Introduction
The Informal Israeli Lobby
The Informal Arab Lobby
Candidate Case Studies
Public Opinion
The Formal Israeli Lobby
Pro-Israel Coalitions
Evangelical Christians
Pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans
The Arab Lobby
J Street
Pro-Israel Campaign Donations
AIPAC Starts A PAC
Alliance Against Anti-Semitism PAC
“Track AIPAC”
Pro-Arab/Muslim Contributions
2024 Campaign Heats Up
Contrasts
Measuring Influence

Introduction

Reference is often made to the Jewish lobby to describe Jewish political influence in the United States. This term is both vague and inadequate. While it is true that American Jews are sometimes represented by lobbyists, such direct efforts to influence policymakers are but a small part of the lobby’s ability to shape policy.

Organized groups do attempt to affect legislation directly. One of these, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), is a registered lobby. Other groups do not generally engage in direct lobbying (e.g., B’nai B’rith and Hadassah) but disseminate information and encourage their members to participate in the political process. They also sometimes lobby on specific issues. Though they have rarely influenced policy, Christian groups have also frequently weighed in on Israel’s behalf, and several pro-Israel organizations are comprised entirely of non-Jews. These organizations comprise the formal lobby.

U.S. Middle East policy is further shaped by Jewish voting behavior and American public opinion. These indirect means of influence are the informal lobby.

The formal and informal components intersect at several points, so the distinction is not always clear-cut. Together, however, they form the Israeli (or pro-Israel) lobby. This is a more accurate label than the Jewish lobby because a large proportion of the lobby is made up of non-Jews. This term also reflects the lobby’s objective. The Israeli lobby can then be defined as those formal and informal actors, directly and indirectly, influencing American policy to support Israel.

The Israeli lobby does not have the field to itself. On any given issue, it may be opposed by a variety of interest groups unrelated to the Middle East (e.g., conservative groups that have no particular problem with Israel but oppose foreign aid in principle). Still, its main rival is the Arab lobby, which consists of formal and informal actors that attempt to influence U.S. foreign policy to support the interests of Arab states in the Middle East.

The Informal Israeli Lobby

American Jews recognize the importance of support for Israel because of the dire consequences that could follow from the alternative. Even though Israel is often referred to now as the fourth most powerful country in the world, the perceived threat to Israel is not military defeat but annihilation. At the same time, American Jews are frightened of what might happen in the United States if they do not have political power.

As a result, Jews have devoted themselves to politics with almost religious fervor. This is reflected by the fact that Jews have the highest percentage of voter turnout of any ethnic group. The Jewish vote also matters because the population is concentrated in key states. Although the Jewish population in the United States is approximately 7.7 million (about 2.3% of the total U.S. population), the 12 states with the highest concentration of Jews account for 271 electoral votes, one more than needed to elect the president. If you add the non-Jews shown by opinion polls to be as pro-Israel as Jews, it is clear Israel has the support of one of the largest veto groups in the country.

Most supporters of Israel are not single-issue voters. As a Jewish Federation official said of voters in Florida: “They won’t vote for a candidate who is openly hostile toward Israel, but once a candidate passes the basic threshold of supporting Israel, the voters turn to other priorities – and most of them find Democrats more in line with their values.”¹

The political activism of Jews forces members of Congress with presidential ambitions to consider what a mixed voting record on Israel-related issues may mean in the political future. There are no benefits to candidates taking an openly anti-Israel stance and considerable costs in losing campaign contributions and votes from Jews and non-Jews alike. Potential candidates, therefore, have the incentive to be pro-Israel; this reinforces support for Israel in Congress. Actual candidates must be sensitive to the concerns of Jewish voters; it follows that the successful candidate’s foreign policy will be influenced, although not bound, by the promises that had to be made during the campaign.

One way lobbyists attempt to educate politicians is by taking them on study missions to Israel. Once officials have direct exposure to the country, its leaders, geography, and security dilemmas, they typically return more sympathetic to Israel. Politicians also sometimes travel to Israel specifically to demonstrate their interest in Israel to the lobby. Thus, for example, George W. Bush made his only trip to Israel before deciding to run for President, in what was widely viewed as an effort to win the support of pro-Israel voters. While there, he was also educated and was particularly influenced by a helicopter tour given to him by a man he would later work with as a fellow head of state — Ariel Sharon. In 2005 alone, more than 100 members of Congress visited Israel, some multiple times.²

Jewish members of Congress are naturally expected to support Israel, and this is true except for occasional odd votes. Historically, however, few Jews have held elective office or primary positions of power, even though they have always been politically active. Over the past decade, however, this has begun to change gradually. Today, Jews occupy more positions of influence than ever before. For example, in the 118th Congress, 10 Senators are Jewish (10%), while Jewish members comprise almost 6% of the House.

Bill Clinton nominated two Supreme Court Justices, both Jewish. He had several Jewish Cabinet members, including National Security Adviser Sandy Berger and Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, and dozens of Jews held other key Administration posts. Bastions of bureaucratic opposition and sometimes outright anti-Semitism, such as the CIA and State Department, now employ Jews at the highest levels. For almost a decade, a Jew (Dennis Ross) was America’s principal Mideast negotiator, and Bill Clinton appointed the first Jewish Ambassador to Israel (Martin Indyk). The George W. Bush Administration also included many Jews in high-profile subcabinet positions. In the first Trump administration, several officials were Jewish, including the three principals involved in developing a peace plan – Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt. Jews similarly held high-profile positions in the Biden administration, including Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and Attorney General Merrick Garland. Jews were also well represented in the second Trump administration, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

The Informal Arab Lobby

The disproportionate influence of the American Jewish population is in direct contrast with the electoral involvement of Arab Americans. Approximately 1.2 million people of Arab descent live in the United States, and roughly 38 percent of them are Lebanese, primarily Christians, who tend to be unsympathetic to the Arab lobby’s goals. This reflects another major problem for the Arab lobby -- inter-Arab disunity. This disunity is reinforced by the general discord of the Arab world, which has twenty-one states with competing interests. The Arab lobby is thus precluded from representing "the Arabs."

Only about 83,000 Palestinians (5% of all Arab Americans) live in the United States, but their views have received disproportionate attention because of their political activism. Similarly, a great deal of attention has focused on the allegedly growing political strength of Muslims in the United States, but fewer than one-fourth of all Arab Americans are Muslims, according to the Arab-American Institute ³

Approximately half of the Arab population is concentrated in five states — California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York — all of which are key to the Electoral College. Still, the Arab population is dwarfed by that of the Jews in every one of these states except Michigan.

Jewish and Arab Populations in Key States⁴

State	Arab Population (2019)	Percentage of Total State Population	Jewish Population (2022)	Percentage of Total State Population
NY	184,342	.9%	1,785,727	8.8%
CA	314,014	.8%	1,234,540	3.1%
FL	123,160	.6%	672,465	1%
NJ	107,390	1.2%	626,220	6.7%
MI	221,631	2.2%	87,905	.9%

Candidate Case Studies

An early example of the pro-Israel lobby’s clout in congressional elections occurred during the high-profile effort to unseat Congressman Paul Findley of Illinois, a frequent critic of Israel. When he was defeated, critics claimed it was because he was targeted by the pro-Israel community. Still, his defeat could have been attributed to the fact that his district suffered from a high unemployment rate and had been gerrymandered to his disadvantage.

The Arab lobby took its first active and visible role in the 1984 election when it decided to support the opponents of seventy-six-year-old Maryland Democrat Clarence Long. As chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Long was a driving force behind increasing aid to Israel and was targeted by the Arab lobby “to serve notice to members of Congress that the Arab lobby is ready and able to make life uncomfortable for Israel’s friends on Capitol Hill.” As was the case in Findley’s defeat, however, Long’s defeat was rooted in politics unrelated to the Middle East –redistricting took away a large percentage of his constituency. After a narrow victory in 1982, he became a high-priority target of the Republican National Committee. In 1984, the Arab lobby found, for the first time, a presidential candidate receptive to their interests. Jesse Jackson had a long record of support for the Arab cause and was particularly outspoken in support of Palestinian rights, having met with Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat when such meetings were considered politically taboo. As a result of his positions, Jackson received substantial financial support from members of the Arab lobby. The divisions of the lobby were again apparent, however, when the American Lebanese League president said Jackson turned his constituents off: “He seems interested in the welfare of Arab countries but not Lebanon or the United States.” Not surprisingly, he did not receive support from the pro-Israel community.

