Progressive groups launch new coalition to counter AIPAC

A coalition of progressive groups launched a campaign Monday to counter the power of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), opening up a new front in the domestic political battle over Israel and Gaza.

The “Reject AIPAC” coalition promises a seven-figure “electoral defense campaign” aimed at shoring up members of Congress who are targeted by the pro-Israel group. It also wants members of Congress to sign a pledge to not accept any more money from the organization — explicitly seeking to frame AIPAC in a similarly controversial light as the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The move comes amid political turmoil around Israel’s assault on Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that killed more than 1,100 Israelis.

Israel’s operation in Gaza has killed about 30,000 Palestinians, as President Biden acknowledged in last week’s State of the Union address.

The aggressiveness of the Israeli counteroffensive has sparked international condemnation, including the charge from the government of South Africa that Israel is committing genocide — a charge the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government and its allies fiercely deny.

About 1.8 million people are estimated to have been displaced in Gaza, while the United Nations recently estimated that almost 600,000 people are now “facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation” in the small territory.

In a statement announcing the launch of the new coalition, its members said, “We have watched as AIPAC has done everything it can to silence growing dissent in Congress against 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 statement added, “Now is the time for the whole of the Democratic Party to Reject AIPAC once and for all.”

Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, the Sunrise Movement, Jewish Voice for Peace Action and the Democratic Socialists of America are among more than 20 progressive groups that have come together to form the new coalition. 

AIPAC, which was founded in 1963, bills itself on its website as a national movement of “more than 3 million pro-Israel Americans from every congressional district who are working to strengthen bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

It also contends that “building bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is an American value we are proud to champion.”

Critics contend that the organization has moved rightward in recent years, even before the Oct. 7 attacks. It is widely seen as supportive to Netanyahu’s Likud party in Israel, while in the United States, its political action committee’s 2022 endorsement of many Republicans who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election also sparked controversy.

AIPAC also has an affiliated super PAC, the United Democracy Project, that is expected to spend tens of millions of dollars in the 2024 cycle aimed at supplanting left-wing voices critical of Israel with candidates more aligned with the group’s values.

The United Democracy Project spent more than $26 million during the 2022 election cycle, according to the OpenSecrets website, which tracks political spending. Federal Election Commission filings show that the group ended January with almost $42 million cash on hand. 

Progressive critics note that the United Democracy Project has received big donations from Republican figures.

The foundation set up by Bernie Marcus, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot and a vocal supporter of former President Trump, has donated $2 million this cycle on top of $1 million in the 2022 cycle, according to OpenSecrets. Elliott Management, the investment firm headed by Republican billionaire donor Paul Singer, has contributed $2 million across those two cycles.

The Israeli assault in Gaza has created serious strains within the Democratic Party — including an effort in several states to have discontented voters register their opinion in presidential primaries, where President Biden faces only token opposition.

In Michigan, a state with a high concentration of Arab Americans, more than 100,000 people voted “uncommitted” in the Feb. 27 Democratic primary. One week later, the “Uncommitted” line scored an even bigger result in percentage terms in Minnesota, securing the backing of almost 19 percent of Democratic primary voters in the state.

Slightly more Democrats are broadly sympathetic to the Palestinians than to the Israelis, according to an Economist/YouGov poll released last month.  

The poll found 24 percent of Democrats saying they sympathized more with the Palestinians compared to 19 percent who favored the Israelis; 38 percent of Democrats said they sympathized with both sides about equally.

More broadly, an Associated Press-NORC released in early February found that roughly half of all American adults believe Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks has “gone too far.”

Biden has sought to moderate his pro-Israel rhetoric recently, while his State of the Union address also unveiled an effort to use the U.S. military to construct a pier on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to expedite humanitarian aid.

Last month, Biden described the Netanyahu government’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks as “over the top.” Administration aides insist they have put considerable pressure on Israel about its tactics.

However, progressive critics note that the White House has resisted demands to put meaningful conditions on further U.S. aid to Israel. A bill that passed the Senate in February and is backed by Biden would provide $14 billion in new military assistance for Israel.

In a weekend interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, Biden said an Israeli assault on Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering in dire conditions, would be a “red line.”

But Biden immediately added: “I am never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical.”

Updated at 9:12 a.m. ET