The ‘Reject AIPAC’ coalition
JVL Introduction
AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is an extraordinarily powerful pro-Israel lobbying in the States.
It has been particularly active in opposing representatives who are critical of Biden’s support for Israel over Gaza.
Recent developments in campaign financing in the States have allowed unlimited spending by groups known as Super |(PACs (Political Action Committees). AIPAC has rushed in to exploit the possibilities with total political spending of AIPAC-affiliated entities expected to mushroom to $100 million in this election year.
So we welcome the ‘Reject AIPAC’ initiative to counter it involving a range of progressive groups including Jewish Voice for Peace.
It’s financial input is likely to be one-hundredth that of AIPAC, but in crucial contested seats it has a realistic chance of making a difference.
We also post a Jewish Voice for Peace press release about the march on Aipac HQ on 22nd February.
RK
This article was originally published by the 19th on Mon 11 Mar 2024. Read the original here.
New coalition aims to defend ‘Squad’ and other progressives targeted by AIPAC
The ‘Reject AIPAC’ coalition, which includes Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party, is planning a seven-figure campaign to protect some members of Congress.
A coalition has formed to protect progressive lawmakers who have called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war from a torrent of political spending from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its affiliated entities.
The “Reject AIPAC” coalition announced Monday that it is planning a seven-figure campaign of paid media and field organizing to defend members of Congress, including lawmakers in the “Squad,” who have taken pro-Palestinian stances that have put them in the pro-Israel lobby’s crosshairs.
“We have watched as AIPAC has done everything it can to silence growing dissent in Congress against [Israel Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s assault on Gaza — which has killed over 31,000 Palestinians — even as Democratic voters overwhelmingly support a ceasefire and oppose sending more blank checks to the Israeli military,” the coalition said in a statement.
The Israel-Hamas war and the Biden administration’s handling of it has become an issue on the political left, with those in the progressive wing of the party staking out pro-Palestinian positions and more moderate Democrats voicing stronger support for Israel, a longtime U.S. ally. After Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack on Israeli civilians, members of the Squad were among the earliest in Congress to call for a cease-fire as Israel launched its counter assault on Hamas militants in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
While AIPAC is a longtime player in Washington, its affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, launched in late 2021, enabling the organization to impact elections more directly. In the 2022 midterms, United Democracy Project spent $26 million targeting or defending candidates, all of them Democrats, according to campaign finance filings analyzed by the government transparency watchdog group OpenSecrets. The vast majority of the money was spent in Democratic primaries to boost candidates who took stronger stances supporting Israel.
High on the organization’s agenda are U.S. House races, where smaller sums are typically raised and spent than in statewide races.
“The overwhelming influence of corporate Super PACs on our democracy and elections has expanded the gap between voters and their elected leaders into a canyon that has been exploited by every special interest and corporate lobby. Rejecting AIPAC is a crucial step in putting voters back at the center of our democracy,” the Reject AIPAC coalition said in a statement.
The coalition includes Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, the IfNotNow Movement, the Sunrise Movement, Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution, Gen-Z for Change, and the Green New Deal Network.
Reject AIPAC is also circulating a pledge to members of Congress that asks them to affirm their support for Palestinian rights and reject AIPAC support; the names of those who sign in the first round will be released later this month.
One of the first primaries that United Democracy Project spent money in this year was for the Orange County, California-area seat held by Rep. Katie Porter, who gave it up to run for the U.S. Senate. The super PAC spent more than $4.5 million boosting a Democratic opponent of California state Sen. Dave Min, who came in second place in the nonpartisan, top-two race behind a Republican. There was little daylight between the two Democrats’ public stances on Israel. United Democracy Project ran ads highlighting Min’s arrest last year for driving under the influence. It is unclear what impact these ads will have on the general election in the swing district, which Porter flipped for Democrats in 2018, and which was won by President Joe Biden.
One criticism from members of the Reject AIPAC coalition is that United Democracy Project is usually opposing candidates of color. Another is that the organization raises money from high-profile Republicans to impact Democratic primaries — and that some of their advertising against Democrats in swing districts could follow the candidates to the general election and diminish their chances against Republican opponents.
Over the past six months, top donors to United Democracy Project included WhatsApp founder Jan Koum, financier Jonathon Jacobson, former Home Depot CEO Bernie Marcus, an entity affiliated with New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, financier Paul Singer and private equity CEO Marc Rowan. All are high-profile GOP donors, most of whom have supported former President Donald Trump or his agenda.
An AIPAC spokesperson said that Americans from both parties “overwhelmingly” back candidates who will advocate for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.
“Already in this election year, pro-Israel candidates have been immensely successful in primaries, and we were proud to help elect Democrats and Republicans who stand with the Jewish state,” AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told The 19th.
“On Super Tuesday alone, 79 candidates endorsed by AIPAC won their primaries. We are continuing to evaluate races that involve detractors of the US-Israel relationship,” he added.