Public Opinion

The absence of a large voting bloc requires the Arab lobby to develop sympathies among the general public if it is to use public opinion or the electoral process to influence U.S. policy. The lobby has tried to support sympathetic American groups, such as Third World organizations, and cultivate friendships in the academic and business realms, but, as opinion polls have consistently shown, there is relatively little popular support for the Arab cause.

Since 1967, polls have found that sympathy for Israel varied between 32 and 69 percent, averaging 50 percent, while sympathy for the Arabs has oscillated between 1 and 30 percent and averaged only 13 percent. In the last several years, support for the Arabs has increased slightly, but this has not affected sympathies toward Israel.

The Arab lobby has been unable to increase its standing significantly with the public. It has failed to convince the American people that the Israeli lobby controls U.S. Middle East policy. Polls indicate the public sees the Arab lobby as more of a threat than the Israeli lobby. For example, in a survey conducted several weeks after the Senate vote on the sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia, 53% of the public agreed Israel has “too much influence” on American foreign policy. Still, only 11% felt the same way about American Jews. By contrast, 64% said Saudi Arabia had too much influence, and 70% believed that oil companies had too much influence. A March 1983 poll asking which groups have “too much” political influence found that only 10% of those asked said “Jews.” Business corporations and unions were considered too powerful by more than 40% of the respondents, with Arab interests next at 24%.

Thus, the Arab lobby’s problem is twofold; it suffers from a negative image, and Israel enjoys a positive image. This has gradually begun to change. To combat negative Arab stereotypes, former Senator James Abourezk founded the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in 1980. The ADC is modeled after the Anti-Defamation League but is considerably smaller and weaker.

The Formal Israeli Lobby

The organization that directly lobbies the U.S. government on behalf of the Israeli lobby is AIPAC. Initially called the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs, the lobby was founded in 1951 by I.L. (Sy) Kenen to appeal directly to Congress for legislation that would provide aid to Israel, thereby circumventing State Department opposition. As recently as the late 1960s, the organization, now considered the most powerful foreign policy lobby in Washington, was essentially a one-person operation run by Kenen. In the late 1970s, AIPAC still had only a handful of staff based in Washington. Today, it has more than 100 employees with 17 offices in 10 regions and a budget of more than $100 million, and lobbies the Executive Branch and the Legislative.

Because of its name, AIPAC was often mistakenly thought to be a political action committee (PAC), but the organization did not rate, endorse, or finance candidates. That changed in 2022 when AIPAC decided to become involved in providing funds to campaigns to support pro-Israel candidates.

AIPAC was not the first domestic lobby to concern itself with foreign affairs, but it is regarded as the most powerful. In 1998 and 1999, for example, Fortune Magazine named AIPAC the second most powerful lobby in Washington after the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP). The lobby strives to remain nonpartisan and thereby maintains friendships with representatives from both parties. By framing the issues in terms of the national interest, AIPAC can attract broader support than would ever be possible if it were perceived to represent only the interests of Israel. This does not mean AIPAC does not have a close relationship with Israeli officials; it does, albeit unofficially. Even so, the lobby sometimes disagrees with the Israeli government. One of the most blatant examples occurred when AIPAC’s Executive Director, Thomas Dine, was quoted on the front page of the New York Times as saying the 1982 Reagan peace plan had some good points (and many bad ones), despite the Israeli government having rejected the plan in its entirety. Despite such disagreements, the Israeli lobby reflects Israeli government policy fairly closely. Although its influence is primarily limited to issues where Congress has a say, particularly in economic matters, the organization also serves as a watchdog to deter the adoption of anti-Israel policies.

Congress was a different place than it is today as recently as the 1970s. At that time, a handful of long-serving committee chairmen largely dictated congressional action. Thus, former AIPAC employee Lenny Ben-David explained, “Kenen didn’t have to prowl the halls of Congress to meet with elected officials and twist arms. He consulted with two handfuls of congressional titans, and they set the legislative agenda and rounded up the votes on the Hill.” In addition, Kenen could turn to “key contacts” – influential Jews with political connections around the country – to make calls to members asking for their support. Back then, he was also the sole lobbyist.

Even today, lobbyists often roam the halls of Congress, seeking to capture the attention of legislators so they can explain their positions. AIPAC has the luxury of calling its allies in Congress to pass along information, leaving much of the work of writing bills and gathering cosponsors to its legislative staff. The lobbyists are mostly Capitol Hill veterans who know how to operate the levers of power.

On March 28, 1960, AIPAC held its first Policy Conference. This became an annual event that gradually grew to attract 15,000 people, who were given assignments to lobby their members of Congress on the last day of the conference. The conference featured politicians and experts discussing various aspects of U.S.-Israel relations. Thousands of students were also encouraged to become activists on their college campuses. Until the conference outgrew a single gala dinner, it was a must for politicians to attend, if only long enough to hear their names read in the roll call of political and diplomatic attendees.

Since it does not use stereotypical lobbying tactics, the Israeli lobby depends on the network it has developed to galvanize the Jewish community to take some form of political action. The network comprises at least seventy-five different organizations that support Israel in various ways. Most cannot legally engage in lobbying (or only a limited amount) but are represented on the Board of Directors of AIPAC, allowing them to provide input into the lobby’s decision-making process. Equally important is the bureaucratic machinery of these organizations, which enables them to disseminate information to their members and facilitate a rapid response to legislative activity.

Long-time AIPAC employee Lenny Ben-David said Kenen’s philosophy was: “We stand behind legislation, never in front of it.” This kept AIPAC out of the press for the most part, but that did not spare it from criticism.

Up until 1968, the U.S. sought to balance arms sales to Israel with similar ones to its Arab allies. With the sale of Phantom jets in 1968, the United States committed to ensuring Israel maintained a qualitative military edge over its enemies, some of whom are friends of America. AIPAC subsequently adopted a policy that it would oppose the sale of sophisticated weapons to Arab states that could jeopardize that advantage. Its first major battle began on May 2, 1978, after Jimmy Carter proposed the sale of F-15 fighter aircraft to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Menachem Begin said this was a severe decision and objected to the sale because both countries remained at war with Israel. In the hope of gaining Congressional support, Carter included fighter planes for Israel and insisted that Congress pass the entire package.

Nevertheless, AIPAC lobbied Congress to reject the sale, focusing on the sale to the Saudis. To secure the sale, Carter ultimately agreed to sell additional planes to Israel and place restrictions on the equipment provided to the Saudis (no bomb racks, external fuel tanks, or air-to-ground missiles) that would give them an offensive capability. The sale was then approved on May 15, 1978.

The last time AIPAC made an all-out effort to prevent an arms sale was when Ronald Reagan decided to sell AWACS radar planes to Saudi Arabia. Though it initially appeared AIPAC would prevail, the president proved to be the stronger lobbyist and secured the sale.

Kenen’s successor, Morrie Amitay, was more willing to give the organization greater visibility. That attention likely led to the bombing of his house in July 1977. According to Ben-David, the perpetrator, a white supremacist, was not found until three years later when he was arrested for a series of crimes, including the murder of 21 people, which led to his conviction and execution.

AIPAC was also under government scrutiny. Amitay suspected the office was bugged, and it was. At one point, the Federal Elections Committee tried unsuccessfully to prove that AIPAC was directing pro-Israel PAC contributions. The FBI also investigated the lobby and, in 2004, a Pentagon analyst was arrested for telling two AIPAC employees – Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman – secret information about Iran. Weissman was a junior member of the staff, but Rosen, the director of foreign policy issues, worked there for 23 years and was regarded as a brilliant strategist. He was the architect behind the controversial decision to build up AIPAC’s capacity to lobby the Executive Branch. That internal battle led to the end of Douglas Bloomfield’s career as chief congressional lobbyist in 1988.

