“I represent working class, Black man, person-of-color progressive, who has the audacity to challenge AIPAC and say no to AIPAC. If we're able to win, that empowers millions to do the same.”  

- Congressman Jamaal Bowman on his upcoming primary

In this episode of ‘Stage Left,’ Cynthia Nixon sits down with Congressman Jamaal Bowman in his campaign office to discuss his upcoming primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District. 

Bowman’s race has garnered national attention, as the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC is expected to spend up to $25 million trying to unseat Bowman. Meanwhile, GOP mega donors have been holding fundraisers for his centrist opponent George Latimer, as they try to rid Congress of one of its most progressive members.

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Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, Bowman has become one of Congress’s most vocal critics of Israel’s war, calling for an immediate ceasefire as early as October 16th. 

“The fact that we're not moving with that sense of urgency, the fact that we've invited Benjamin Netanyahu here to address a joint session of Congress – I'm in complete horror and disbelief,” Bowman told Nixon. 

Bowman’s criticism of Israel has not come without a price. Earlier this month, his former colleague Mondaire Jones – who made history with Bowman back in 2020 when they both became the first Black congressmen to represent Westchester County – endorsed Bowman’s opponent, accusing Bowman of sowing “pain and anxiety” among his Jewish constituents. 

“He [Jones] did it for political reasons. He’s trying to win a race in New York 17, and so I guess he feels that doing this will help him to win,” Bowman said, when asked about Jones dropping his support for him. “It's just an example of how trash politics has become, because politics isn't about the people. It's about the money and the power.”

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In their advertisements, AIPAC has accused Bowman of pushing antisemitic, “lies and conspiracy theories.” When asked what he would say to his Jewish constituents, Bowman told Nixon, “I’m not antisemitic.”

“I support Israel's right to exist. I support a two state solution, but Israel has to follow international law,” Bowman said. “There's already been children who’ve starved to death [in Gaza]. And the Jewish constituents that I know don't want this.”

Watch the full discussion to hear more about what’s at stake for New York’s 16th Congressional District, the type of legislation Bowman is introducing in Congress, and what Bowman says to young people who are weary of voting for Biden this time around.

‘Stage Left’ is hosted by award-winning actor and progressive advocate Cynthia Nixon, where she covers pivotal issues facing New York and the U.S. in this election year. 

“Charities are not intended to provide weapons to individuals and groups to kill other people, yet we’re not applying that when it comes to Palestinians.”
- NY Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (N-36)

Zeteo launches a new series called ‘Stage Left’, hosted by award-winning actor and progressive advocate Cynthia Nixon. Nixon will be covering pivotal issues facing New York and the U.S. in this election year. 

In this first episode of ‘Stage Left’, Nixon interviews New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani about his 2023 bill, ‘Not On Our Dime’. Introduced last year and reintroduced in May, the bill aims to prohibit New York charities from “funding Israeli settler violence”. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently endorsed the bill.

According to ‘Not On Our Dime’, New York charities that are subsidized by the government, and give their donors tax breaks on donations, are sending large sums that go toward illegal Israeli settlement expansion and both settler and state violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and, now, Gaza as well.

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“A number of New York charities send more than $60 million a year to fund the violation of international law,” Mamdani tells Nixon. Organizations have “raised money for thermal drones and surveillance cameras for settlers” as well as “pistol to rifle conversion kits.”

If signed into law, the bill would allow the state attorney general to sue nonprofits that are violating the bill’s restrictions for at least $1 million and revoke their tax-exempt status.

“There isn't a percentage of violation of international law that we should ever accept,” Mamdani said. “And this legislation seeks to make what is implicit in many of our understandings, explicit in the law of the state of New York.”

Watch their full discussion about the details of the bill, the kinds of charities that have been flagged, and what their money has been helping fund abroad - and listen to Mamdani respond to some of his critics’ accusations of antisemitism.