This group brings out U.S. voters for Israel—and against the Squad

As the war in Gaza shapes priorities on Capitol Hill, one player in particular has helped turn support for Israel into a winning topic for candidates looking to get elected. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has a sizable war chest, and it is spending unapologetically on pro-Israel candidates.

AIPAC has existed since 1963, advocating for “the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring, and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.” For decades, AIPAC was mostly known as a lobbying group. Then, in 2021, the group started donating directly to candidates.

For an organization that’s relatively new on the campaign finance scene, AIPAC has already become a substantial stumbling block for anti-Israel, progressive Democrats. AIPAC’s high-profile success highlights how money goes a long way in American elections—and how progressive Democrats may have overplayed their hand with the wrong crowd.

Dean Young, a recent Jewish convert who works in computer programming in California, says he isn’t rich, but he recently donated what he could to help AIPAC defeat Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., in his primary race. Bowman is one of the most openly anti-Israel members of Congress.

Young said an out-of-town interim rabbi first told him about AIPAC and said the group “helps keep the United States’ politics aligned in such a way that it benefits Israel, as well as the United States. … There’s no reason there has to be separation between the two.”

While many high-dollar groups tend to shy away from the appearance of using money to directly sway elections, AIPAC celebrated its role in the recent primary election losses of Bowman and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo.

Bowman and Bush are members of “the Squad,” the most liberal block in the House of Representatives that opposes Israel’s war against Hamas. Both framed Israel’s war as “genocide” against Palestinians.

Their primary opponents were the top recipients of AIPAC’s direct contributions in the past year. Wesley Bell, who unseated Bush, received $2.5 million in direct contributions from AIPAC spread out over 4,500 donations. George Latimer, Bowman’s challenger, received $2.8 million over 4,300 donations. Apart from direct contributions, AIPAC’s super political action committee, the United Democracy Project, reportedly spent upwards of $15 million against Bowman and another $8 million against Bush.

AIPAC kept a narrow strategy in 2024. Candidates running against other members of the Squad—which includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.—did not receive comparable donations. But the fights the group decided to pick paid off: Bowman lost his election by 17 percentage points, Bush by 5.

“Once again, a progressive pro-Israel Democrat has prevailed over a candidate who represents the extremist fringe that is hostile to the Jewish state,” AIPAC wrote in a statement following Bush’s primary loss last week.

Aside from Bell and Latimer, AIPAC’s five top recipients between 2023 and 2024 were all Democrats: Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. (Menendez is expected to resign today after being convicted of federal bribery charges last month.) AIPAC also donated to Republicans: Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., was among the highest GOP recipients, receiving nearly $500,000 from the group.

In total, AIPAC has donated roughly $42.3 million to candidates in 2023 and 2024—$11 million before Oct. 7 and another $31.3 million in the 10 months since.

Benjamin Ginsberg, chairman of the Center for Advanced Governmental Studies at Johns Hopkins University, said that AIPAC has a political objective and is willing to spend money to achieve it.

“Is this a secret? In American politics, money talks,” Ginsberg said. “For better or worse, this is how American politics is fought. If you offend wealthy donors, it can be problematic, which I think [Democrats] already know.”

Bush, Bowman, and candidates like them appeal to voters who are not as financially established as Israel’s supporters.

“They’ve been able to enlist naive, incredulous students,” Ginsberg said. “A lot of kids learn a very negative and radical view of American history. Kids come to school already possessing a jaundiced view of our country. … [Bowman and Bush] thought they could tap into that anti-American sentiment.”

Ginsberg believes that’s a message that has been particularly useful to Democrats in recent years.

“I think that there is a wing of the Democratic Party [that] is very susceptible to anti-Zionism and to criticism of America for foolish reasons,” Ginsberg said.

Pro-Palestinian groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations or Students for Justice in Palestine do not contribute nearly as much to political campaigns as AIPAC. Some groups, funded by IfNotNow, a 501(c)4 nonprofit founded by American Jews calling for an end to Israel’s “apartheid system,” have launched Reject AIPAC. While the group has a fundraising committee registered with the Federal Election Commission, it only formed in April of this year and had no reported fundraising as of July.

In response to questions about AIPAC’s openness about its influence on U.S. elections, the group said it was simply participating in public discourse.

“As we have witnessed the destructive activities of the anti-Israel fringe, it is increasingly important to engage in the political process,” a spokesperson for AIPAC told WORLD in a statement. “In races across the country, voters have sent the clear message that the political mainstream stands with Israel. Being pro-Israel is both good politics and good policy.”

Young, the AIPAC donor from California, said he knows about criticisms of the group and has concerns of his own. For instance, does AIPAC represent Israel’s best interests overall or just those of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party? Young doesn’t know. But for now, he thinks the group has done a good job of articulating its goals and pursuing them openly.

“I think it’s silly to think that Israel has a shadow government that is running the United States,” Young said. “Israel is very, very important to us. They’re our best, strongest ally in the region—the only democracy in the region.”