Rosen and Weissman were fired and accused by the government of passing confidential information to a journalist and a foreign diplomat. The charges were dropped in 2009.

Although critics suggest AIPAC acts in lockstep with the Israeli government, disagreements sometimes arise. For example, AIPAC’s reputation among conspiracy theorists as all-powerful did not go over well with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who saw himself as Israel’s chief lobbyist and AIPAC as more of a nuisance. Tensions were exacerbated by the prime minister’s undisguised support for Richard Nixon in the 1972 election, despite knowing the overwhelming majority of American Jews were Democrats, and Kenen’s wife hosting a fundraiser for George McGovern.

Pro-Israel Coalitions

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations comprises leaders of 55 different organizations and is responsible for formulating and articulating the "Jewish position" on most foreign policy matters. The conference allows the lobby to speak with one voice in a way its opponents cannot. The Conference is the primary contact between the Jewish community and the executive branch, while AIPAC tends to be the conduit with the legislative branch.

Even with the Jewish population concentrated in crucial states, there are still only a total of about six million Jews; therefore, the Israeli lobby is dependent on the support of non-Jewish groups and actively works to form coalitions with broad segments of American society. The lobby has successfully built alliances consisting of unions, entertainers, clergy members, scholars, and Black leaders. The coalitions enable the lobby to demonstrate a broad public consensus in favor of a pro-Israel policy.

For years, the pro-Israel community largely ignored the Hispanic community, even as it grew in political influence. AIPAC became more active in engaging Hispanics and began holding sessions at its Policy Conference to discuss mutual interests.

Fuente Latina, a pro-Israel Spanish-language media group, launched the Latin-Jewish Media and Entertainment Alliance in 2022 to engage journalists and influencers who reach Spanish-speaking audiences in portraying Israel and the Jewish world accurately. More than 180 Latin-American media and entertainment industry professionals endorsed the initiative, including actors, telenovela stars, podcasters, TV hosts, producers, and directors.

Fuente Latino founder and CEO Leah Soibel told JTA, “We see firsthand how state-funded Spanish-language media networks like Iran’s HispanTV and Russia Today en Español invest millions of dollars to purposely spread disinformation that fuels division, mistrust, and anti-Semitism among Latinos worldwide.” She added, “In recent years, both Hispanics and Jews have been the targets of disinformation and discrimination campaigns in both legacy media and online platforms,” she said. “Digital animosity often escalates into deadly attacks.”

Evangelical Christians

The largest and most controversial component of the pro-Israel lobby is evangelical Christians. While many Christian denominations, such as Quakers and mainline Protestants, have been traditionally hostile toward Israel, most of the estimated 60 million Americans identifying as evangelicals have, since at least the Reagan era, identified with the pro-Israel community. In fact, support from some Christians predates modern political Zionism. Five years before Theodor Herzl called for a Jewish state, for example, William Blackstone, a Christian dispensationalist, argued for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.

Many Jews are uncomfortable with evangelical Christians. One reason is that Jews are overwhelmingly liberal, while most evangelicals are conservative, so there is disagreement on some social issues. A second reason is that many Christians support Israel because they believe its existence is a precursor to the second coming of Christ. Some also adhere to Replacement Theology—the belief that Christians have supplanted Jews as God’s chosen people. Most do not believe that Jews must answer for killing Christ.

For purely pragmatic reasons, the pro-Israel community has embraced evangelicals. A lobby with only ten million is not as powerful as one with 70.

Evangelical support is not assured, as Jews discovered during the 1981 AWACS fight, when they fell in line behind the Reagan administration in supporting the sale. For example, Senator Roger Jepsen of Iowa addressed the annual policy conference of AIPAC and explained that he supported Israel because it “upholds the values of a democratic and open society,” is “a secure haven for persecuted Jews,” and because he believes, as a Christian, that God promised Israel to the Jews. He opposed the AWACS sale because “it will unnecessarily harm the security of our only stable and trusted ally in the Middle East – Israel.” The day before the AWACS vote, at the turning point of the debate, Jepsen reversed his position.

A 2025 study by Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research found that evangelical beliefs about the Jewish people and Israel have remained essentially unchanged despite the upheavals of recent years—from the 2023 Hamas attacks to the global rise in anti-Semitism. Nearly half of evangelicals (49%) still believe Jews are God’s chosen people, a figure virtually identical to 2021, while one in five supports Replacement Theology—the belief that Christians have supplanted Jews as God’s chosen—and another fifth remains unsure.

However, the data point to a generational shift. Evangelicals under 35 are far less likely to affirm that Jews are God’s chosen people (only 29%) and more likely to express uncertainty or embrace Replacement Theology. Researchers suggest this reflects changing theological priorities among younger believers.

Most evangelicals continue to view Israel’s importance in spiritual rather than political terms. Roughly three-quarters say their concern for Israel centers on prayer, prophecy, and biblical teaching, while only about 60% emphasize political or media support. What evangelicals hear from their churches matters deeply: those whose pastors regularly affirm Jewish chosenness or Christian responsibility toward Israel are far more likely to share those convictions.

Interest in Israel remains strongest among older and white evangelicals, who dominate the demographic most likely to follow biblical prophecy or explore the Jewish roots of Christianity. Younger and nonwhite evangelicals tend to be less engaged, hinting at future shifts in the evangelical-Israel relationship.

Generosity also plays a role—those who give more to ministries or charities tend to express deeper concern for Israel and the Jewish people, regardless of income. Still, only about a quarter of evangelicals consider all seven Israel-related topics tested to be “extremely important” to their faith, suggesting support is widespread but not uniformly intense.

Overall, the study suggests that while evangelical attachment to Israel remains firm for now, its theological foundations are softening among younger generations—much as attitudes toward other social and doctrinal issues have evolved. Over time, this could reshape the historic bond between evangelicals and Israel.

Pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans

The Republican Jewish Coalition was founded in 1985. Its mission is “to foster and enhance ties between the American Jewish community and Republican decision-makers…while articulating and advocating Republican ideas and policies within the Jewish community.” The group lobbies officials at the state and federal levels, while its political action committee supports candidates who share its priorities and principles.

The RJC supports a pro-Israel foreign policy but also supports some conventional Republican positions, such as “a low tax, free enterprise, competitive economic system,” reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, and the belief that America “must lead the world in standing for the cause of freedom and democracy.” It does not take positions on controversial social issues.

The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) was established on December 17, 1990, to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship by educating and providing financial support to Democratic candidates. The group also sought to encourage Jews to run for office and for the appointment of Jews to campaign and congressional staffs. The need for a stronger Jewish voice within the party became apparent when seven state Democratic Party conventions adopted resolutions supporting Palestinian statehood in 1988. Its annual Washington conference typically attracted Democratic presidential candidates and other public officials. NJDC worked to mobilize Jewish voters and provided them with guides on the candidates and key issues. The group began to lose donors and was forced to defend itself against a defamation lawsuit filed by Republican donor Sheldon Adelson.

The group was essentially replaced in 2017 by the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), which calls itself “the voice of Jewish Democrats and socially progressive, pro-Israel values that Jewish voters hold dear.” Like NJDC, the JDCA “supports candidates and elected officials who share our policy positions and advocates for policies that reflect Jewish and Democratic values.”

According to the Pew Research Center, in the 2018 midterm elections, Jewish voters chose Democrats over Republicans in House races by a margin of 72% to 28%.

In January 2019, a group of well-known Jewish Democrats formed the Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) in response to what some liberal Jews saw as a dangerous tilt to the anti-Israel far left by some Democratic officeholders and candidates. Founded by pollster Mark Mellman, the group “works to maintain and strengthen support for the U.S.-Israel alliance by educating elected officials, candidates, and the public, while advocating for other progressive policies.” DFMI believes the Israeli people should “determine their own future without outside parties imposing solutions.”

