This week, approximately 1,600 foot soldiers from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) congregated inside the garish yet functional Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, for the PAC's annual policy conference. It took place this year amid Israel's bloody war in Gaza, which has left at least 30,000 Palestinians dead and is turning into a critical wedge issue in the 2024 elections.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed attendees by videocast, along with Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog. According to an incomplete speaker list, the entire Democratic and Republican leadership in Congress delivered remarks—Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Mike Johnson. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) were both in
attendance, among other representatives.
The
Prospect has obtained documents from the conference that preview the PAC's lobbying blitz on Capitol Hill this week. The documents reveal AIPAC's legislative strategy and the talking points it will use to support an unconditional $14 billion military funding package that has thus far been held up, among other policy changes. They also include numerous positions on aspects of the U.S. response to the war that have not previously been made public, from abolishing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to opposing recent restrictions imposed by the Biden administration on Israeli settlers. There is no mention of a two-state solution.
THOUGH THE PRIMARY MOTIVATION FOR THE CONFERENCE was lobbying, the event also informed members about the PAC's congressional spending plans. AIPAC has
pledged to drop over $100 million on campaigns this election cycle to defeat any congressional candidates critical of Israel.
It's been clear for several election cycles that AIPAC might sway the electoral map more so for Republicans, but this document all but signals that directly to its members.
The pamphlet does try to refute charges that the lobby opposes all progressives. It takes a dig at its critics by claiming to have raised more money for endorsed Congressional Progressive Caucus members, at $1.8 million, than left-aligned groups Justice Democrats, J Street, and EMILYs List combined.
But the talking points promoted at the conference for its members to use on the Hill tell a different story. They're exclusively directed at combating rhetoric and policy from Democrats, Squad members, cease-fire advocates, and even President Biden, who has only recently mildly criticized Netanyahu's handling of the war.
The legislative packet is directed at defending Israel's military actions in Gaza against any calls for conditioning military assistance, as well as the findings of the International Court of Justice investigation. AIPAC is also using the ongoing war and threat from Hamas to call for further sanctions against Iran, potentially pulling the U.S. into a broader regional war.
AIPAC is instructing members to make assertions of fact to congressional staff that are not supported by credible evidence other than statements by the Israel Defense Forces, according to experts who reviewed the documents. "They're going to the Hill to repeat a foreign government's talking points," said Matt Duss at the Center for International Policy, a former policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders.
But even more controversial is that AIPAC is telling members of Congress that "Israel is not blocking the delivery of aid to Gaza," and that "reports that people are starving in Gaza are false." Neither claim is supported by findings of international authorities, nor by recent actions undertaken by the United States government. Just last week, the U.S. air-dropped aid packages into Gaza, circumventing Israeli border officials, and at the State of the Union address President Biden announced intentions to set up a port for deliveries. These actions were only necessary because Israel has made it difficult to get aid through checkpoints, such as during one recent incident where the Israeli navy fired at an aid convoy. The EU's foreign-policy chief last week
said that starvation in Gaza is being used as a weapon of war.
Despite being a longtime donor and supporter of President Biden's, AIPAC's talking point also goes on the attack against him for recent remarks that, however tepidly, indicate a shift in tone. Biden has distanced himself from Netanyahu, embracing the language (if not the full meaning) of cease-fire, and more recently indicated a potential red line, should Israel launch a ground invasion of the Gaza border city of Rafah.
AIPAC dedicates an entire section of its file for members to rebuke the president's comments, under the subhead "Why is President Biden dictating to Israel how to fight this war," while simultaneously demanding military assistance from his government.
The documents reveal numerous advocacy positions that AIPAC has not been forthright about publicly. They include opposing the Biden administration's memorandum on arms sales in February, which merely asks for written assurances from countries receiving aid that they're complying with existing laws. They also oppose recent U.S. sanctions against West Bank settlers who have engaged in violence against Palestinians. AIPAC deems these measures "unnecessary."
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