US election: How AIPAC shapes American politics

By Rabia Ali & Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) – When the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was first formed in the 1950s, its aim was to counter international backlash after Israel’s massacre of Palestinians in the village of Qibya, and ensure there was no disruption in US funding to Israel.

Decades later, as Israel carries out a genocide in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza, AIPAC retains pervasive influence in all quarters of US politics, leading a campaign to silence pro-Palestine voices and promote Israeli interests.

AIPAC’s methods are direct and it “supports any candidate for Congress … who is pro-Israel, and targets and punishes … any candidate that is critical of Israel,” said Walter Hixson, a retired distinguished professor of history and author.

That modus operandi has been in full view in the run-up to Tuesday’s elections in the US, with a recent report by The Intercept revealing that AIPAC has spent money on more than 80% of all electoral races.

“There’s nothing like AIPAC in American politics for any other country,” Hixson told Anadolu.

“It’s not only the most powerful lobby representing a foreign country, it’s one of the most powerful lobbies, period.”

While there are hundreds of organizations that make up the pro-Israel lobby in the US, he said, AIPAC is different as it focuses directly on Congress and has been “tremendously successful.”

When it comes to fundraising, AIPAC mainly relies on a handful of super-wealthy billionaire donors, who under the American political system, are able to influence elections dramatically, Hixson explained.

The lobby group comprises predominantly conservative Jews, many of whom are Orthodox Jews, he said.

“They are well-connected financially with wealthy elites, but they’re not political figures. The members of AIPAC are not people who have held political offices, they’re professional lobbyists and fundraisers,” he said.

On the group’s history, Hixson also pointed to the objective of ensuring “regular funding for Israel.”

“Way back, in the period after World War II, even before Israel was created, it was to get money from the Congress to resettle Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and from all the tumult in Europe,” he said.

“It worked so well that they realized that they could get involved in every election cycle and ensure money for Israel.”

Consequently, Israel has received more than $150 billion in US funding since 1948, more than any other country, he added.

- Leaning toward Trump?

While AIPAC targets both Republicans and Democrats for support in Congress, its inclination this time seems to be toward the Republicans, according to Hixson.

“AIPAC is more closely affiliated with the Republican Party, especially Trump, because he simply gives Israel everything it wants, no questions asked,” he said.

“They have leaned toward the Republicans more and more, but officially AIPAC is very careful to always point out they are nonpartisan and will support any candidate that’s pro-Israel … But there’s no question they would prefer Trump to win.”

AIPAC’s primary focus is on American lawmakers, he added, so they would not be too bothered about the White House “as long as they control the Congress.”

However, Rami Khouri, a prominent academic and analyst on the Middle East, cautioned against linking AIPAC with either Republicans or Democrats.

“They won’t say in public (who they are supporting for president). They’ve always been working with members of both parties … to get people to support the interests of Israel as Israel defines them, not as international law defines them, or as US policy defines them, so I wouldn’t link them to any one party or another,” he told Anadolu.

“The Israelis seem to prefer public opinion, and Israel seems to prefer Donald Trump as president,” he added.

- AIPAC’s influence in Congress

Delving more into AIPAC’s strategies, historian Hixson said the group demands unquestioned loyalty to Israel, “whether it’s committing genocide in Gaza or occupying the West Bank.”

“The most important thing to understand about AIPAC is that it essentially controls the US Congress. Every member of Congress knows that the Israel lobby is there and AIPAC is just the spearhead of the Israel lobby,” he asserted.

“All the members of the House or Senate know that if they criticize Israel, they will be targeted with multimillion-dollar campaigns for their opponent.”

He cited the recent cases of Democratic Congressmen Jamal Bowman and Corey Bush, saying AIPAC spent some $23 million to boost their opponents in the primaries.

“They (AIPAC) will target any and all candidates who are critical of Israeli policy or in any way pro-Palestinian. Other than that, you are allowed to say you support a two-state solution,” he said.

AIPAC has a “winning” percentage of roughly 90%, according to Hixson, but there are still some battles it loses.

“They can’t get rid of Ilhan Omar. They can’t get rid of … Bernie Sanders in the Senate. There are some politicians who can survive AIPAC’s assault, but most of them cave in and support the pro-Israel position,” he said.

Khouri elaborated on how AIPAC wants to “prohibit any kind of pro-Palestinian advocacy in the US, and is trying to defeat parliamentary candidates who support a cease-fire or a two-state solution.”

“They’re trying to make it a criminal offense to criticize Israel in the US, using the legal system. They’re having a few successes, but they’re also getting pushback and losing some cases in court,” he said.

“They want Israel to dominate the region, and make sure that Israel’s interests come before anything else, even before American interests.”

- Can public opinion dent AIPAC’s power?

On the question of whether AIPAC’s power can ever be checked, Khouri agreed that public opinion and awareness could play a role.

“This will happen slowly, with a few people here and there. It’s already happened as there’s about now maybe 70 or 80 members of Congress who will support equal rights for Israel and Palestine,” he said.

“That used to be zero or 2 people in the last 50 years … and it keeps growing because people see the genocide that Israel has created and the apartheid system it runs.”

Like their counterparts around the globe, politicians in the US “only care about staying in power,” so they could change their policies if their positions are under threat, he explained.

“If public sentiment threatens to throw some politicians out of office, like in this election, maybe, then they’ll pay more attention to the people supporting Palestine and change their positions,” said Khouri.

“That has not happened to any significant extent, but it has happened to a limited extent, which itself is historic and important … This is happening at a very slow pace, but the fact that it’s happening is historic.”

He referred to these changes and the growing scrutiny of AIPAC’s role in US politics as “a cracking of the wall.”

“Some politicians are no longer afraid of criticizing Israeli policies or challenging the American government,” he said.

As for the public, Khouri said the average American citizen was not aware of how they were being “manipulated and lied to with vast exaggerations and vast omissions of realities in the Middle East.”

“But now this is changing. More and more Americans realize that what Israel is telling them and what AIPAC is telling them is not true or is vastly exaggerated, and they’re pushing back against it,” he said.

While American voters would normally “never care about Palestine or Israel,” the ongoing genocide in Gaza has changed the script, he continued.

“American voters … do care if their government is funding and allowing a genocide to happen,” said Khouri.

“They don’t want to be associated with genocide. They don’t want collusion with genocide. They don’t like that and they’re speaking out against it.”