American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) (see Israel Lobby) (see Israel Propaganda)
Updated 2024-08-24
Petition: Outlaw AIPAC and all political action committees that promote genocide ‘m disgusted how US politicians at all levels of government accept large donations of money from AIPAC–the American Israel Public Affairs Committee–and related special interest political action committees (PACs) that promote foreign interests detrimental to humanity as a whole.
Why should American politicians be servants of AIPAC and continually give more arms and funding to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to ethnically cleanse the indigenous Palestinian people? According to the medical journal The Lancet, there have been an estimated 186,000 deaths caused by American bombs dropped by the IDF onto the civilians living in Gaza. More children have lost an arm or leg since October 2023 from these bombings than in any other war in the history of humankind.
Why is the US government supporting these acts of heartless terrorism instead of stopping the bombings and bringing aid and comfort to the suffering Palestinian people? https://www.change.org/p/outlaw-aipac-and-all-political-action-committees-that-promote-genocide?
2024-08-08 Tlaib Slams White House for Criticizing Cori Bush’s Vow to Fight AIPAC Bush will “be remembered for valiantly standing up for the rights of Palestinians when too many still did not have the political courage to do so.” U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on Wednesday ripped the White House for admonishing Rep. Cori Bush’s vow to fight the American Israel Public Affairs Committee after the powerful lobby group spent millions of dollars to unseat the Missouri Democrat for opposing Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.
AIPAC’s dark money arm, United Democracy Project (UDP), spent $8 million in support of Bush’s opponent, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, in the second-most expensive House race ever. UDP spent $15 million to defeat Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), another “Squad” member who has criticized Israel’s war on Gaza. AIPAC has vowed to spend $100 million to unseat progressive lawmakers—many of them Black and brown—who it deems insufficiently supportive of Israel.
In a defiant concession speech on Tuesday night, Bush declared, “AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!” “All they did was radicalize me, so now they need to be afraid,” she added. https://www.commondreams.org/news/cori-bush-rashida-tlaib
2024-08-07 AIPAC Hijacks Rep. Cori Bush’s Race–and Our Elections The progressive lawmaker’s defeat in her Democratic primary is a tremendous blow to progressives and to the U.S. electoral process itself. Representative Cori Bush, a progressive black woman from St. Louis, Missouri who is a member of “the Squad” in the U.S. House and has been a powerful voice in Congress for poor people, women’s rights, healthcare, housing–and Palestine—just lost her primary because pro-Israel lobby groups flooded the race with outside funding. Her loss is a tremendous blow to progressives and to the U.S. electoral process itself.
This is the pro-Israel lobby’s second “win” of the season. The first was the June defeat of progressive, black congressman from Westchester County, N.Y., Jamaal Bowman, who was a forceful critic of Israel’s attacks on Gaza. AIPAC and its mis-named super PAC, the United Democracy Project, barged into Westchester County to anoint an opponent—white, pro-Israel Westchester County Executive George Latimer—and then shower him with cash. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/aipac-cori-bush
2024-06-22 Bowman Calls for Primary Voters to Reject AIPAC Money at Rally With Sanders, AOC Congressman Jamaal Bowman, a prominent critic of Israel’s war on Gaza, called on Saturday for voters to defeat the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has poured millions of dollars into defeating him, as he made his final campaign push before the Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District on Tuesday.
The contest has seen one of the largest influxes of money of any U.S. House of Representatives primary race in history, mainly because of AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP), which has spent more than any interest group has ever spent on a House race—more than $14 million, according to The New York Times.
“AIPAC is scared to death,” Bowman (D-N.Y.) said at an animated rally in the Bronx in which Sen. Bernie Sander (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also spoke. “They are afraid they have already lost,” he said, citing public opposition to AIPAC’s agenda. https://www.commondreams.org/news/jamaal-bowman-rally
2024-03-20 Prominent Jewish Americans Condemn AIPAC Effort to ‘Dominate’ US Primaries More than 100 prominent Jewish Americans signed a statement released Wednesday condemning the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s increasingly aggressive interventions in U.S. elections, particularly Democratic Party primaries in which the powerful lobbying group is spending big to unseat progressives.
The statement’s list of signatories includes well-known scholars, rabbis, anti-war activists, journalists, and filmmakers who have “agreed to come together to highlight and oppose the unprecedented and damaging role of AIPAC” and its allied organizations in the American electoral process. The statement calls on Democratic candidates to reject all funding from AIPAC’s political network.