DFMI’s mission is to “work to ensure Israel has the resources to defend herself, by herself, to ensure Israeli citizens — Jews and non-Jews — can live in peace and security.” It also pledges to “fight efforts to isolate, stigmatize or delegitimize Israel” and promote a two-state solution with the Palestinians, “achieved through direct bilateral negotiations.” Some on the left have criticized the group for its close but informal relationship with AIPAC.

DMFI took a strong and controversial position opposing Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign. Sanders was a vitriolic critic of Israel long before the campaign and became even more vocal in 2020, repeatedly condemning Israeli policy and going so far as to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “racist.”

DFMI was further alarmed by the mutual embrace of Sanders and Democrats, who supported the anti-Semitic boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement and made other remarks that many viewed as anti-Semitic. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and women’s movement leader Linda Sarsour were the most prominent.

Mellman said DMFI found it “deeply disturbing” that Sanders had surrounded himself with “endorsers who hate Israel.” When DFMI approached Sanders with their concerns, “the only responses we have received from the Senator are more hostile choices on his part.”

With Sanders, the clear leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, DFMI and other pro-Israel groups were put on the defensive. That also did not stop them from going on offense, notably when DFMI sent out a fundraising solicitation with the subject line “This Poll Has Me Worried” after Sanders’ standing rose before the Iowa caucuses. The resulting furor raised the group’s visibility. DMFI later released an attack ad before the Nevada primary that did not mention his positions on Israel but instead questioned Sanders’ health and suggested he could not beat Trump because he was a socialist.

As Sanders seemed to be the frontrunner, Mellman said, “There are unambiguous signs that our party could nominate the candidate we believe is least capable of winning in November and most likely to adopt a hostile attitude toward Israel.”

After being accused of being behind the attacks on Sanders, AIPAC distanced itself from DMFI and, following a backlash, the group announced it would not run any more anti-Sanders ads.

In addition to these outside organizations, Congress has an informal caucus composed of most Jewish Democrats, but no Republicans (there were only two in the 118th Congress). The group will often meet with Israeli officials in Jerusalem or Washington to exchange views, but has a divergent set of opinions on the most contentious Israel-related policies.

In 2025, members of Congress formed a Jewish Caucus “to bring the unique perspectives and lived experiences of the Jewish members of Congress to the important issues of the day,” and “to share experiences, exchange ideas and advocate for the issues important to the American Jewish community.” None of the Republican Jewish members agreed to join.

The Arab Lobby

The Arab comprises what I.L. Kenen called the petro-diplomatic complex, consisting of the oil industry, missionaries, and diplomats (often referred to as Arabists). According to Kenen, there was no need for a formal Arab lobby because the petro-diplomatic complex did the Arabs’ work for them. That was true for a time, but the oil industry became less actively involved in promoting the Arab cause and seeking to drive a wedge between the United States and Israel after the 1980s.

In 1951, King Saud of Saudi Arabia requested that U.S. diplomats fund a pro-Arab lobby to counter the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (later known as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC).

Rather than emerging from the Arab-American community, the lobby was a creation of the Arabists. U.S. diplomat Cornelius Van Engert corresponded with Allen Dulles, then CIA director of plans, who helped arrange a secret subvention through the Dearborn Foundation in Chicago to establish the American Friends of the Middle East (AFME). The group was initially led by journalist Dorothy Thompson, who set out to present “the other side” of the Middle East story.

The group’s primary mission was to blunt the spread of communism in the Middle East through cultural and educational programs, but it was also hostile toward Israel. That Thompson would lead what became an Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO)-sponsored arm of the Arab lobby was shocking; she had been an outspoken supporter of Zionism in the 1940s, even speaking to a Madison Square Garden throng in 1944 to accuse opponents of Zionism of hypocrisy. It was more understandable when Harold Minor, a former State Department official who opposed the Zionists during the partition debate and became an ARAMCO consultant, became executive secretary in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Though the group did engage in activities to promote a positive image of the Arab world and provided beneficial aid to the region, it often strayed into extreme anti-Israel positions, as voiced by Elmo Hutchison, a former UN official, who joined AFME because he wanted to be a part of the group’s fight against Zionism, and who declared that Israel was “fascist, intolerant, defiant, aggressive, expansionist” and would not last. The chairman of AFME’s National Council during the 1950s was Edward Elson, a Presbyterian minister who served as a pastor to President Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. He lobbied Dulles to adopt AFME’s positions, but ironically, Dulles dismissed AFME as a “partisan Arab group” even though it was supported by his brother and funded by the CIA.

AIPAC’s Sy Kenen questioned the propriety of U.S. taxpayers’ funding such an organization. Myer Feldman, an aide to President Kennedy, was unaware of the CIA funding but investigated and learned that Kenen was correct. Feldman informed him in 1962 that the CIA no longer supported AFME, but funding was reduced, not ceased, until 1967. At its peak, the U.S. government was providing $400,000 a year to “wage a propaganda offensive against Israel,” while AIPAC’s budget was less than $100,000.

AFME’s director of information services, Joan Borum, gave an example in 1974 of the group’s position when she called U.S. support for the creation of Israel “a big mistake” and said, “We don’t think Israel will ever be a viable entity in the Middle East.”

For several years, AFME was the principal pro-Arab-American organization, but non-Arabs led it. AFME’s board was typically filled by prominent anti-Zionists of the time, such as Elmer Berger, ARAMCO’s Terry Duce, and Gulf Oil’s Kermit Roosevelt. The group received funding from oil companies and other corporations, as well as the Ford Foundation, the State Department, and the Saudi national airline. Gradually, the group became less active in anti-Israel propaganda and focused more on Arab medical, educational, and economic progress, later changing its name to America-Mideast Educational and Training Services (AMIDEAST). Two of the group’s four board members today are former heads of NEA.

At about the same time AFME was formed, the Organization of Arab Students (OAS) was established in the United States and Canada. The group limited its activities to campus propaganda and reached its heyday in the 1960s, when it aligned with the New Left, Black Power, and other Third World movements. The group hoped to influence young Americans to oppose Israel, especially after the Six-Day War of 1967, but it never had a measurable impact on or off campus.

In the early 1960s, the only pro-Arab organization registered to lobby Congress was the Citizens Committee on American Policy in the Near East (CitCom), which was organized by Hopkins and others and represented by Harold Minor. “The basic difference between AIPAC and the Citizens Committee,” AIPAC’s Kenen wrote, “is that AIPAC urges strong public support for the traditional U.S. commitment to resist aggression in the Near East and to move forward towards a peace settlement, while CitCom’s proposals studiously avoid any reaffirmation of that commitment or the need for peace negotiations.” This group also came and went without fanfare or impact.

ARAMCO and individual oil companies have been funders of some Arab-American organizations that are critical of Israel but focus more on humanitarian groups such as American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA). In fact, one complaint of Arab Americans was that the oil industry was not sufficiently generous because companies were afraid of possible repercussions from the Israeli lobby. Still, Gulf Oil contributed $2.2 million after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, a significant increase from the $10,000–$15,000 it had donated in the past. According to their website, the organization still receives funding from Saudi ARAMCO (listed as donating $100,000 or more) and ExxonMobil ($25,000–$49,999). ANERA was created in 1968 as a national coordinating agency for the relief and rehabilitation of Palestinian refugees, but it also frequently engaged in anti-Israel propaganda. Its chairman, John Davis, was a former Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA); The New York Times called him “probably the best-known American who is an outspoken supporter of the Arab cause.” He was also a well-known critic of Israel who questioned Israel’s right to exist. In a 1974 interview, ANERA’s president, John Richardson, admitted his organization had little influence on the American public, blaming American Zionists for deluding the public with “one-sided” information. Today, the organization is the largest American NGO operating in the territories. It receives significant U.S. government funding, so it is in the organization’s best interest to avoid political controversy that might upset members of Congress. Now the principal complaint against ANERA is that it fails to place recent events in context, discussing Palestinian hardships, for example, without explaining that many of the difficulties they describe are a direct or indirect consequence of terrorist attacks on Israel.

The Arab lobby emerged as a visible and active advocate for the Arab cause in the aftermath of the 1973 oil embargo. “The day of the Arab-American is here,” boasted National Association of Arab-Americans (NAAA) founder Richard Shadyac, “the reason is oil.”

