Millions Spent to Silence Critics of ‘Israel’: How AIPAC Influences U.S. Elections

The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), representing the American Zionist lobby, is facing significant turbulence due to the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

The brutal aggression and acts of genocide have deeply impacted the younger generation of Americans and led to an increase in anti-Israeli Occupation sentiment and calls for an end to its occupation of Palestinian territories, raising fears that American centers of power might slip out of Zionist control.

In response, AIPAC, the foremost American Zionist lobby, sounded the alarm and launched a massive support campaign for candidates in the upcoming congressional elections in November 2024.

AIPAC is an organization that advocates for American policies supportive of “Israel.” Founded in 1963, it is one of the most influential lobbying groups in elections, media, and political decision-making centers in the U.S.

AIPAC has gone beyond its routine role, established in 1954, as an American Jewish organization aiming to influence U.S. policy towards the Middle East in alignment with Zionist interests.

It has leveraged its influence and Jewish funding to engage in a fierce battle to ensure the success of pro-Israel congressional candidates, considering them as a lifeline to protect the Israeli Occupation state amidst growing international rejection and condemnation.

The U.S. Senate and House elections are expected to take place on November 5, 2024, coinciding with the presidential elections.

Massive Numbers

On May 14, 2024, two strong Republican candidates succeeded in the primary elections in Maryland and West Virginia, strongly backed by the Zionist lobby.

American newspapers considered this a "strong indicator of pro-Israeli Republicans nearing a majority in the Senate."

The situation has raised concerns for the Democratic Party for two reasons: first, the Zionist lobby's funds are going to their opponents; second, a portion of Democrats might abstain from voting, show apathy, or shift to what is called the "third neutral vote" as a punishment for President Joe Biden's support of Israeli genocide in Gaza.

The Intercept reported on May 11, 2024, that significant extraordinary funds were being invested to ensure the success of AIPAC's candidate Sarah Elfreth in Maryland.

This was aimed at defeating her opponent, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who defended against the attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.

Haaretz celebrated Sarah Elfreth's primary election victory in Maryland on May 15, 2024, considering it a triumph for the pro-Israel lobbying group (AIPAC).

They reported that AIPAC achieved its biggest win of the 2024 election cycle so far, confirming that it supported her with over $4 million.

Another example of their influence is AIPAC allocating $24 million to defeat incumbent Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who advocates for a ceasefire in Gaza, in the Democratic primary in New York.

This made his legislative seat the most expensive in American and world history, according to American newspapers. The election will be decided on June 25, 2024, against AIPAC’s candidate George Latimer, the executive director of AIPAC’s Westchester County lobby.

This prompted "external groups" to support Bowman with $285,000 to withstand AIPAC’s initial campaigns against him, which cost nearly $2 million to attack him, as reported by The Intercept on May 16, 2024.

Representative Jamaal Bowman supported pro-Palestinian Columbia University students after their forceful dispersal and the arrest of dozens. He criticized the "brutality" of the police and questioned, "Are we in a police state? Is this democracy?"

The Guardian revealed on April 17, 2024, that AIPAC allocated $100 million to defeat progressive Democratic candidates deemed insufficiently supportive of “Israel” in 2024, in addition to what it spends on those it supports.

Other American estimates suggest that AIPAC spends between $200 to $300 million annually to buy American politicians.

An American activist tweeted that the fact of AIPAC spending at least $100 million to remove anyone from the U.S. Congress who criticizes “Israel” or U.S. funding for Israel's wars means that “Israel” owns and rules America.

American activist Pelham described AIPAC’s $100 million expenditure on pro-Israeli Occupation representatives in 2024 as political bribery and election interference on a scale never seen before in America. He called for the prosecution and imprisonment of those receiving these bribes on charges of treason.

AIPAC's influence in the 2022 elections was evident, as it ranked among the top 20 donors with substantial financial contributions.

It supported 365 pro-”Israel” Democratic and Republican candidates in 2022 with over $17 million, according to its official website.

AIPAC claimed that 98% of its supported candidates in the general elections (Congress) were successful, and it helped defeat 13 candidates who did not support “Israel.”

Among those ousted by AIPAC was former Michigan Representative Andy Levin in 2022, with $4 million spent against him due to his criticisms of “Israel.”

Previously, every U.S. Senator who threatened the International Criminal Court to prevent it from prosecuting “Israel” received $7 million from the pro-”Israel” lobby.

It was also revealed that the pro-”Israel” lobby spent over $12 million to buy the support of 47 members of Congress to pass the "Anti-Semitism Awareness Act."

This law imposes restrictions on freedom of speech by equating criticism of “Israel” with anti-Semitism.

Besides direct intervention, both AIPAC and Super PAC political action committees interfere in the electoral battle.

In 2022, the United Democracy Project, a major coalition launched by AIPAC, spent nearly $33 million in the same election cycle.

Another pressure group, Democratic Majority for Israel, Super PACs, also play a role in achieving some victories. They ousted progressive Congressman Andy Levin from Michigan in the current primary elections.

They also succeeded in preventing candidates like Donna Edwards from Maryland and Nina Turner from Ohio from advancing to the general elections due to political and financial pressures.

Failures and Influence

Despite massive political mobilization and financial spending, some candidates lost the support of the pro-”Israel” lobby.

Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Minnesota and Summer Lee from Pennsylvania both outperformed their primary challengers by a significant margin, despite facing lavish spending from the pro-”Israel” lobby aimed at defeating them.