“We recognize the purpose of AIPAC’s interventions in electoral politics is to defeat any critics of Israeli government policy and to support candidates who vow unwavering loyalty to Israel, thereby ensuring the United States’ continuing support for all that Israel does, regardless of its violence and illegality,” reads the new statement from Jewish Americans, which can be read in full below. https://www.commondreams.org/news/jewish-americans-oppose-aipac
2024-03-11 Groups Form ‘Reject AIPAC’ Coalition to Fight Israel Lobby’s Attacks on Progressives U.S. progressive groups “working together to take on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its affiliated dark money super PACs” on Monday announced the launch of the Reject AIPAC coalition, which is urging candidates for federal office to not accept endorsements or contributions from the nation’s most prominent Zionist lobby.
Reject AIPAC says it “will organize Democratic voters and elected officials to reject the destructive influence of the Republican megadonor-backed AIPAC on the Democratic primary process and our government’s policy towards Palestine and Israel.”
“We have watched as AIPAC has done everything it can to silence growing dissent in Congress against [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s assault on Gaza—which has killed over 31,000 Palestinians—even as Democratic voters overwhelmingly support a cease-fire and oppose sending more blank checks to the Israeli military,” the coalition said in a statement.
“Now, AIPAC’s Republican donor-funded super PAC is threatening to spend $100 million targeting the handful of Black and brown members of Congress who have led the calls for a cease-fire and the equal protection of Palestinian and Israeli lives,” the groups continued. https://www.commondreams.org/news/reject-aipac
2024-03-04 AIPAC’s Dark Money Arm Unleashes $100 Million Blitz on Progressives Amidst global outcry over the ongoing assault on Gaza and the related humanitarian crisis it has wrought, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC is set to spend a staggering $100 million against both pro-Palestine congressional progressives and more moderate Democratic candidates who the powerful lobby group believes don’t sufficiently support Israel.
With increasing numbers of Democrats speaking out against the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over its genocide in Gaza and violent repression in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, AIPAC has shown zero tolerance for even the mildest criticism of Israeli government policies and practices.
Progressives have hit back by spotlighting AIPAC’s Republican benefactors, and the group’s endorsement of over 100 GOP lawmakers who voted to subvert the 2020 presidential election in service of former President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie” that Democrats rigged the contest. https://www.commondreams.org/news/aipac-2024
2024-02-22 AOC blasts AIPAC as ‘The NRA of foreign policy’ As the American Israel Public Affairs Committee took aim at Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive lawmakers critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, the New York Democrat compared the lobby group to the National Rifle Association.
After a CNN journalist noted on social media that an Israeli group submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) a report on sexual violence allegedly committed during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel, AIPAC claimed that “a cease-fire now keeps these rapist monsters armed and in power in Gaza,” and mentioned multiple members of Congress, including Ocasio-Cortez.
The New York Democrat responded that “it is appalling that AIPAC is targeting women members of Congress who have survived sexual assault with this horrific rhetoric. Each and every day, their role in U.S. politics becomes a greater scandal. They are the NRA of foreign policy. Of course they don’t want a cease-fire.”
The other lawmakers targeted by AIPAC were Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), the only Palestinian American in Congress. https://www.commondreams.org/news/aoc-aipac
2024-02-19 AIPAC’s Attack on Pro-Palestinian Congresspeople The owner of OnlyFans, the former CEO of Victoria’s Secret, the co-founder of Zumba, the creator of Squishmallows… what do all these people have in common? 👀 They’re elites who are funding AIPAC, a right-wing lobby group that is attacking Justice Democrats candidates and their progressive vision. AIPAC’s war chest has only continued to grow since October, and recent reports show that AIPAC now has at least $90 million on hand to unseat the Squad this year.
$90 million!! That is an obscene amount of money, and that won’t be all they spend. We’re in a critical election year and millions more 💰 will keep rolling into AIPAC’s pockets to maintain the status quo and push a pro-war agenda in Congress.
Not on our watch. We’ve taken on the AIPAC network before and won when we elected Squad members like Jamaal Bowman and Summer Lee, and through the power of grassroots fundraising, we can do it again to re-elect them this year. We need your help. Can you pitch $10 or more today to help Justice Democrats fight back against AIPAC and protect the Squad? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ads_ms_jd_20240212_dd_aipacwarchest_dec2024?
2024-02-13 AIPAC’s Surprising Salvo in Orange County A swing seat in California is seeing a flurry of attack ads from pro-Israel forces. Why? The premise behind AIPAC and its pro-Israel allies getting involved in Democratic primaries over the past two election cycles was that a new generation of progressive politicians had become too vocal about the Israeli government’s subjugation of the Palestinians. Therefore, according to these groups, money needed to come off the sidelines to prevent more critics from joining this faction in Washington, and eventually to replace the dissidents with loyal Israel supporters.
