AIPAC Successfully Battles America’s Far-Left

The story

The Israel conflict is shaping up to be a major issue in some Democrat primaries this election cycle. Anti-Israel Democrats face pro-Israel challengers who are receiving massive financial backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

In 2022, AIPAC formed a Political Action Committee (PAC) and a super PAC — United Democracy Project. The PACs are spending $100 million on this year's Democrat primary races, aiming to unseat opponents of Israel.

In March, progressives formed a coalition of 22 organizations called Reject AIPAC to protect Democrat candidates who are critical of Israel. A fringe of 11 House Democrats — mostly members of the progressive “Squad” — and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pledged to reject AIPAC. Now, these progressives have to face off against AIPAC-backed challengers to retain their seats.

The politics

Democrat rejecters of AIPAC say it favors a “U.S. foreign policy that supports … violations of Palestinian rights, including the unconditional flow of U.S. military funding” to Israel. They also criticize AIPAC for supporting “far-right politicians and candidates” and for being funded by billionaire Republican mega-donors.

However, most Democrats in Congress stand with Israel, with hundreds supported by AIPAC. Only nine Democrats voted against a resolution supporting Israel in October 2023, and none voted against a resolution in favor of Israel’s right to exist in November 2023. Republicans are even more supportive of Israel, with only one Republican voting against those resolutions and a small fringe voting against military aid for budgetary reasons.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is the lone Republican to routinely vote against resolutions supporting Israel. Massie says he supports Israel’s right to exist but believes Congress is “virtue signaling” to AIPAC. He says Republicans in Congress hide their true opinions about Israel due to immense pressure from the organization.

In an interview, Massie said AIPAC assigns a “babysitter” lobbyist to each member of Congress. He criticized AIPAC for representing foreign government interests to U.S. politicians in a manner that no other country does. He said AIPAC offers members of Congress free trips to Israel.

Beyond the headlines

AIPAC is already impacting progressive races. This week, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was defeated in the NY-16 Democrat primary by AIPAC-supported Westchester Co. executive George Latimer (D-NY). Two other primary candidates AIPAC opposes in Maryland and Oregon were also defeated.

Reject AIPAC’s machinery went whirring into action, with letters from member organizations condemning AIPAC’s involvement in Bowman’s race. Progressive organizations expressed concern that AIPAC spent tens of millions on Latimer, arguing that dark money poses a threat to democracy.

Indeed, AIPAC significantly influences voters. It goes all out against anti-Israel candidates, attacking not just their Israel stance, but also any issue that will sway voters. Voters may not realize that a pro-Israel organization is funding an ad about a totally different subject.

AIPAC races in Democrat primaries mostly focus on eliminating outspoken anti-Israel candidates by funding moderate alternatives. But is eliminating anti-Israel candidates really AIPAC’s objective? Only two candidates who reject AIPAC — Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Cori Bush (D-MO) — still face stiff challenges from pro-Israel primary opponents, far from the 10 remaining who oppose AIPAC.

Representatives Omar and Bush both called for a ceasefire in Gaza earlier this year. They also repeated the myth that Israel’s war in Gaza constitutes genocide. AIPAC could take out the entire Squad in Democrat primaries but chose to focus on vocal candidates who are more vulnerable. AIPAC intends to set an example for anyone who opposes them, creating what progressives describe as a “chilling effect” on the discourse around Israel.

Why it matters

Though the Israel war matters in the 2024 election cycle, it is not a significant issue to voters. Lucrative organizations like AIPAC are spending millions to oust candidates based on one issue, while only 36 percent of Americans actually support sending U.S. military aid to Israel.

Anti-Israel members of Congress make waves, but they are few and far between and have never posed a real threat to U.S. support for Israel. AIPAC may defeat several of them this election cycle, but the real impact of AIPAC on Congress is the creation of an ideological conformity that does not represent the will of the American people.