consulate in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday. In a tweet following the meeting, Nitzan thanked Bowman “for the thoughtful conversation” and said he’s “looking forward to building upon this relationship.”

Itay Milner, the consulate’s spokesperson, told the Forward that the meeting was part of an ongoing effort to reach out to all segments of the Democratic party. “The progressive movement and the State of Israel share common goals,” Milner said. “That is why we welcome and encourage dialogue with all local elected officials, regardless of their political affiliations.”

A representative for Bowman didn’t immediately return a request for comment about the meeting. Bowman responded to Nitzan’s tweet, saying he “thoroughly enjoyed speaking” with him.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.