So then why is AIPAC’s first investment in the 2024 primary cycle targeting a former Chuck Schumer aide who supports continued funding of Israel without conditions, and who explicitly stated in a questionnaire that he did not “anticipate being on the front lines of any foreign policy issues”? Dave Min, the target of AIPAC’s first attack, is a state senator seeking to replace Rep. Katie Porter (D), who is running for U.S. Senate, in this district that encompasses Irvine, Huntington Beach, and other parts of Orange County. In the state legislature, he has been a reliable Democratic vote on a host of issues, and he earned Porter’s endorsement in the race, as well as the state party’s endorsement, which gets him on slate mailers.
This will be a toss-up seat in November. Not only does AIPAC have the desire and financial resources to punish even the tiniest dissent from uncritical support for Israel, it is also determined to influence selections in swing seats, in ways that benefit Republicans in the general election and appear to be funded by Republican donors. That’s a problem for groups whose endorsements happen to align with AIPAC’s, and in particular the pro-women, pro-choice group EMILYs List. https://prospect.org/politics/2024-02-13-aipac-democratic-primary-orange-county/
2024-01-22 Give AIPAC The Finger AIPAC and its allies funnel Republican and (illegally) Israeli money into Democratic primaries to defeat progressives. Last cycle they spent millions of dollars to replace Andy Levin (D-MI) and Marie Newman (D-IL) with more conservative candidates. At the same time, they financed conservative candidates against Donna Edwards (MD), Christina Garcia (CA)— elected a lifelong Republican masquerading as a Democrat in a heavily blue district— Nina Turner (OH), Jessica Cisneros (TX), Daniel Lee (CA), Erica Smith (NC), Nida Allam (NC), Angelica Duenas (CA), Summer Lee (PA) and others. The only candidate on that list who prevailed was Summer Lee. And this year, AIPAC is back for another attempt to defeat her.
In fact, AIPAC is boasting that it and its allies will spend $100 million against progressives this year. In immediate danger are the progressives on this page: Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Angelica Duenas (D-CA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Pervez Agwan (D-TX), Cori Bush (D-MO) and, as we mentioned, Summer Lee.
AIPAC has been doing this for a very long time, although only recently with money from Republican billionaires. In the past they financed defeats for Democrats who didn’t tow the Likud line, like Cynthia McKinney (GA) and Earl Hillard (AL).
former Ohio state Senator Nina Turner told us that “The pouring in of millions of dollars of dark money from AIPAC and DMFI completely suffocated the voices of the voters in Ohio 11th Congressional District on 2021 and 2022. Moreover, the targeting of Black progressive leaders using more centrist Black candidates as cover is deeply disturbing and has layers of anti-Black racism.
Former Congresswoman Marie Newman had a similar perspective: “More than anything else I’m deeply concerned about how AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) and their 20 affiliate PACs are putting a huge wedge in the Democratic Party, particularly in the House. Those groups are desperate to have all members be conservative or centrist, so they can control them and their votes. In the last 3 months I’ve talked to several Members of Congress who live in absolute fear of AIPAC and DMFI working against them or primarying them.
Ultimately, their bullying of members and donors is starting to backfire. Voters now know who they are and their vile tactics. I believe that this now will work against AIPAC/DMFI/affiliate candidates. https://crooksandliars.com/2024/01/give-aipac-finger
2023-12-03 AIPAC was among the top 20 spenders in the 2022 elections. Here’s how it breaks down. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, took a sharp turn in 2021 when it began endorsing candidates and contributing directly to campaigns. Since then, it has been amongst the top spenders in politics, contributing to the campaigns of 342 Congressmembers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVIze8BR4vQ
2023-11-28 AIPAC Vows Revenge After Democrats Send Biden Letter Urging Ceasefire in Gaza Krystal and Saagar discuss AIPAC attempting to bribe candidates with $20 million to challenge Rashida Tlaib for her House seat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMu8hx6CQwY
2023-11-25 Will Democrats Stop AIPAC’s Anti-Progressive Campaign Tsunami Hakeem Jefferies has taken a lot of money from AIPAC. What’s he going to do now? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCm_gZji4Xw
2023-11-20 AIPAC and the Israel-US Relationship Join Alex Kane (Jewish Currents), Hannah Fertig (Justice Democrats), and Jason Farbman (Jewish Voice for Peace) for a panel moderated by Sumaya Awad (Adalah Justice Project) exploring the US-Israel relationship, with a focus on the role of the Israel lobby in domestic politics.
