We often hear from the Left on how important it is to use our power — as voters, union members, protesters — to reject politicians who have not called for a cease-fire in Israel’s war on Gaza, which has claimed upward of thirty thousand lives. But it’s equally urgent to defend those elected officials who have advocated for a cease-fire against the war and against the occupation itself.

The pro-war, pro-Israel forces are mobilizing against those elected officials, hoping to take them down. Jamaal Bowman is one of the most stalwart cease-fire defenders — and one of the most electorally imperiled.

Bowman is only one of many democratic socialists this year facing challengers funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the leading Israel lobbying group, which has close ties to the Israeli government and a track record of opposing socialists and progressives. AIPAC is spending $100 million to try to take down Israel’s biggest critics this year. Most of the socialists in this group will probably win, providing their supporters do the work of campaigning for them and turning out the vote. But like Representative Cori Bush of St Louis, Bowman is in real danger of losing.