New York’s 16th Congressional district has been reshaped by the latest census; it now includes more of Westchester than it had earlier, and drops sections of the Bronx that are now in NY-15 held by Rep. Ritchie Torres. The current congressman for NY-16 is Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who is facing a number of challengers in the Democratic primaries to be held on August 23. (Early voting begins August 13.)
According to the non-partisan website fivethirtyeight, the newly redrawn NY-16 leans heavily towards the Democratic Party, voting for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election by a margin of +40. That means that the Democratic primary is truly the election for this congressional seat.
One of the Democratic contenders, Vedat Gashi, spoke with me about issues of particular concern to the Jewish community.
General Background
Gashi describes himself as a “common sense” Democrat who has nothing in common with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which has backed Bowman. Gashi grew up in Kosovo and came to the United States at age 4. He later returned to Kosovo as an adult to work for the United Nations as the country gained its independence in the dissolution of Yugoslavia. His memories of Israel’s involvement with Kosovo—even before it became independent—left a positive impression on him.
Gashi is appreciative of the Jewish community as well. As a secular Muslim, he said he was appalled at President Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban,” which would have restricted people like him from coming to the U.S. (Writer’s note: Trump did not ban all Muslims, but people from seven Muslim-majority countries, which did not include Kosovo.) When Gashi went to JFK Airport to protest the ban, the first people he saw protesting were Jewish groups. This gave him a sense of warmth toward the Jewish community.
Gashi’s background can be found on his website, https://www.vedatgashi.com.
On Israel
Gashi is instinctively pro-Israel but not very well-versed on specific topics.
As it relates to Bowman’s vote against supporting the Abraham Accords in April 2021, Gashi said he was “disappointed” in Bowman’s vote because the Accords clearly advanced the U.S.’s foreign policy interests. He assumed that Bowman did so because of pressure from the DSA, and Gashi used that point to highlight that he would not abide by any party orthodoxy but consider each issue as it impacts the people in his district. He added that the DSA’s comments, which blamed American and NATO policies for causing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are indicative of the far-left group’s “tenuous grasp of reality.”
Gashi said that the people behind the boycott, divestment and sanction (BDS) movement regarding Israel are antisemitic. He believes that people who call Israel an “apartheid state,” including Bowman’s senior policy adviser Rajiv Sicora, “don’t want Israel to even exist.” In contrast, Gashi believes that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and is a strong American ally.
Bowman is tied to other DSA-backed politicians like Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), as he votes alongside them 98% of the time. Gashi thinks that Tlaib and Omar have made many antisemitic comments, such as Tlaib’s screed that Jews and Zionists profit from racism “from Gaza to Detroit,” and Omar’s comments about Jews buying control of Congress and hypnotizing the world. He finds their comments “deeply racist” and offensive.
Regarding Bowman cosponsoring the May 2022 Tlaib-led legislation that called the founding of Israel a Nakba (catastrophe), Gashi said that sponsors of such legislation do not believe Israel has the right to exist. He said he arrived at such a conclusion by being informed about how Serbs treated Kosovo. Serbs believed Kosovo to be “nothing more than a parking lot,” an empty vessel without meaning or ownership, much the way some anti-Israel people continue to look at the Jewish State today. He noted that the founding of many countries included wars and displacements, but that doesn’t mean the new country shouldn’t exist.
Gashi did not have a strong opinion about “settlements.” He noted that he saw some when he visited friends in Israel several years ago, with many being fully established towns which are a far cry from what the name implies, which is a couple of shacks. He offered no opinion about whether they are legal or whether U.N. Resolution 2334 was appropriate.
Gashi seemed surprised to learn that Palestinian Arabs favor the terrorist group Hamas, and said he felt bad that they were being fed “lying propaganda by their leaders.”
As it relates to a number of other regional issues such as the Taylor Force Act and the Palestinian Authority’s desire for a consulate in Jerusalem, Gashi knew little about the topics.
United Nations/Iran
Gashi worked for the United Nations in Kosovo for a number of years and believes that the organization is an “unwieldy animal” with many difficult actors like Russia. However, he believes that there is an opportunity for the U.N. to be a positive force. During our interview, Gashi noted he was not familiar with the many resolutions and committees within the U.N.that attack the Jewish State, but seemed interested to learn more.
Regarding the Iranian nuclear deal, Gashi said that “Iran achieving nuclear capacity would be a terrible outcome and needs to be opposed every which way we can, if not diplomatically, then by other means.” He added that “it is an existential problem.”
Antisemitism/Religion
Gashi was not familiar with the IHRA definition of antisemitism, but stressed that “words are important.” Drawing on his experience in Kosovo, he shared that politicians were reluctant to use the term “genocide” because it would compel certain actions, even though avoiding its usage “led to more ethnic cleansing” in his home country. He did not know why President Biden agreed to the IHRA definition and then refused to enact it for Title VI to protect Jewish and Zionist students on campuses, until December 2022, which is after midterm elections.
Gashi was also unfamiliar with Senator Diane Feinstein grilling of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in September 2020, saying, “The dogma lives loudly within you and that’s of concern” as it related to the jurist’s Catholic beliefs, suggesting it would possibly disqualify her from office. He said that “all manners of good and bad deeds have been attributed to religiosity. Religiosity, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. Faith, in general, is a good thing.” He did say that Feinstein’s comment was inappropriate.
Schools/Police
Gashi would not engage in a discussion about charter schools or monies for parochial schools. He seemed more concerned about upsetting teachers’ unions and keeping funding inside of the public school system. Whether he would tackle the issue of prioritizing educating children rather than winning support of powerful unions remains to be seen, as he would not voice an opinion going into a Democratic primary where he is competing against a radical socialist who was formerly a teacher.
Gashi did come after Bowman about his stance to “Defund the Police.” He felt that Bowman’s endorsement of the socialist platform was dangerous for the district and country. He added that Bowman continues to lie about his comments and vote on the matter, much as Bowman clearly lied to his constituents about supporting the infrastructure bill when he voted against it.
Summary
Gashi presents as a left-leaning politician, yet far to the right and much more honest than Bowman. He is not well-versed in various issues of concern to the Jewish people in his district, but seems eager to learn and approach the issues thoughtfully.
By Lawrence Askowitz