That proved to be a vast overstatement.

From the beginning, the Arab lobby has faced a disadvantage in electoral politics and organization. There are several politically oriented groups, but many of these are one-person operations with little financial or popular support. Americans for Justice in the Middle East was formed by a group of Americans at the American University in Beirut after the 1967 war to combat "Zionism’s virulent thirty-year campaign of hate and vindictiveness." Two anti-Zionist Jews were longtime supporters of the Arab lobby: Elmer Berger, who founded American Jewish Alternatives to Zionism, and Alfred Lilienthal, who published the Middle East Perspectives newsletter.

There are several larger and more representative groups, including the aforementioned NAAA and ADC, the Middle East Research and Information Project, the Middle East Affairs Council, Americans for Near East Refugee Aid, the Arab American Institute, and the American Palestine Committee. Typically, these organizations have boards of directors composed of prominent retired government officials. Board members have included former Ambassador to Jordan, L. Dean Brown; Herman Eilts, former Ambassador to Syria and Egypt; Parker T. Hart, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; and several others.

The formal Arab lobby is the National Association of Arab-Americans (NAAA), a registered domestic lobby founded in 1972 by Richard Shadyac. The NAAA was consciously patterned after its counterpart, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Shadyac believed the power and wealth of the Arab countries stemming from their oil reserves would allow the Arab lobby to take advantage of the political process in the same way the Jews have been thought to. Like AIPAC, the NAAA makes its case based on U.S. national interests, arguing that a pro-Israel policy harms those interests. Aid to Israel is criticized as a waste of taxpayers’ money, and the potential benefits of a closer relationship with the Arab states are emphasized.

The highlight of the NAAA’s early efforts was a meeting between President Ford and twelve NAAA officials in 1975. Since then, the NAAA has participated in meetings with each president and obtained access to top government officials. In 1977, for example, after Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem, the Arab lobby made its displeasure over United States support for the initiative known to President Carter, who wrote in his diary: They [Arab-Americans] have given all the staff, Brzezinski, Warren Christopher, and others, a hard time. Although the lobby’s concerns began to reach the highest levels of government, there were no perceptible changes in United States policy.

It is not only Arab Americans who have made the lobby’s case; the Arab lobby, like the Israeli lobby, has successfully built coalitions with other interest groups. As noted earlier, the petro-diplomatic complex was the lobby until 1972, when the NAAA was formed. Even today, arguably, it is the most influential component of the lobby. Nevertheless, most of the nation’s major corporations have not supported the Arab lobby. In fact, before the AWACS sale, oil companies were about the only corporations willing to identify with Arab interests openly. The reason is that most corporations prefer to stay out of foreign policy debates; moreover, corporations may feel constrained by the implicit threat of some form of retaliation by the Israeli lobby.

The major oil companies feel no such constraints. Exxon, Standard Oil of California (SoCal), Mobil, and Texaco have long sought to manipulate public opinion and foreign policy on the Middle East. These companies, collectively, comprise the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO). Participation in the public relations campaign was a necessary cost of doing business in oil-producing nations.

The campaign began after the 1967 War, when ARAMCO established a fund to help present the Arab side of the conflict. In May 1970, ARAMCO representatives met with Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Sisco and warned him that American military sales to Israel would hurt U.S.-Arab relations and jeopardize U.S. oil supplies. The former chairman of ARAMCO testified before Congress that the United States’ pro-Israel policies were harming U.S. business interests. In 1972, at Kuwait’s urging, Gulf Oil joined the campaign, providing $50,000 to create a public relations firm to promote the Arab side.

The campaign took on greater urgency in 1973 after Frank Jungers, then Chairman of the Board of ARAMCO, met with Saudi King Faisal and was pressured to take a more active role in creating a sympathetic attitude toward the Arab nations. In June, a month after the Jungers meeting, Mobil published its first advertisement/editorial in the New York Times. In July, SoCal’s chairman sent out a letter to the company’s 40,000 employees and 262,000 stockholders asking them to pressure Washington to support "the aspirations of the Arab people." The chairman of Texaco called for a reassessment of U.S. Middle East policy. When the October 1973 War broke out, the chairmen of the ARAMCO partners sent a memorandum to the White House warning against increasing military aid to Israel. Since 1973, ARAMCO has maintained its public relations campaign and occasionally become involved in legislative fights, such as the AWACS sale; however, the campaign has had no observable impact on U.S. policy overall.

Other companies outside the oil industry are involved in the Arab lobby, the most well-known being the international engineering firm Bechtel. Still, the Arab and Israeli lobbies have had virtually no confrontations since the AWACS fight in 1981, in part because the Israeli lobby hasn’t opposed any major arms sales or other economic investments in the region that threatened U.S. corporate interests.

A relatively overlooked component of the Arab lobby is found among the Christian community, most notably in the National Council of Churches (NCC). The NCC is composed of thirty-two Protestant denominations, including virtually all major church bodies. The Council has taken consistently anti-Israel stands, and its 1980 policy statement on the Middle East called for the creation of a PLO state. Besides passing anti-Israel resolutions, the NCC puts on seminars, radio shows, and conferences. From 1972 to 1977, it published the ARAMCO-financed SWASIA (Southwest Asia) newsletter. When SWASIA ceased publication, the NCC established an Islamic desk to "enable American Christians to understand Arab Christian and Muslim attitudes." The relationship between the NCC and other Arab lobby organizations is primarily informal, with NCC leaders serving on the boards of many of these organizations.

J Street

On April 15, 2008, Jeremy Ben-Ami launched a new lobby from his basement. Named after a street missing from the alphabetical street names, J Street was backed by Jews on the left and far left who were antagonistic toward the Israeli government. J Street rejected AIPAC’s policy of supporting the elected government of Israel and working to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. Instead, J Street organizes pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans to promote U.S. policies that embody our deeply held Jewish and democratic values and that help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people. Ben-Ami, a former domestic policy adviser in the Clinton administration, claims J Street, not AIPAC, represents the views of most American Jews.

The lobby says its work is based on five principles:

We are committed to and support the people and the state of Israel.
The future of Israel depends on achieving a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinian people.
Israel’s supporters have the right and the obligation to speak out when the policies or actions of the Israeli government are hurting the long-term interests of Israel and the Jewish people.
Vibrant but respectful debate about Israel benefits the American Jewish community and Israel.
Our work is grounded in the Jewish and democratic values on which we were raised.

Unlike AIPAC, which has no preferred solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, J Street advocates a two-state solution and believes the U.S. government should impose the views of J Street on the Israeli government. Like Arabists, J Street lobbyists believe they know better than the citizens of Israel what is best for that nation and the interests of America.

When it started, J Street had a projected budget of $1.5 million and a staff of four. At that time, AIPAC's budget was approximately $50 million, with a large Washington staff and satellite offices nationwide. J Street also distinguished itself early on from AIPAC by forming a political action committee to provide funds to candidates, a move AIPAC eschewed until 2022.

J Street is also more like the Arab lobby than the Israeli lobby because it rarely criticizes the Palestinians and places most blame on Israel for the conflict. While AIPAC seeks to increase U.S. aid to Israel, J Street aims to condition aid on Israel adopting its preferred positions. J Street has had no real impact on U.S. policy, but its positions have alienated much of the Jewish establishment and many Israeli officials. It considers one of its proudest achievements, for example, to be its support for the Iran nuclear deal. J Street had nothing to do with President Barack Obama’s success in overcoming opposition to the deal (it was a demonstration of presidential power) and was contrary to the expressed interests of the Israeli government.

J Street has gained a following and attracts several thousand participants to its annual conference. After initially snubbing the group in its early years, Israeli officials have become more willing to engage with the group and participate in conferences, while also criticizing J Street’s positions. The lack of influence, however, was clear again in 2022 when Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the group and confirmed that aid to Israel was “sacrosanct,” which the group lamented was “business as usual.”

