The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is the most powerful pro-Israel lobby group in the U.S. It boasts that “the U.S.-Israel relationship is a mutually beneficial partnership that saves lives and advances American interests and values, helps protect our troops, strengthens our economy, and addresses 21st-century challenges.” 

We disagree! In reality, AIPAC does the opposite. It is one of the main reasons why more elected officials aren’t calling for a ceasefire and end to the genocide in Palestine—even though it’s the overwhelming demand from the people. This is because AIPAC: 

• Buys politicians to advocate unconditional U.S. support for Israel
• Funds election campaigns to back pro-Israel politicians
• Denies Israel’s appalling human rights record and specializes in deflecting Israel’s atrocities to blame Palestinians
• Targets anyone criticizing the Israeli government via smear campaigns
• Helps defeat pro-Palestine candidates in elections as seen in the recent defeat of Rep. Jamaal Bowman

Quick Facts

• Incorporated in 1963, AIPAC was established by Isaiah L. Kenen 10 years prior in 1953, not long after the Nakba.
• It was initially called the “American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs”– a lobbying division of the American Zionist Council.
• Isaiah L. Kenen used to work for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to “implement Israel’s foreign policy and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other countries.”
• AIPAC formed in part due to a hostile international response to the 1953 Qibya massacre when Israeli forces massacred more than sixty-nine Palestinian villagers in Qibya West Bank, two-thirds of which were women and children, and destroyed forty-five houses, a school, and a mosque.
• In late 2021, AIPAC formed its own political action committee, called United Democracy Project (UDP). It also announced plans for a Super-PAC, which can spend money on behalf of candidates. 

Politicians in the U.S. bought by groups like AIPAC and weapons companies that have identical interests as AIPAC have a ripple effect across the globe. The U.S. has the most significant military influence in the world, and we’ve seen it in practice when the U.S. vetoes ceasefire agreements at the U.N. If the U.S. disapproves — it doesn’t fly. This influence pins down U.S. “allies” in Europe and elsewhere to be accountable to zionist and war-mongering values, too. In other words, the lobbyist groups buying Congress don’t just affect Americans. It affects everyone, everywhere.