Bowman-Latimer race spins into rancor over views on Israel, Gaza war and campaign donors

It began with a testy exchange outside a school auditorium − and snowballed into a bitter campaign clash over donors and the war in Gaza.

The already brittle race between Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Westchester County Executive George Latimer for Bowman's House seat seemed to lurch into a nastier gear last week. It started with a report on the Black Westchester news site that Latimer had accused Bowman of receiving campaign donations from Hamas, the group that slaughtered Israeli civilians and took hostages on Oct. 7.

It came as a retort to someone who confronted Latimer, not as a public statement. Nonetheless, Bowman's campaign quickly responded with a letter from his lawyer, threatening to sue Latimer for defamation unless he retracted his claim and refrained from repeating it.

Latimer's camp fired back with a press release blasting Bowman for a "baseless attack," launched in a "desperate attempt to deflect attention from his multiple scandals," which it listed with footnotes to articles.

Then came a return volley: a statement from two Islamic advocacy groups that condemned Latimer for his "refusal to say that all Muslims are not part of Hamas," when challenged to do so in a Facebook post.

The skirmish seemed to signal a caustic race ahead, fueled by emotional debate over the Oct. 7 attack and Israel's military response. The two Democrats are starkly opposed: Bowman condemns Israel for the deaths and displacement of civilians in battered Gaza, demanding a ceasefire; Latimer backs Israel's quest to destroy its attackers, likening it to the U.S. response to Pearl Harbor and 9/11.

The unlikely trigger for last week's flare-up came at a Black History celebration at New Rochelle High School on Feb. 10. Latimer, making the rounds there, got into a heated political conversation with a woman attending the event, who referred to donations made to him through an influential pro-Israel group as his "taking money from the devil."

Latimer bristled, claiming in return that Bowman was "taking money from Hamas," as Black Westchester editor A.J. Woodson reported after overhearing the conversation.

What did Latimer say about the flap?

Latimer, in an interview, said the account omitted an important word from his response. He recalls saying Bowman had taken money from Hamas supporters, not from the militant group itself. (Taking donations from a foreign group or individual would violate federal law.)

"I didn’t accuse him of taking money directly from Hamas," he said. "That’s absurd. And for someone to assert that is crazy. You would think I didn’t know what I was doing in this business if I would say something like that.”

He based his statement on an article in the conservative Free Beacon news site about a joint fundraiser in Los Angeles that Bowman held this month with another progressive House member. It described the organizers as "anti-Israel activists who have defended Hamas in the wake of the terror group's Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state."

The woman Latimer spoke with confirmed their conversation in an interview on Friday, but didn't want to be named in a story. She said he clearly linked Bowman with Hamas in his remark, which she thought was unfair regardless of whether he included the word "supporters."

Fundraising contrast: Pro-Israel and local donors power Latimer to big lead over Bowman in funds for primary

Bowman, for his part, accused Latimer of Islamophobia for his Hamas remark.

"Equating all Muslims to Hamas is textbook Islamophobic and it puts our Muslim-American community in real danger," he said in a statement.

Latimer's campaign rebutted that claim in its press release, saying "everyone knows" most Muslims "are not members of, and do not support Hamas."

Clashing views: Westchester heavyweights Bowman, Latimer spar over their records, Israel as primary looms

In the interview, Latimer said he had avoided directly criticizing Bowman since entering the race in December, but had no choice but to respond to Bowman's legal threat. He described it as "a big PR stunt," made by a flailing campaign after a series of negative stories.

“I think he’s in trouble, and I think that’s what he’s doing," Latimer said. "He's trying to figure out how to give me some shade because he’s had so much."

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rancor grows in Bowman-Latimer race after report about donor dispute