Pro-Israel Lobby AIPAC Will Stop Endorsing Candidates and Directly Funding Their Campaigns
The pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC has announced that it will stop officially endorsing candidates in U.S. elections and directly funding their campaigns. The decision is linked to Americans’ growing dislike of Israel, Middle East Eye assessed on Thursday.
Founded in 1954, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is one of the most influential lobbying organizations in the United States. It lobbies for military aid to Israel and for Washington’s support of that country’s policies, and it works with politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties.
AIPAC supports candidates financially in several ways. Ahead of the Nov. 3 congressional elections, members of the organization donated more than $90 million directly to politicians’ accounts, an AIPAC spokeswoman said.
A so-called super PAC linked to the organization spent another $80 million, funding, among other things, ads supporting politicians friendly to Israel and targeting its critics, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The third source of funding was AIPAC’s own political action committee (PAC), which gave candidates just over $3 million in the current election cycle. The organization said it would give up only this form of support.
“The change in strategy came amid growing tensions, in which AIPAC became the target of sharp criticism from many progressive politicians,” the Jewish Telegraphic Agency assessed.
According to Middle East Eye, the change is a reaction to Israel’s worsening image among the American public, especially among Democratic voters, after the war in the Gaza Strip. AIPAC’s backing, once seen as a political asset, is increasingly becoming a liability for candidates. Some politicians publicly refuse to accept money from the organization.
The outlet assesses that the new strategy will allow AIPAC to retain its financial influence while reducing the visibility of its ties to individual candidates. (PAP)
