New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman apologizes for denying Hamas rape atrocities on October 7

“Sorry” may not be enough to save him.

Controversial Squad MP Jamaal Bowman finally apologized this week for initially claiming that reports of rape and child murder during Hamas’s October 7 terror attack against Israel were a “lie.”

“As soon as the (UN) presented additional evidence, I voted to condemn the sexual violence. I apologize for my comments,” Bowman said Monday during a WNYC interview after a listener asked him about the matter.

“As soon as I received the additional information from the UN, we condemned the sexual violence, we voted to condemn and we are continuing our work.”

At an anti-Israel rally in White Plains on November 17, Bowman stated: “At the beginning of the siege, propaganda was used.

“There is still no evidence of babies being decapitated or women being raped, but they keep using the lie anyway,” Bowman said, according to a video posted on TikTok and first published by Politico.

Bowman, 48, is running against 70-year-old Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the June 25 primary for the 16th District, which includes large parts of Westchester and the northern Bronx.

The election campaign was the most expensive House primary ever in terms of advertising spending, with more than $23 million spent on television, radio, online and social media ads.

According to a recent Emerson College/WPIX poll, Bowman trails Latimer by 17 percentage points among likely primary voters (48% to 31%), while 21% are undecided.

Pro-Israel activists accused Bowman of spreading Hamas propaganda by denying the atrocities committed against Israeli women and children during the Oct. 7 attack that killed an estimated 1,200 people, including 33 Americans.

Bowman had already retracted his comments from November, and on Monday the two-term congressman issued a modest “mea culpa” for the first time.

“I’m not going to be perfect. I’m going to make mistakes. I’m going to say things that hurt people, even if I don’t mean them. When I do that, I’m going to take responsibility for it. I’m going to own up to it,” he said on WNYC.

“I want to learn and develop and be the best representative I can be. That’s how my mother raised me, that’s how I was as an educator and that’s how I am now.”

Latimer and pro-Israel activists said Bowman’s apology was “too little, too late.”

“Denying rape is simply wrong. Denying the barbaric beheading of babies is simply wrong. Calling rape victims liars is simply wrong,” the Latimer campaign said in a statement on Thursday.

“And for Bowman to apologize for his lies six months later, just as he’s about to be thrown out of office, speaks volumes about his lack of decency and compassion. It’s not just that his ‘apology is too little, too late’ – it’s that no one believes Bowman because he’s proven he’ll say anything, no matter how dishonest, cruel or divisive, to stay in power.”

The Democratic Majority for Israel, which supports Latimer and accused Bowman of lying on other issues in a digital ad, also mocked the congressman’s “half-hearted” apology.

“Congressman Jamaal Bowman has changed his mind again. Bowman falsely labeled Hamas’ brutal sexual violence as ‘propaganda.’ Now, on the eve of an election he is losing, Bowman is offering a half-hearted apology,” said DMFI President Mark Mellman.

“Far too little. Far too late.”

Meanwhile, Bowman is trying to appeal to younger voters. On Wednesday night, he appeared on CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” where he discussed both hip-hop and the war in the Middle East.

Bowman said he immediately condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel as “horrific,” but called Israel’s retaliatory actions in Gaza “collective punishment” and called for a “permanent ceasefire.” He said, “We must lay down our arms.”

The congressman is also scheduled to appear with rapper Cash Cobain at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester on Thursday evening.

According to the Emerson/PIX/The Hill poll, Bowman leads Latimer (35%) with 44% among voters under 40, while older voters chose the Westchester County Executive by double-digit percentages.