The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s newly formed political action committee released its first list of 120 congressional endorsees, and more than a quarter of them are Republicans who voted against certifying Joe Biden as president.
AIPAC defended the inclusion of the 37 Republicans who would not certify Biden, noting its status as a single-issue organization focused on Israel. But the picks stirred controversy among past AIPAC leaders and liberal pro-Israel groups who reject Donald Trump’s false claims about a stolen election and the lawmakers who indulge him.
“As a single-issue organization, we remain focused on our mission of building bipartisan support in Congress to strengthen the US-Israel relationship,” spokesman Marshall Wittman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an email.
In December, AIPAC announced it was breaking with decades of tradition and directly involving itself in candidate fundraising.
J Street, AIPAC’s liberal Jewish rival, which also has an affiliated PAC, criticized Thursday’s endorsements.
“AIPAC’s support for these candidates endangers American democracy and undermines the true interests and values of millions of American Jews and pro-Israel Americans who they often claim to represent,” said Laura Birnbaum, J Street’s National Political Director.
“Whatever their views on Israel, elected officials who threaten the very future of our country should be completely beyond the pale,” Birnbaum said. “We call on AIPAC to immediately end...
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