As the Israeli public has shifted to the right – the Palestinian issue was not even an issue in the five elections from 2019-2022 – J Street has become even more out of step with the people who would bear the consequences of its policies. It is seen much like State Department Arabists who believe they need to save Israel from itself. Rather than accept the policies of the democratically elected government as AIPAC (with rare exceptions) does, J Street wants the U.S. government to impose the lobby’s preferred positions on Israel. Still, there are schisms within the organization as some members and staff believe J Street does not go far enough in “‘meeting the challenges of the moment’” because it is afraid of losing the little influence it thinks it has in Congress.

J Street took increasingly hostile positions toward Israel after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and subsequent multi-front war. The group consistently opposed the policies of the Netanyahu government and, in September 2025, called for restrictions on the sale of offensive arms to Israel. It also sought to ban the use of American weapons in the West Bank, used to “displace and demolish Palestinian communities or to support, directly or indirectly, settler violence against Palestinians.” Responding to Israeli consideration of applying sovereignty to communities in Judea and Samaria, the lobby called on Congress to “make clear that formal annexation of territory in the West Bank or Gaza will irrevocably damage the US-Israel relationship and risk triggering the suspension of further offensive arms transfers.”

Pro-Israel Campaign Donations

When Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) tweeted, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby” (@IlhanMN, February 10, 2019), it reinforced an anti-Semitic trope suggesting that U.S. politicians support Israel because they are bribed to do so. In reality, American support for Israel is rooted in our shared values and interests and the overwhelming support of the public. This does not mean, however, that money does not influence politics; otherwise, no one would make political contributions. When it comes to campaign contributions, the pro-Israel community, which includes many non-Jews, plays by the same rules as everyone else.

It is challenging to evaluate the impact of campaign giving on legislative outcomes, particularly regarding Israel-related issues, where non-monetary factors may influence support or opposition. In addition, one does not know if a candidate is pro-Israel because of receiving a contribution or because of taking a position in support of Israel. In the past, Jewish contributions were less structured and targeted than those of other interest groups, but this has changed dramatically as Israel-related political action committees (PACs) have proliferated.

Initially, the Jewish community feared that post-Watergate election campaign financing reforms would reduce their influence, but the evidence so far suggests the opposite. If anything, the changes stimulated greater political activism in the Jewish community.

It is difficult to identify pro-Israel political action committees (PACs), as many have innocuous names, such as the Maryland Association for Concerned Citizens or the Desert Caucus. The first pro-Israel PAC was formed in 1978, but there was little activity until 1982, when 33 pro-Israel PACs contributed $1.87 million to congressional candidates. Like other PACs, most of this money was given to incumbents, and because of the long association of Jews with the Democratic Party, nearly 80% went to Democrats. The number of PACs more than doubled in 1984, as did their contributions. It was estimated that more than 70 pro-Israel PACs spent over $4 million in 1984. By 1988, the figure was nearly $5 million.

DMFI formed a political action committee in 2020 to raise funds for candidates. Its first foray into campaign financing did not succeed as hoped. One of Israel’s best friends in the House, Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY), lost badly to a far-left critic despite the support of DMFI and other pro-Israel donors. The group also failed to mobilize sufficient support to defeat Tlaib and Omar in their primaries.

DMFI’s funding is mysterious. According to Armin Rosen, the group received six-figure sums from Americans for Tomorrow’s Future, which he said had no apparent infrastructure. Mellman told Rosen AFTF is “a bipartisan PAC that’s set up to help pro-Israel candidates.”

The Center for Responsive Politics tracks campaign expenditures and categorizes a total of 82 pro-Israel PACs that have given money in at least one election cycle starting in 1990. Sixteen have contributed in every cycle, and 25 have done so since 2010.

In 1990, 51 pro-Israel PACs contributed just over $4 million; in 2020, 29 pro-Israel PACs and individuals distributed more than $8.7 million. Spending over 16 election cycles averaged more than $4.7 million. While PACs get a lot of attention, they have contributed a declining proportion of total giving. Annual PAC contributions have averaged about $3 million, but the relative amount contributed by PACs shrank to 19% in 2018, while contributions by individuals have steadily grown.

These amounts may seem significant in the abstract; however, they are paltry compared to the biggest spenders. On a ranking of top interest groups giving to members of Congress in the 2020 cycle, the pro-Israel category ranked 28th, contributing less than $18 million, compared to the top-ranked category of retired groups, which gave more than $356 million.

In the broader category of “Pro-Israel PACs, Individuals, & Soft Money,” pro-Israel donors have given a total of $177 million since 1990, averaging $11.1 million per cycle. Contributions more than doubled from $15.3 million in 2018 to $33.4 million in 2020.

Given the disproportionate number of Jews who are Democrats, it may be surprising to learn that the distribution of funds is not more lopsided, with 60% going to Democrats and 38% to Republicans. This is partly explained by the fact that not all pro-Israel givers are Jews and that nearly 80% of the contributions go to support incumbents regardless of party.

J Street has distorted these figures since it began to contribute to campaigns. Most of its giving is by individuals rather than through its PAC. J Street’s first expenditures were in the 2008 cycle. Its contributions have increased from just under $400,000 in that election to almost $4.1 million in 2018.

What is even more striking is J Street’s share of overall pro-Israel contributions, which grew from 28% in 2008 to 49% in 2018. It dropped to 31% in 2020. Even more remarkable is that J Street has contributed in only 7 out of 16 cycles dating to 1990 and still accounts for 19% ($14.5 million) of the $75 million spent by all 51 groups. By comparison, the National PAC participated in every cycle, with total expenditures of $4.6 million. NorPAC giving began in the 1994 cycle and is the second-largest cumulative donor, with approximately $6.5 million.

J Street also gives all its money to Democrats (except two Republicans in 2014), which means the percentage of Republican recipients would be higher (approximately 43%) if J Street contributions were excluded.

AIPAC Starts A PAC

For decades, AIPAC made a point of distinguishing itself from political action committees (PACs) that make campaign contributions. AIPAC always said it did not rate or endorse candidates, even though it was no secret who the organization supported, and its supporters made their donations accordingly. On December 16, 2021, AIPAC’s president, Betsy Berns Korn, announced a plan to launch two bipartisan PACS – a federal PAC and a Super PAC – “to make us more effective in fulfilling our mission in the current political environment.” She added, “The D.C. political environment has been undergoing profound change. Hyper-partisanship, high congressional turnover, and the exponential growth in the cost of campaigns now dominate the landscape. As such, the Board has decided to introduce these two new tools.”

The decision was likely a reaction to the hostility toward Israel of newer members of Congress and the need to provide financial support to pro-Israel members and candidates. AIPAC was also responding to the campaign fundraising activities of J Street, which contributed more to candidates in the 2020 election cycle than any “pro-Israel PAC” – nearly $2.7 million.

Given that AIPAC raises more than $100 million for its organizational budget and claims more than 1.5 million members, including many major donors to political campaigns, its PACs can be expected to become the most significant contributors to pro-Israel candidates. The new AIPAC PAC can contribute up to $5,000 to a candidate, which is unlikely to influence any race. The Super PAC, however, may donate unlimited money to support or oppose candidates but not directly to them.

When AIPAC announced its first 120 endorsements, it drew criticism because the list included 37 Republicans who had voted against certifying Joe Biden as president. The organization’s response to critics was that it is a one-issue lobby, and anything unrelated to the U.S.-Israel relationship is irrelevant to its mission. AIPAC also stresses the importance of bipartisanship in U.S.-Israel policy, while J Street contributes all its money to Democrats.

AIPAC insists that the pro-Israel community cannot be too selective about its friends. It’s a choice between doing what is necessary to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and standing against unsavory politicians and those whose policies on other issues are objectionable.

“Why are we so single-minded?” AIPAC’s leaders asked in an email to supporters. “Because no one else is. There will always be major issues that divide Americans. Israel’s enemies don’t wait for America to sort out our politics. They didn’t wait in 1948, nor in 1973, nor to this day. Israel needs America in its corner, always.”

