Bowman Makes Amends With Democratic Socialists After Rift Over Israel

Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York told members of the socialist group that his views on Israel aligned with theirs, and insisted that he never quit the group, despite earlier claims.

Last fall, in the days after Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York appeared ready to make a hard public break with the Democratic Socialists of America.

Mr. Bowman condemned a rally promoted by the group “in the strongest possible terms” after some attendees glorified the slaughter of 1,200 Israelis. His office also took the opportunity to publicize for the first time that he had let his own D.S.A. membership lapse amid earlier disagreements over funding for Israeli defenses.

But in a private video meeting with the group late last month, Mr. Bowman insisted he had never actually left, shifting his story as he sought to mend fences with the small but influential group amid a primary challenge that has become a symbolic test of his party’s divisions over Israel.

“I’m still a member,” the congressman said in a recording of the May 26 meeting that was obtained and verified by The New York Times. “I didn’t let my dues lapse.”

Pressed by members to explain why his office had publicly stated otherwise, he added: “Media has a tendency to talk about B.S., and not focus on the race. And we wanted to make sure we were focusing on our race at that time and getting re-elected.”