'Squad' member Cori Bush threatens pro-Israel advocacy group as she concedes congressional primary race

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The Democratic U.S. Representative Cori Bush lost the Missouri House Representative seat on Wednesday to her political rival Wesley Bell, the chief prosecutor for St- Louis County. Bush, who is a member of “The Squad,” a group of far-leftist lawmakers, is known for her vitriolic anti-Israel advocacy, delivered an angry concession speech.

"All you did was take some of the strings off," Bush said after her primary defeat. "As much as a I love(d) my job, all they did was radicalize me.....now they should be afraid," she warned. Bush concluded her speech by specifically targeting the pro-Israel organization AIPAC.

"AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down," Bush threatened without any elaboration. She was reportedly frustrated with the fact that AIPAC had donated almost $9 million to her rival Bell’s campaign.

Bush is a Black Lives Matter activist who openly supports the anti-Israel Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) non-violent movement that promoting boycotts, divestments and economic sanctions against Israel. The BDS movement has garnered global criticism as a form of economic and political warfare that undermines efforts towards peace and coexistence. Supporters argue it is a peaceful means of addressing grievances and advocating for human rights for Palestinians.

The Squad member has been firmly opposed to the U.S. military support for its ally Israel. Bush has also embraced the narrative that falsely equates the State of Israel as an “apartheid state,” ignoring that around 20% of Israel’s population are Muslim, Druze and Christian Arabs with full civic rights.

After the Hamas Oct. 7 invasion and terror attack in southern Israeli border communities with Gaza, Bush and her political ally, Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), were the only two U.S. Congress members who opposed a measure that denied U.S. entry to terrorists who perpetrated the Oct. 7 atrocities against Israeli civilians, including the deaths of 1,200 men, women and children of all ages.

At the time, Bush claimed the legal measure was “a redundant, empty messaging bill Republicans are using to target immigrants and incite anti-Palestinian hate.”

Newly-elected Missouri House Representative Wesley Bell condemned Bush’s support of the Hamas and Palestinian terrorists.

“Rep. Cori Bush’s vote today is shameful and reprehensible. She was one of only two people in the entire Congress to vote in favor of allowing terrorists who participated in the horrific October 7th attack on Israel to enter the United States,” Bell stated.

“Rep. Bush’s vote is offensive and embarrassing to our community. We will never be a safe haven for terrorists, and we need a Congressperson who knows better,” he added.

As a far-left U.S. lawmaker, Bush has frequently presented herself as a champion of human rights, even when it comes to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In September 2023, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a bi-partisan bill that sanctioned the Iranian regime for its systematic oppression of the Iranian people and especially Iranian women.

Bush was one of only three lawmakers to oppose the bill, which was passed on the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death. Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman, died while in the custody of Iran’s "morality" police after being arrested for not wearing the Muslim veil.