AIPAC
© WikimediaAIPAC logo
AIPAC has unveiled a new ad stressing the fact that the group is an American organization.

"You may have heard our name, but how much do you really know about AIPAC?," the commercial asks.

"Funded by Americans. Directed by Americans. Strengthening an alliance that benefits America!," declares a tweet promoting the ad.

AIPAC generally portrays itself as an omnipotent force able to stomp out any political campaign that dares to stray from the party line, but this ad clearly shows they are suddenly on the defensive.


The lobbying outfit has long known that it's unpopular among Democratic voters, which is why it never actually references Israel in the ads that it runs in Democratic primaries. It's why the Super PAC it uses in Democratic races is called the United Democracy Project (ADP), an innocuous sounding name that doesn't clue viewers in to AIPAC's actual motivations.

AIPAC didn't have much reason to be concerned about the right side of the aisle, but recent polling shows that younger Republicans are growing skeptical of Israel, like everyone else. The numbers indicate that the shift has been driven, in part, by the genocide in Gaza.

For instance, a March 2025 Pew Poll found that 50% of GOP voters under the age of 50 now express a negative view of Israel, compared to 35% in 2022.

The American Right's relationship with Israel is a subject that went mainstream in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder, amid online debates about whether the conservative pundit was turning on the country and potentially facing backlash over it.

A number of "America First" conservative commentators have openly criticized the special relationship. Chief among them is Tucker Carlson, a popular voice that formerly parroted the usual neoconservative talking points.

Over the summer, a Carlson interview with Ted Cruz went viral because he repeatedly pressed the Texas Senator on the issue of Israel. One of the questions that flummoxed Cruz was, Why don't AIPAC lobbyists have to register as foreign agents?

We certainly haven't seen any discernible changes among GOP lawmakers, but Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is an outlier. The Georgia Representative has criticized her own party over its loyalty to Israel, and has referred to what's happening in Gaza as a genocide.

In August, AIPAC sent out a fundraising email targeting Greene. It read:
"You expect anti-Israel smears from Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, but now, Marjorie Taylor Greene has joined their ranks - spouting the same vile rhetoric and voting against the US-Israel alliance."
In a fiery tweet, Greene attacked the group over the email. She wrote:
"While AIPAC is lying to their donors about me claiming I'm 'betraying my American values' the REALITY is AIPAC 1,000,000% serves and lobbies for a foreign country, Israel!!."
The Republican establishment is taking this stuff seriously. Last month, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) held a private meeting with pro-Israel groups (including AIPAC) about the need to eradicate growing isolationist sentiment within the party.

Phil Weiss in a recent piece on our site, wrote:
"The right-wing awakening is a big problem for the Israel lobby. It has lost traction in the Democratic Party because the base despises Israel, and candidates such as Zohran Mamdani are running against Israeli genocide, and a growing faction of politicians seeks to end military aid to the apartheid country."
October 7 bill

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) used the recent anniversary of October 7 to promote something called the October 7th Remembrance Education Act.

The bill, which is endorsed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), is currently backed by 16 Democrats and 4 Republicans.

Gottheimer is also calling on the New Jersey state legislature to introduce and pass a state version of the bill.

According to a press release:
"The legislation would instruct the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to build a model curriculum for schools to teach the heinous and brutal attacks committed on October 7th, the history of antisemitism and how it played a role in the attacks, and denial and distortion as a form of antisemitism in the wake of the attacks."
In other words, the bill aims to stifle criticism of Israel in the classroom. These lawmakers don't want people talking about the genocide that prompted college students to act. They want people to know that "antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric spread throughout the United States and on campuses" after October 7.

In a press conference, Gottheimer openly connected the bill to his anti-BDS efforts and attempts to push the controversial IHRA working definition of antisemitism. He said:
"I'm fighting to pass my bipartisan Antisemitism Awareness Act to give schools the tools they need to confront antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head. This will codify into law the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism — the most widely recognized definition of antisemitism in the world. The bill will also require the Department of Education to apply the IHRA's definition of antisemitism when carrying out Title VI investigations. And, I've also called for our state legislature to adopt similar legislation to codify IHRA here in Jersey. They've been dragging their feet for way too long."

"We can't sit around and wait as our Jewish residents continue to face threats, intimidation, and calls for the annihilation of the State of Israel. We cannot stay silent in the face of hate and bigotry online, on our college campuses, or anywhere in our nation. Our Jersey Values mean that we don't allow our communities to be torn apart; we stand together and protect one another. That's exactly what we are doing here today."


Comment: What about the decades of deadly antipalestinianism? Propose the same to Israel!