The New York Times quietly altered a headline for an article about New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s Democratic primary loss that initially framed his stinging defeat as the result of “a flood of pro-Israel money.”
Bowman, the far-left “Squad” member who has routinely lashed out at Israel and its supporters, was badly beaten by Westchester County Executive George Latimer in Tuesday’s race, losing to the moderate, pro-Israel Democrat by double digits.
The Gray Lady’s headline for the earlier version of the article, published Tuesday, read, “Bowman Falls in House Primary, Overtaken by Flood of Pro-Israel Money.”
The eyebrow-raising wording drew sharp criticism across social media including some accusations of antisemitism.
“Has the [New York Times] 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,” tweeted Aviva Klompas, a writer and co-founder of advocacy group Boundless Israel.
Sharing a screenshot of the original article, human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky wrote, “No. Bowman fell because he was an extremist, had bad policies and was widely disliked in his own district,” in a post on X.
“But leave it to [The New York Times] to use a vile antisemitic trope.”
The headline was updated by Wednesday morning, stripped of its anti-Israel slant to read “Bowman Falls to Latimer in a Loss for Progressive Democrats.”
The Times did not respond to The Post’s request for comment and no editor’s note explaining the change has been added to the article as of late Wednesday afternoon.
In the months leading up to his spectacular primary belly-flop, the soon-to-be-ex-rep. stepped up his attacks against Israel, calling it an “apartheid state” and claiming at a rally last year that the rapes and child murders reported during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack were a “lie” — remarks he later walked back.
He’s also accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the attack that killed more than 1,200 civilians.
The American Israel Public Affairs committee (AIPAC), along with other prominent pro-Israel groups, have been bankrolling primary challenges against politicians like Bowman — and fellow “Squad” member Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) — who make anti-Israel remarks.
AIPAC spent a record $14.5 million on its effort to oust Bowman from office, including a blistering ad blitz kicking off in mid-May that saturated New York City television screens with pro-Latimer attack ads.
Bowman was already trailing Latimer by 17 points as far back as April 3, a full six weeks before AIPAC’s primary spending spree.
His rhetoric against the Jewish State intensified at a steady clip over the last few months of his doomed reelection bid.
Two days before the primary election, Bowman held a rally in the Bronx, hoping to generate some excitement for his flailing campaign from fellow progressives Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The sparsely attended event definitely attracted some attention for Bowman — but not the kind his campaign intended.
The rally was widely panned as cringeworthy, with Bowman’s trademark manic, over-the-top behavior on full display as he unleashed a potty-mouthed torrent at his favorite target.
“We are gonna show f–king AIPAC the power of the motherf–king South Bronx,” he bellowed to a crowd of about 300.
The controversial rep’s ouster was cheered by New York Republicans and Democrats alike.
New York Republican Party chair Ed Cox said “good riddance” to the progressive two-term lawmaker in response to his primary stumble.
“Being a little bit to the left is not necessarily a reason to just run against someone — it would be that they are taking positions on issues that actually aren’t helping their constituents,” former New York Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat, told The Post of Bowman’s double-digit loss.
“It’s more ideological than it is service to the people who sent you there.”
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also a Democrat, penned a blistering rebuke of Bowman on X, comparing his political acumen to that of a pre-teen.
“Tonight middle school children who pull fire alarms & do it while denying rape as a weapon of war lost. And progress won,” the Democrat said, referring to how Bowman infamously pulled a fire alarm to delay a government shutdown vote last year.
“You can’t be a real progressive if you don’t make ‘progress.’ Now we can!” he added.
Bowman – who was first elected to represent the 16th District in 2020 — is the first member of the “Squad” to lose office following the most expensive congressional primary ever in terms of ad spending.
Latimer will be heavily favored in the Nov. 5 general election to represent the deep-blue Bronx and Westchester constituency of the 16th Congressional District.
