House Democrat, who is not Jewish, lectures Jews on what it means to be Jewish — and it doesn't end well

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) arrogantly claimed Monday that Jews are not following the tenets of Judaism if they do not advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza.

At a pro-ceasefire rally in Washington, Bowman — who is not Jewish — stole a move from President Joe Biden's playbook and told Jews that if they really want to be Jewish, they must do what he wants and support a ceasefire.

"I've heard what was said here this evening before that, by me calling for a ceasefire with my colleagues and centering humanity, I am uplifting deeply what it actually means to be Jewish because I'm centering the way in which God wants us to live with each other, so I feel grateful to be standing here," Bowman said.

Bowman went on to accuse Israel of war crimes, parroted Hamas' unverifiable claims about civilian deaths, and attacked Israel's government.

"The Israeli government does not represent Judaism or Jewish values and the Jewish people," Bowman said. "It does not, just like Hamas doesn't represent the Palestinian people, and so, we have to hold these governments accountable for how they behave and treat people in the name of the people they're supposed to represent. We have to be honest about that."

Bowman's lecture predictably went over like a lead balloon.

• "If only Judaism came with rules books about 'what it actually means to be Jewish'..." mocked Rabbi Josh Yuter.
• "No, sorry, @RepBowman, you don't get to Jew-splain me here. There's a reason most American/Israeli Jews are against a ceasefire -- it isn't 'centering OUR humanity.' We want to protect Jewish lives/Jewish state -- which is 'uplifting deeply what it actually means to be Jewish,'" Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn responded.
• "Sir, are you Gentilesplaining what it means to be Jewish…to Jews? ::pulls fire alarm::" Fox News Radio host Guy Benson mocked.
• "The problem I want to address here is the 'No True Scotsman' fallacy applied to Jewishness. Nobody, even people espousing positions I may support, has the right to legislate who is 'actually' a Jew simply based on ideological congruence," professor Mark Leuchtersaid.
• "Imagine a Jew lecturing black people about what it actually means to be black," one person pointed out.
• "If there are two things this guy understands, it’s Judaism and fire alarms," another person mocked.
• "Jamaal Bowman thinks he knows what it means to be Jewish, who wants to give him the circumcision?" another person joked.
• "According to local press, @RepBowman is persona non grata in most Jewish spaces in his district. But now he is claiming to be Jewish?" the Israel War Room pointed out.

The Jewish life, indeed, does not rise and fall on adherence to Bowman's political ideology. Rather, "what it actually means to be Jewish" relies on one's ethnicity or an adherence to Jewish customs and religious life for those who are not ethnically Jewish.

Perhaps if Bowman had read the Old Testament, he would have within him the wisdom of Ecclesiastes, which famously declares, "There is a time for everything ... a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace" (Eccl. 3:1–8).

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