Rashida Tlaib, the Democratic congresswoman from Michigan of Palestinian descent, also prevailed despite her outspoken criticism of “Israel,” facing strong opposition from the lobby.

AIPAC poured over $4.5 million into the primary elections held in March 2024 for California's 45th Congressional District to support their candidate Joanna Weiss, but she ultimately lost to progressive candidate Dave Min.

After failing to unseat Democratic Congresswoman Summer Lee from Pennsylvania, AIPAC's main targets are Jamaal Bowman and Congresswoman Cori Bush from Missouri.

The main competitor to Ilhan Omar, Don Samuels, whom she narrowly defeated in the 2022 primary elections, raised approximately $750,000.

In contrast, Omar's campaign has already raised nearly $5 million in cash before the August 2024 primary elections.

Similarly, Tlaib, known for her outspoken criticism of “Israel” in Congress, raised $6.5 million according to her latest reports, facing no opposition in her 2024 race so far.

Joint fundraising committees have already been formed with both Bowman and Bush to help bolster their financial standing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, the third-ranking official in power after the president and vice president, who was the first person endorsed by AIPAC on its official website, demonstrated the lobby's strength in protecting “Israel,” even if it means isolating any U.S. president who hesitates.

He told CNBC on May 9, 2024, that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure President Joe Biden suspended some weapons to “Israel.”

Johnson said he was surprised by Joe Biden's boldness in challenging “Israel,” and he agreed with Netanyahu on the need to start isolating Joe Biden because he dared to withhold some weapons from Tel Aviv.

Americans described what happened as either conspiracy and gross betrayal by Johnson or as a significant and clear indicator that “Israel” actually controls America.

They said that consulting with a foreign leader to undermine U.S. foreign policy is just another strong indication that the entire political elite in the U.S. is under Tel Aviv's control and that America is occupied.

Following Johnson's track record and his relationship with the pro-”Israel” lobby, it is clear that he is a regular recipient of AIPAC's financial generosity.

AIPAC donated a total of $104,000 to Johnson in 2023, the majority of which came after the start of the aggression on Gaza and after the person in question was elected as Speaker of the House at the end of October 2023.

This amount is nearly four times the approximately $25,000 given to his previous congressional campaign by the Jewish organization, which was also its largest donor, as revealed by a previous The Intercept investigation.

Johnson also received an additional $95,000 from AIPAC after supporting a $14 billion aid bill for “Israel,” according to an investigation by The Intercept on January 20, 2024.

Therefore, Americans responded to his conspiracy with Netanyahu to isolate the U.S. president by saying that it is natural for him to call Netanyahu to hear his lord's voice.

The Extended Influence

Simultaneously with AIPAC's intensified activities, National Intelligence Director Avril Haines revealed in a Senate hearing that an increasing number of foreign entities are seeking to influence the elections, according to Reuters on May 16, 2024.

She only mentioned monitoring of forgeries by China, Iran, and Russia aimed at influencing American voters, without mentioning the role of the domestic pro-”Israel” lobby (AIPAC).

This was preceded by Senator Lindsey Graham's statement that he trusts “Israel” more than he trusts the U.S. Secretary of Defense, following Israeli complaint about the Joe Biden administration withholding a certain type of weapon from it.

A minor disagreement emerged between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israeli Occupation's use of thousands of heavy bombs to kill thousands of civilians in Gaza, tarnishing America's image globally.

The White House also halted the shipment of a 2000-ton bomb payload that annihilates hundreds, along with other smart bombs.

During his interview with CNN, Joe Biden admitted that the bombs provided by the U.S. to “Israel,” now halted, were used to kill civilians.

However, he stated during the same interview with CNN on May 8, 2024, that the U.S. remains committed to defending “Israel” and will supply it with interception missiles and other defensive weapons, but if it goes to Rafah, we will not supply it with weapons.

Following the Zionist lobby's threats and officials receiving money from Jews, a surprise revelation came to light when The Wall Street Journal reported on May 15 that the Joe Biden administration notified Congress that it would provide “Israel” with new arms deals worth over a billion dollars.

"The Zionist lobby not only conducts campaigns to bolster pro-Israel candidates and discredit any opposition to Tel Aviv, including among university students, but also influential businessmen colluded to suppress university protests in America and support candidates aligned with Tel Aviv."

An investigative report published by The Washington Post on May 16, 2024, revealed the role played by a group of billionaires and business giants in the U.S. in inciting and suppressing the protests that occurred in universities.

The investigation relied on leaks from a WhatsApp group, revealing that these businessmen, supporters of the Israeli Occupation, worked to shape American public opinion regarding the war in Gaza.

Among them were former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Dell Computers founder and CEO Michael Dell, and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a Jewish billionaire who requested not to employ these students upon graduation.

Also included were Daniel Lubetzky, founder of Kind Snacks, billionaire Len Blavatnik, real estate investor Joseph Sitt, as well as Joshua, founder of Thrive Capital and brother of Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump's son-in-law.

Wadah Khanfar, former director of Al-Jazeera, described this group as "another evidence of the corruption of the American elite and its panic over the steadfastness of Gaza's resistance and the erosion of the Israeli Occupation's narrative.”

"The power and money elite tremble in fear at the outlines of a future being drawn by university students, while the elite defends their dominance and monopolies. To them, Israel is like Rome standing against Carthage, but the youth of Carthage will triumph over the corrupt Rome," Khanfar concluded.