This event is sponsored by Adalah Justice Project, NYC-DSA, and Haymarket Books and is part of Until Liberation: A Series for Palestine by Haymarket Books cosponsored by Palestinian American Organizations Network, Mondoweiss, Spectre, Dissenters, Tempest, Palestine Deep Dive, The New Arab, and more. While all of our events are freely available, we ask that those who are able make a solidarity donation in support of our important publishing and programming work. A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Palestine Legal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_0iBTZ1JDg
2023-11-18 MEET THE SECRET DONORS WHO FUND AIPAC’S ISRAEL TRIPS FOR CONGRESS FOR THE American Israel Public Affairs Committee, one of Washington’s most influential lobby groups, trips to Israel for members of Congress play an important role in lining up support on Capitol Hill. Millions are spent every year ferrying dozens upon dozens of members to Israel for eight-day junkets.
Who pays for these trips has, until now, remained largely a mystery. According to an unredacted tax filing for 2019 obtained by The Intercept, the financiers are a clutch of large foundations and nonprofits, some of which are family-run, that also give to a wide range of other political and cultural groups.
According to the unredacted 2019 tax filing, AIEF drew millions of dollars from eight philanthropic groups, estates, and family foundations: the Koret Foundation, the Swartz Foundation, the Jewish Communal Fund, the One8 Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, the Paul E. Singer Foundation, Milton Cooper 2013 Revocable Trust, and the estate of Hedy Orden. These donors helped finance 129 AIEF-sponsored trips to Israel in 2019, totaling $2.32 million, according to the public records database LegiStorm. https://theintercept.com/2023/11/18/aipac-congress-israel-trips-donors/
2023-11-17 AIPAC Vows Revenge After Democrats Send Biden Letter Urging Ceasefire in Gaza AIPAC is furious after 24 House Democrats sent a letter to President Biden urging a ceasefire in Gaza. John Iadarola, Helen Hong and Sharon Reed discuss on The Young Turks. A manifesto for a new progressive vision. “Today we are announcing an expanded coalition of 24 members of Congress pressing the Biden administration for a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza on the basis of grave violations of children’s rights.”*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dt0bjC5Rks
2023-11-16 How to Defeat AIPAC and the Israel Lobby (w/ Ralph Nader) Consumer advocate & former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader joins Bad Faith to weigh in on the revolving chairs of the Green Party’s presidential candidates, the strategic value of Cornel West running as an independent, & how to decide between West and Dr. Jill Stein. Briahna also asks him to address recent reporting that he would “help Joe Biden win, how people power can beat AIPAC, and whether he, as perhaps the most prominent Arab-American politician in the US, has been able to connect with Rashida Tlaib since being censured by congress. Nader explains the immense value of his print media publication, Capital Hill Citizen, and why every leftist looking to push left politics forward should pick up a copy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB-xVXo_Fmw
2023-11-05 Sanders Blasts AIPAC After Group Thanks Him for Not Demanding Cease-Fire in Gaza After the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Sunday publicly thanked U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders for declining to join global calls for a cease-fire in Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, the Vermont Independent rebuffed the lobbying group.
The senator—under progressive pressure to change his position on Israel’s war—noted that AIPAC “has supported dozens of GOP extremists who are undermining our democracy” and is “now working hard to defeat progressive members of Congress.”
“AIPAC endorsed scores of January 6th insurrectionists. They are no friend to American democracy. They are one of the more racist and bigoted PACs in Congress as well, who disproportionately target members of color. They are an extremist organization that destabilizes U.S. democracy.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/aipac-bernie-sanders
2018-05-30 The Occupation of the American Mind (original 84-minute version) Over the past few years, Israel’s ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territory and repeated invasions of the Gaza strip have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world — except the United States. The Occupation of the American Mind takes an eye-opening look at this critical exception, zeroing in on pro-Israel public relations efforts within the U.S.
Narrated by Roger Waters and featuring leading observers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. media culture, the film explores how the Israeli government, the U.S. government, and the pro-Israel lobby have joined forces, often with very different motives, to shape American media coverage of the conflict in Israel’s favor. From the U.S.-based public relations campaigns that emerged in the 1980s to today, the film provides a sweeping analysis of Israel’s decades-long battle for the hearts, minds, and tax dollars of the American people in the face of widening international condemnation of its increasingly right-wing policies. Narrated by Roger Waters / Featuring Amira Hass, M.J. Rosenberg, Stephen M. Walt, Noam Chomsky, Rula Jebreal, Henry Siegman, Rashid Khalidi, Rami Khouri, Yousef Munayyer, Norman Finkelstein, Max Blumenthal, Phyllis Bennis, Norman Solomon, Mark Crispin Miller, Peter Hart, and Sut Jhally.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP0-YohJR-g&list=PLcKTcNwy7BrF2fsCRkNDSpVvfpG6_RKiW&index=3
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