Pro-Israel lobby's election spending backfires as most money goes to losers

Pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC spent more than USD 84 million on US congressional races this year, nearly two-thirds of it on candidates who lost, according to a Responsible Statecraft analysis, in one of its weakest showings in years.

File photo: An attendee at the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, USA, 02 March 2020.

EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

The analysis, discussed by Middle East Eye, found that AIPAC and affiliated organisations put USD 55 million into unsuccessful campaigns.

The biggest single outlay, about USD 32 million, went on trying to block Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. He won in Michigan and becomes the first Muslim to enter the US Senate.

Only about 34% of spending by AIPAC’s political committee went to winning campaigns this year, against 69% in the 2022 congressional elections and 87% in 2024.

Middle East Eye said the defeats pointed to growing American resentment of Israel over the war in Gaza and the US-Israeli war with Iran, which it said had contributed to higher living costs.

On Wednesday, US Vice President JD Vance said the Iran war and Washington’s close ties with Israel had contributed to the Republicans’ electoral defeat.

In late October, AIPAC said it would stop formally endorsing candidates, a move also tied to Israel’s deteriorating image, particularly among Democratic voters. Its backing, once seen as a political asset, is increasingly becoming a liability.

Founded in 1954, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is one of the most influential lobbying groups in the United States. It presses for US military aid to Israel and works with both Democrats and Republicans.

(jh)

Source: PAP