AIPAC stoked more consternation by endorsing 27 politicians who supported the Iran nuclear deal. Even many of AIPAC’s supporters were stupefied that AIPAC would contribute to Congress members who were on the wrong side of the most critical issue on its agenda and the Israeli government’s top priority. This isn’t surprising, however, given that many people who voted for the original 2015 nuclear deal did so to support their party’s leader at the time: President Barack Obama. Those members have, for the most part, been very pro-Israel. Contrary to allegations, support for these candidates shows that AIPAC is not expecting blind loyalty from its friends.

Still, liberal critics such as Senator Bernie Sanders attacked Israel for opposing progressive candidates. “This is a war,” Mr. Sanders told the New York Times, “for the future of the Democratic Party.” Referring to AIPAC’s opposition to a progressive candidate in Pittsburgh during the 2022 primary, Sanders said, “Why would an organization go around criticizing someone like Summer Lee for not being a strong enough Democrat when they themselves have endorsed extreme right-wing Republicans?”

Marshall Wittmann, a spokesman for AIPAC, responded that the group “will not be intimidated in our efforts to elect pro-Israel candidates — including scores of pro-Israel progressives.” He added, “It is very revealing that some who don’t take issue with super PAC support for anti-Israel candidates get indignant when pro-Israel activists use the same tools.”

After completing its first election cycle of funding, AIPAC’s political action committee was by far the largest pro-Israel PAC. It reported it had received contributions from more than 6,000 people and distributed $17.5 million through the AIPAC PAC to 365 candidates – $10.8 million to Democratic candidates and $6.6 million to Republicans. It further claimed to have helped 13 candidates defeat anti-Israel challengers. Responding to criticism that it was hostile toward progressives, the lobby said it had given more to members of the Progressive Caucus than J Street, Justice Democrats, and Emily’s List combined.

Overall, Jewish voters in the 2022 midterm elections favored House Democrats over Republicans by 68% to 32%.

Alliance Against Anti-Semitism PAC

In response to the concern over anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party, Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Laura Friedman (D-CA), and Ted Lieu (D-CA) launched the Alliance Against Anti-Semitism PAC. The political action committee is dedicated to supporting Democratic candidates who prioritize combating anti-Semitism alongside other forms of hate.

“We want to celebrate and lift up those leaders who are unapologetically going to fight back against hate in all of its forms, including anti-Semitism. Sometimes anti-Semitism gets lost,” Landsman told Jewish Insider. “This is our effort to root it out on our side.”

The lawmakers emphasized that combating anti-Semitism is distinct from one’s views on Israel, though criticism of Israel can cross into anti-Semitism. They intend to support candidates who clarify that distinction, oppose the “demonizing and othering of Jews,” and work in solidarity with other marginalized groups. Landsman noted that Democrats often fight hate broadly but overlook anti-Semitism, and the PAC aims to ensure “Jew hate” is confronted unequivocally within the party.

“Track AIPAC”

Critics of Israel and AIPAC responded to its deepening involvement in campaign financing with a website to track AIPAC’s political contributions. Daniel Mael observed, however, it is far more nefarious. Track AIPAC, he explained, is a website that claims to promote transparency but instead aggregates the political activity of dozens of unrelated Jewish-affiliated and pro-Israel organizations and presents them as if they were a single coordinated machine. It treats ordinary lobbying and civic participation—no different from what labor unions, environmental groups, corporations, or ideological movements do every day—as uniquely suspicious simply because Jews are involved. By reducing diverse organizations and donors to one ominous bloc, it revives the old myth that Jewish political engagement is coordinated, covert, and fundamentally un-American.

This framing is dangerous, Mael says, because it singles out one minority community for special scrutiny and implies that Jewish political advocacy is inherently disloyal or manipulative. No other sector—unions, business groups, environmental organizations—is portrayed as a unified conspiracy whose activities must be tracked and totaled. Track AIPAC’s logic is not oversight but insinuation, echoing classic antisemitic tropes that deny Jews the presumption of individuality. In doing so, it corrodes civic norms and narrows the boundaries of legitimate political participation in American democracy.

Pro-Arab/Muslim Contributions

Israel’s detractors are frustrated by their lack of influence for a host of reasons. Most important is that the public and its elected officials disagree that Israel is the root of all evil in the Middle East; they are not as sympathetic toward the Palestinians as they are to Israel; they do not support the agenda to destroy Israel associated with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and some elements of the lobby. They don’t have a following to match the pro-Israel community’s involvement in the political process.

The Arab states have almost no constituency. For example, there are probably few Americans of Saudi descent who vote based on their interest in strengthening U.S.-Saudi relations. The Saudis, Qataris, Kuwaitis, and other Arab states exert most of their influence behind the scenes. They dwarf the contributions of the pro-Israel community by paying tens of millions of dollars to lobbyists who represent the interests of their clients, not those of the United States.

Supporters of the Palestinians have multiple disadvantages. Americans of Palestinian descent make up a tiny fraction of all Arab Americans. A much larger percentage are Lebanese Christians, whose experience with Palestinians in their homeland makes many hostile toward the Palestinian agenda. The Center has no record of any lobbyists working on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf (in 2012, DLA Piper received $90,000 to lobby for the Palestine Investment Fund, which is focused on economics rather than politics). In addition, very few people will contribute money or vote based on a candidate’s support for the Palestinians.

In 2018, only six political action committees were identified as pro-Arab/Muslim. Altogether, they contributed $263,500 — and $203,950 was from the Free Syria PAC, which is “interested in finding a lasting end to Syria’s conflict.”

Since 1992, 17 pro-Arab/Muslim PACs have participated in elections. The Arab American Leadership PAC is the only one to contribute in every election cycle since 1996. It is also the largest contributor over that time — $677,718. The next biggest spender is the Iranian American PAC — $335,000. Free Syria's amount in 2018 was the largest expenditure in any cycle. Overall, in the last 14 cycles, pro-Israel groups outspent pro-Arab/Muslim ones by 40 to 1 ($62.7 million to $1.6 million). Interestingly, the amounts given to Democrats and Republicans are nearly identical to the overall proportions contributed by the pro-Israel PACs — 64% to Democrats and 36% to Republicans.

Americans who support Israel do invest significant sums in political campaigns; however, the largest organizational contributor, J Street, has a very different agenda than the mainstream pro-Israel community. It is probably the closest thing to a pro-Palestinian PAC. If you count J Street as part of the pro-Arab/Muslim lobby, the pro-Israel side was outspent in 2018, and its overall advantage in the last six cycles drops to 2 to 1. Those figures would narrow further if they included contributions by individuals through the S Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, which is not listed by the Center as either pro-Israel or pro-Arab but, like J Street, leans more toward the latter concerning the Palestinian issue. It contributed over $4 million to candidates since 1996 (nearly half in 2012 alone, but nothing in 2018).

Overall, the comparative impact of the two lobbies on elections was probably best summed up by Harry Truman in his frequently repeated statement to Paul Porter, a Washington attorney appointed as the ambassador to the Arab-Israeli peace talks in Geneva in 1948: “I won’t tell you what to do or how to vote, but I will only say this. In all of my political experience I don’t ever recall the Arab vote swinging a close election.”

2024 Campaign Heats Up

Donald Trump launched his campaign to return to the White House and dominated the polls even as several Republican challengers hoped to defeat him. Several appeared at the Republican Jewish Coalition convention in October seeking support. Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, attention was focusing on the handful of House members referred to as “the Squad” who consistently vote against legislation to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. The determination to defeat them in 2024 grew after several were among the ten members (including one Republican) who voted against a resolution to stand with Israel as it fights Hamas following the October 7, 2023, massacre. AIPAC criticized the members who opposed the resolution, prompting Missouri Rep. Cori Bush and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to attack AIPAC. Ocasio-Cortez called the group “racist and bigoted.”

One of the main targets of AIPAC is Rep. Tlaib, who the House censured by a vote of 234-188 for comments she made after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre referring to the attack as “resistance,” refusing to retract specious claims that Israel bombed the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza (it was hit by fragments of a rocket fired by terrorists), and defending her use of the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which is a call for the destruction of Israel. The vote drew the support of 22 Democrats. At the same time, an earlier effort by Republicans to remove her from her seat on the Foreign Relations Committee for other anti-Semitic comments was defeated because of a lack of Democratic support. The White House also condemned her “From the river to the sea” remark.

