Less than two days after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's headquarters was vandalized, Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.) promised to tear down the Jewish group—a remark that caps off a failed primary campaign that began with an accusation she was "fanning the flames of antisemitism."
Three masked suspects sprayed "F— Israel" on AIPAC's Washington, D.C., headquarters and destroyed property early Monday morning, Jewish Insider reported Wednesday. Palestine Action, a global anti-Israel coalition, claimed responsibility and accused AIPAC of propping up "morally bankrupt" American politicians.
Then, late Tuesday night, Bush blamed the Jewish group for her loss to her AIPAC-funded primary challenger, St. Louis prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell.
"All they did was radicalize me, and so now they should be afraid. See, now they about to see this other Cori, this other side," Bush said during her concession speech. "AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down."
AIPAC, which has spent millions in successful races to oust anti-Israel candidates, used the opportunity for a victory lap.
"Voters across America are rejecting anti-Israel voices in favor of candidates who understand the vital importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship," AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann told the Washington Free Beacon. "The outcome in this race—as in so many others—shows that the pro-Israel position is both good policy and good politics for both parties."
"We will not be deterred by the illegal actions of fringe, anti-Israel extremists in our efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship," Wittmann said in response to the vandalism of AIPAC headquarters.
Bush's fellow "Squad" member Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) similarly blamed his landslide primary loss on AIPAC and accused the group of spending millions to "brainwash" voters into opposing him.
But local Jewish leaders, in addition to AIPAC, also supported Bush's and Bowman's challengers. A St. Louis coalition of rabbis and other Jewish leaders accused Bush in November of "fanning the flames of antisemitism" and showing "little outrage against the horrendous attacks."
Since Oct. 7, Bush and Bowman both have pushed anti-Israel rhetoric and have embraced anti-Semites—positions that became central to their failed primary campaigns. One group supporting the pair, RootsAction, blamed Israel for Hamas's Oct. 7 attack the day after the massacre, arguing that "cruel Israeli occupation and expansionism" was the "root" of the violence.
More recently, Bush refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization. She instead sympathized with the group, noting that she and other anti-police activists were "considered terrorists" while protesting Michael Brown's death in 2014.
She has also conflated Israel and Iran, condemned Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a perpetrator of "maniacal, genocidal acts," and boycotted Netanyahu's address to Congress.
Bush did not return a request for comment.