Idea to fund US politicians confuses Israeli lobby: ‘There is a new generation of Jews who believe money can buy people’
Operating in the United States to support Israel (AIPAC); The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is witnessing fierce disagreements after the Tel Aviv administration decided to form a new political committee to fund and support U.S. presidential candidates and members of Congress in an effort to make their decisions successful. Some former leaders of the lobby have warned that the formation of the committee would harm Israel and affect many of its supporters.
According to the information obtained by, AIPAC decided to establish two separate political committees. One is planned to be a committee specializing in fundraising for pro-Israel presidential candidates, and the other is planned to be a committee supporting Congressional candidates from the Republican Party and the Democratic Party to instill in the notions of love and support for Israel. Wealthy Jews and conservative evangelicals personally supported pro-Israel activities and the representatives behind it, but donations have dropped significantly in recent years, according to a source close to the lobby. Thus, like the rest of the US lobbies, institutionalizing activities and addressing this clearly has become a necessity. But former leaders of AIPAC called the decision a major mistake. “The lobby has addressed this issue several times in the past and concluded that it would harm Israel,” said Tom Dine, who was general manager of the lobby for 13 years (1980-1993). “AIPAC is a nonpartisan and cross-party organization whose main concern is supporting Israel. The new ruling allows politicians in a particular state to be supported against other politicians, which makes us biased against one side. If we look at the issue from a strategic point of view, we create more enemies for Israel than friends.”
An AIPAC spokesman defended the decision, saying, “The United States is undergoing major changes and political action has taken a different turn. We have to keep up with change and manage to cope with change. Especially as we try to get support for Israel to come from both major parties, the game is clear, and if we are careful and balanced, we will have no problems. We are working to increase support for Israel.”
Douglas M. Bloomfield, who has led AIPAC for the past 9 years, said, “The decision is a blow to Israel’s interests. There’s a new generation of U.S. Jewish leaders who believe that money empowers them and that they can buy people. That’s the wrong way to look at it. People want us to stick to our values, they watch our work and expect us to be ambitious and passionate, not to be greedy people who use money as a means of oppression. And we must bear in mind that there are those who have more money than us in such a situation. If we change our purpose for money, we will lose the war against it.”
