In 2021, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee formed a separate organization for raising funds to donate to political campaigns. It is now pouring money into congressional primary races for both parties, hoping to unseat or to keep out of office anti-Israel candidates such as New York’s Jamaal Bowman. Josh Kraushaar analyzes the group’s tactics, which he terms “disciplined to a fault” in focusing on races it can win:
Along with other GOP outside groups, [AIPAC] spent over $1 million to secure a victory for the center-right representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) as he faced a serious challenge from a right-wing candidate with a history of anti-Semitic rhetoric. They helped prevent the former Republican congressman John Hostettler, who wrote a book blaming Israel for U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, from returning to Congress. They helped a liberal Maryland state senator, Sarah Elfreth, with a record of support for Israel, prevail in a crowded [Democratic] primary, including against a candidate backed by national liberal donors.
Kraushaar notes that AIPAC’s influence has a salutary effect on American politics:
One of the great ironies about the progressive activists’ rhetoric against AIPAC is that it caricatures the group as a handmaiden of right-wing Republicans—even as the group has been mainly engaged on behalf of moderate Democrats and, overall, been a force against extremism on all sides. It’s a sign of the abuse of language—and overall bias in coverage—that a sinister narrative of AIPAC’s deep resources has overwhelmed the reality that they’re the biggest outside force for moderation in politics right now.
In that sense, AIPAC’s involvement in congressional elections is doing as much to improve the health of America’s democracy as it is to ensure the future of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.
In a sense, this should not be a great surprise. Since the terms left and right came to have political meaning, it is the extremes of both that have gravitated most toward anti-Semitism.
More about: AIPAC, U.S. Politics, U.S.-Israel relationship