AIPAC backs ‘prevent theft’ candidates like Jim Jordan, Ronny Jackson

US Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful lobby for pro-Israel candidates in the USendorsed by dozens of Republicans who approved The big lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Some of them even vote against certifying the 2020 election as a member of the National Assembly.

Among the selected AIPACs was Ohio Representative Jim Jordan (who moved to the committee’s trash on January 6), Texas Congressman Ronny Jackson (former White House physician Who said Trump won the 2020 election?), and Pennsylvania Representative Scott Perry (who compared Democrats to Nazis). New York Representative Elise Stefanick got the nod from AIPAC though she pushed racist, antisocial “alternative theory” in her Facebook ads with images of immigrants spilling across the border, reflected through President Joe Biden’s aviator glasses.

Notably, Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney (who rejected Trump’s “Big Lie”) did not receive AIPAC endorsement. Once considered Republican royalty, Cheney was on the January 6 committee that was compiling a report on the uprising effort that the rest of her party did not want to be discussed. The Republican National Committee (RNC) censored Cheney and passed a resolution calling the events of that day “legitimate political discourse”.

Anna Moneymaker / Getty

By digging deep into this conspiratorial, anti-democratic, racist cellar, AIPAC alienated its traditional allies. Abraham Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), called it a “sad mistake” to endorse candidates who undermine democracy. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, called AIPAC “moral bankruptcy” to endorse candidates willing to undermine democracy as long as they are pro-Israel.

Poll among the Jewish community do not support these extreme views, but AIPAC – an organization that lobbies for a single issue – is betting that the right-wing Republican Trump will win. And if that’s the case, AIPAC will demonstrate that no threshold is too low for them to support a Republican politician, as long as they support Israel.

Tensions in the pro-Israel community flare up in public with AIPAC’s decision for the first time to form its own political action committee (PAC) and Super PAC (Basically, a PAC can raise unlimited funds as long as it doesn’t coordinate directly with candidates). Up until this election cycle, the organization has relied on matching PACs for board members and contributors.

Anticipating the conflicts ahead, the progressive lobbying group, J Street, issued a “Pro-Democracy Pledge” to all pro-Israel PACs to disapprove of candidates who sided with the pro-Israeli PACs. insurgents on January 6. Some have pledged, but the most influential of them, AIPAC, have not.

AIPAC’s first wave of support with 70 people included Democrats and Republicans, but among them 37 Republicans supported Trump in rejecting the election results on that fateful day — a a deliberate choice that, in the eyes of AIPAC critics, shows the lobby group prioritized commitment to Israel’s interests over commitment to democracy.

Logan Bayroff, J Street’s director of communications, said: “It is extremely dangerous for a prominent organization that claims to represent pro-Israel Americans stamp their approval and provide funding to extremists. threatens the very survival of our democracy. was established 14 years ago to combat AIPAC’s deviation from the right direction. “Regardless of an elected official’s stance toward Israel, it should be common sense that extremists disrespect our election would be understandable.”

Far-right Republicans often assume that any criticism of Israel is motivated by anti-Semitism. At the same time, they advertise their own support for Israel as a shield against any criticism of their hand-in-hand with dissidents (such as the lie that immigrants are trespassing). strategy of the country and George Soros must be held accountable).

GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted about three Jewish billionaires – Soros, Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg – trying to “Buy the Election” in 2018. He deleted the tweet just days before the attack on a synagogue in Pittsburghand when asked about it after the election, he cited the AIPAC Israel tours he led as proof that he couldn’t be the one to fight the plague.

Norm Ornstein, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI) calls it “an amazing kind of tunnel vision, which includes advocacy for many who might be pro-Christians. Israel’s fervent religion, but will not hesitate to accept the cruel anti-Semitism that goes along with racism”.

AIPAC has been a bipartisan party since its founding in 1951, and until Trump arrived on the scene, AIPAC was the heaviest with moderate Democrats and Republicans. When Trump speaking as a candidate at the annual policy conference in March 2016Thousands of delegates cheered his tough stance on Iran and his attack on President Obama was “the worst thing that ever happened to Israel”. The confused AIPAC leaders apologized to Obama and part of the audience sat on their arms while the others stood up.

Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty

Former AIPAC CEO, Tom Dine, told The Daily Beast that advocates “must be bipartisan, but I never thought they would support those who violate the Constitution.” “This is a failed policy,” says Dine, who led AIPAC from 1980 to 1993. The backlash was entirely predictable, and it made parts of the public increasingly suspicious of Israel’s governmental and territorial interests, and AIPAC leaned heavily on the Republican right. They thought the Catholic Zionists, who were essentially Protestants, would make up for any losses.”

With Republicans likely to gain control of the House (and potentially the Senate) in the midterm elections, AIPAC has a rough road to charting. The organization must choose between alienating a reprehensible part of the Republican Party, or offending traditionalists like Foxman, who warned, “Those who undermine America’s democracy will weaken our country.” America, and a weak America will not be able to stand and support its ally, Israel.”

ONE J Street poll conducted in October 2021 found that 43% of US Jews consider “extremism and insurgency” to be the most dangerous threat facing the country, far more than any other issue. Only 6% think Iran is the greatest danger.

This is the full answer to a Daily Monster Requesting comment from Marshall Wittmann:

“Unlike other groups with ideological and partisan agendas, we are a single issue organization focused on our mission to build bipartisan support in Congress. between Republicans and Democrats to strengthen the US-Israeli relationship. At a time when Israel faces growing threats from Iranian aggression in the region, it is imperative to build the broadest possible coalition in Congress to help ensure that the state Israel has significant resources to defend itself.”

Dine’s response to that was uncomplicated: “You can be pro-Israel, but you have to be pro-democracy.”