Rep. Cori Bush accepts support from woman who aims to ‘set Israel on fire’

(JNS) Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), a member of the far-left “Squad” in the U.S. House of Representatives, is under fire by Jewish and pro-Israel groups for accepting fundraising assistance from Neveen Ayesh, a woman with a history of making threats against Jews and Israel. The most recent of those was at a July 16 reception in support of Bush.

According to the watchdog group Canary Mission, Ayesh—a government relations coordinator for the St. Louis Chapter of the American Muslims for Palestine—has in the past tweeted that she would like to “set Israel on fire with my own hand and watch it burn to ashes along with every Israel in it” and that “if you are a ‘yahoodi,’ a Jew, “please kill yourself cause you aren’t welcome anywhere.”

Bush is facing Missouri State Sen. Steve Roberts in the Aug. 2 Democratic primaries to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District. Roberts has his own connection to Ayesh, as the two reportedly dated for a time, with Roberts claiming in a public letter that they parted when “her views became clear to me … .”

The district was redrawn in 2020 and includes neighbors such as University City, where a large segment of St. Louis’s Jewish community resides.

“What part of this anti-Semitic activist did Rep. Bush not know about? Her wish to see Israel and the world’s largest Jewish community burn and be reduced to ashes? Her support for Hamas terrorism?” asked Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “Do these sentiments reflect Cori Bush’s worldview? If not, say so and return the money!”

Bush previously described Israel’s relationship with Palestinians as an “apartheid system.” She has also claimed that the “black and Palestinian struggles for liberation are interconnected, and we will not let up until all of us are free.”

Executive editor of StopAntisemitism.com Liora Rez told JNS that Bush’s association with Ayesh was “appalling.”

“Bush’s recently redrawn district includes a large Jewish population,” said Rez. “How can her constituents trust her to represent them when she profits off of someone who wants to ‘watch Israel burn to ashes, along with every Israeli in it?’ ”

Neither Ayesh nor the American Muslims for Palestine responded to requests for comment.

MAIN PHOTO: Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) with Naveen Ayesh, a government relations coordinator for the St. Louis Chapter of the American Muslims for Palestine, at a campaign event.(Twitter)