In 2022, United Democracy Project opposed now “Squad” member Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania during both her primary and general elections. The super PAC spent more than $2 million opposing her during the primary, and Lee, a progressive Black woman, won by fewer than 1,000 votes against a political novice. Lee handily won the general election in the Pittsburgh-area district.
Among the Squad members, Lee, who has called for a cease-fire in Gaza, will be the first to compete in a Democratic primary, which Pennsylvania holds in April. AIPAC and United Democracy Project are expected to target her in the race. During the last quarter of 2023, Lee’s campaign brought in nearly $1 million.
Jewish Voice for Peace Press Release on the March against Aipac
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2024
Thousands of Jews Shut Down AIPAC HQ Protesting Group’s Opposition to Ceasefire, 18 Arrested Staging Sit-In at Offices of AIPAC-Supported Senators Schumer and Gillibrand
Protesters, including rabbis and descendants of Holocaust survivors, called upon elected officials to reject AIPAC and support a ceasefire in Gaza
New York, New York (February 22, 2024) — Thousands of Jews and allies, including rabbis and descendants of Holocaust survivors, shut down the AIPAC headquarters in New York City on Thursday, protesting the organization’s involvement in U.S. politics that threatens to undermine democracy by funneling millions of dollars into swaying members of Congress to oppose a ceasefire in Gaza, which is favored by the vast majority of Americans.
Down the block from AIPAC’s Midtown Manhattan headquarters, police arrested 18 protesters inside the offices of AIPAC-supported Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, who oppose a ceasefire and voted last week to send $14.1 billion in military funding to Israel.
“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC, uses millions of dollars and racist smear campaigns to ensure Congressional complicity in the Israeli’s government’s genocide of Palestinians,” said Jay Saper of Jewish Voice for Peace.
AIPAC has raised an eye-popping $90 million in the past five months, helping bolster its influence on members of Congress who oppose a ceasefire in Gaza and ramp up aggressive campaigns against those who have spoken out against the Israeli military’s indiscriminate bombing of Gaza that has killed over 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, over 11,000 of whom are children.
Protesters with Jewish Voice for Peace shut down traffic outside of AIPAC’s headquarters while chanting “Let Gaza Live.” They held held massive cardboard letters that read “Dump AIPAC” and piled up red trash bags emblazoned with that same message in the street, next to a massive mural that said “AIPAC funds genocide.”
They then marched to the offices of AIPAC-supported Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, who voted last week to send an additional $14.1 billion in military funding to Israel. Observing a Jewish mourning ritual, they placed 30 stones, honoring the 30,000 Palestinians killed by the U.S.-backed bombing, in the lobby of the Senators’ office. After staging a sit-in where they unfurled banners inside the lobby calling on the Senators to “Stop Funding Genocide,” police made 18 arrests; in Jewish tradition, 18 signifies life.
“Polls show the vast majority of Americans want the war on Gaza to stop. And yet, because of pro-apartheid lobby groups like AIPAC, most elected officials still refuse to call for a ceasefire,” said Eliza Klein of Jewish Voice for Peace.
AIPAC has endorsed over 100 lawmakers who voted to decertify the results of the 2020 election, allying themselves with those on the far-Right who threaten U.S. democracy in the name of furthering unconditional support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
AIPAC has also given major donations to President Biden, who has expedited weapons sales to Israel, ignored the World Court’s determination that Israel is committing genocide, suspended funding to UNRWA (the UN agency providing essential food and aid to Palestinians), and vetoed three UN ceasefire resolutions.
Israeli airstrikes have destroyed 70% of Gaza’s infrastructure, including hospitals and universities, as well as the electricity and water grids. Nearly two million people have been forced to flee their homes. 1.5 million are sheltering in the southern city of Rafah, where the Israeli military has launched airstrikes.
Protesters outside AIPAC on Thursday took inspiration from the historic Garbage Offensive organized by the Young Lords in 1969 to demand NYC divest from war and invest in communities. They called on elected officials to Dump AIPAC as it continues to make Gaza uninhabitable while simultaneously eroding democracy in the U.S.
“As a Palestinian Jew who supported the struggle for the Puerto Rican Studies Department at Brooklyn College, I’ve always been touched by the acts of solidarity between our communities. When the Young Lords led the Garbage Offensive in 1969, their platform also included support for Palestinians. I am honored to carry this legacy of solidarity forward in the streets today,” said Esther Farmer of Jewish Voice for Peace.
“We refuse to let AIPAC speak in our name as Jews. As the number of Palestinians murdered by Israel eclipses 30,000, we call on our government to listen to the will of the people and reject AIPAC as the extremist warmongers they have always been,” said Sarah Koshar of Jewish Voice for Peace.
The protest was the latest in a wave of historic protests led by Jewish Voice for Peace that halted Congress, shut down Grand Central Terminal during rush hour traffic, took over the Statue of Liberty, shut down the Manhattan Bridge, disrupted the President’s Hanukkah Party at the White House, and blockaded President Biden’s motorcade.