Though the Arab/Muslim vote has never been a factor in a presidential election, supporters of President Biden became alarmed when an October 2023 survey showed that about two-thirds of Arab and Muslim Democrats in Michigan said they now think they will vote to replace Biden. Three-quarters said they were willing to vote for a third-party candidate. He had the overwhelming support of the community in 2020, but had angered many by his strong support for Israel in its war with Hamas. Michigan is a critical battleground state that he won by only 150,000 votes and is home to more than 200,000 people of Arab descent.

During the primaries, AIPAC claimed that nearly all the candidates it supported were victorious. Since most were incumbents, they were likely to win anyway. One exception was the race for a New York House seat. The incumbent, Jamaal Bowman, had defeated 16-term pro-Israel stalwart Eliot Engel in 2020. The former middle school principal quickly became a lightning rod by adopting positions that made him a member of “the Squad.” He alienated Jewish voters in his district when he accused Israel of “genocide” in its war with Hamas and dismissed reports of sexual abuse by the terrorists who massacred Israelis on October 7, 2023, and took 250 hostages. He also opposed funding for the Iron Dome, advocated conditioning aid to Israel, and supported the BDS movement.

Bowman’s opponent was the popular and pro-Israel Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who had the support of AIPAC and the pro-Israel community. J Street had originally backed Bowman but rescinded its endorsement after his incendiary comments about Israel. He also attacked Latimer and his Jewish supporters. “We are not going to stand silent as U.S. tax dollars kill babies and women and children,” Bowman said. “My opponent supports genocide. My opponent and AIPAC are the ones destroying our democracy. And it is on us, and it is on all of us, to save our democracy and save our collective humanity.”

In the most expensive House primary ever, AIPAC’s United Democracy Project contributed more than $14 million to defeat Bowman. Latimer won handily, 59% to 41%.

Though Bowman and his progressive supporters blamed AIPAC for his loss, as in past elections, his views on Israel were only a minor issue. The ads run against him did not talk about the Middle East but focused on domestic issues that put him out of step with his constituents and President Biden. He also had attracted ridicule for pulling a fire alarm that forced the evacuation of a House office building.

Israel’s critics complained about there being an effort to silence them. Still, there was nothing new about AIPAC or other lobbies contributing money to the candidate that best reflects their views. The amount of cash was unusual, but all of “the Squad” members knew they were likely to be targets. Most, including the two regarded as anti-Semites, Tlaib and Omar, were in safe seats. Cori Bush, however, was considered vulnerable.

Bush was one of the most vitriolic critics of Israel, and AIPAC and other PACs contributed more than $9 million to defeat her in the primary, which she ultimately lost to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell in August 2024. As in the Bowman race, ads attacked Bush on issues unrelated to Israel, such as voting against Biden’s popular infrastructure bill. She was also accused of being inattentive to her district’s concerns.

After her defeat, Bush was defiant and threatening. “Let me say this: AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down!”

The phrase “tear your kingdom down” is in the title of a gospel hymn that describes an array of church figures who will participate in bringing Satan down.

When asked about her comments, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said, “It is important that we be very mindful of what we say. This kind of rhetoric is inflammatory and divisive and incredibly unhelpful.”

AIPAC also notched victories for open House seats in Maryland and Oregon. The latter was notable because the candidate it opposed was the sister of Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a frequent critic of Israel. AIPAC was also involved in defeating a challenge to a Texas Republican and ousting Republican incumbent Rep. Bob Goode of Virginia.

Even with its large war chest, AIPAC did not win every race. For example, it failed to prevent California state Senator Dave Min from winning his primary.

Contrasts

At least two significant differences distinguish the Arab and Israeli lobbies. First, the Arab lobby almost always lobbies negatively, i.e., against pro-Israel legislation rather than for pro-Arab legislation. In 2004, for example, members of Congress were graded on several issues, including opposition to the war with Iraq, opposition to resolutions that condemned terrorism inflicted on Israel and that called for a halt to Saudi support for terrorism and Syrian accountability, approval of President Bush’s letter supporting Israel, support for Israel’s construction of a security fence; opposition to a letter calling for the Palestinians to meet certain obligations; and a resolution expressing sympathy for an American woman who was accidentally killed protesting Israeli house demolitions.⁵

Kenen once told Ben-David, “It’s human nature that Members want to support an issue, to be ‘pro’ something; in our case, it is to be pro-Israel.” He added, “The Arab lobby [and today, the far-left lobbies] are ‘anti-’ – anti-Israel, anti-aid, and anti-Israel defending itself.”

The other significant difference between the two lobbies is the use of paid foreign agents by the Arab lobby. Pro-Arab U.S. government officials can look forward to lucrative positions as lobbyists, spokesmen, and consultants for the Arab cause. For example, the outspoken critic of the Israeli lobby, former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman J. William Fulbright, was hired by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates. It was the Saudis’ agent, Fred Dutton, a former Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs and special assistant to President Kennedy, who spearheaded the AWACS campaign and reputedly conceived the “Reagan vs. Begin” angle. Other top officials who have provided their services to the Arab lobby include Clark Clifford, President Johnson’s Defense Secretary; Richard Kleindienst, President Nixon’s Attorney General; and William Rogers, Nixon’s Secretary of State.

Overall, the Israeli lobby is effective because it enjoys advantages in every area considered relevant to interest group influence. It has (a) a large and vocal membership; (b) members who enjoy high status and legitimacy; (c) a high degree of electoral participation (voting and financing); (d) effective leadership; (e) a high degree of access to decision-makers; and (f) public support. Moreover, for reasons at least partly attributable to the lobby’s efforts, the lobby’s primary objective — a U.S. commitment to Israel — has been accepted as a national interest.

Measuring Influence

The Israeli lobby is often attributed with great power that it does not possess.

Israel and its supporters have learned this the hard way many times, most notably during the Suez War when Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was forced to give up the territory Israel captured from Egypt after President Eisenhower threatened to cut off all economic aid to lift the tax-exempt status of the United Jewish Appeal, and to apply sanctions on Israel. Members of Congress opposed the threats and said they would prevent them from being enforced, but Israel could not risk a breach with its most important ally.

When the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General George Brown, launched an attack on the Jewish lobby and Jewish ownership of banks and newspapers in 1974, Senator Thomas McIntyre (D-NH), a member of the Armed Services Committee, acknowledged the influence of the Israeli lobby, which he said: “reflects the will of a strong majority of all Americans.” But what about the oil lobby? he asked. “The influence of Big Oil is far more insidious, and far more pervasive than the influence of the Jewish lobby, for oil and influence seep across ideological as well as party lines, without public approval or support.” He added that “the Jewish lobby isn’t in the same league with the General’s own lobby—the Pentagon and the Defense establishment.”

Most articles and research on the Middle East interest groups are based on anecdotes, case studies, or casual observation. They either vaguely conclude the Israeli lobby has some influence some of the time or (usually in the case of works by authors hostile to Israel) assert the Israeli lobby is a powerful and dangerous influence that controls U.S. policy.

In a more rigorous study of 782 policy decisions made between 1945 and 1984, I found that the Israeli lobby was successful, achieving its policy objective 60% of the time. The most critical variable was the president’s position. When the president supported the lobby, it won 95% of the time. At first glance, it appears that the lobby was only successful because its objectives coincided with those of the president. However, the lobby’s influence was demonstrated by winning 27% of the cases when the president opposed its position.

One of the most surprising results, particularly in light of conventional wisdom and evidence presented in case studies, was that the president’s position was not significantly affected by the electoral cycle. Although candidates may appear to pander to Jewish voters, the data suggest that the electoral cycle does not significantly influence their success.

Lobby success also varied depending on the policy at issue. The lobby successfully overcame presidential opposition on economic issues but was rarely able to defeat the president on security and political issues. The lobby was more successful on financial matters because most of those were decided in Congress, where pro-Israel members frequently fought for increased aid levels for Israel, earmarked funds for Israel, and adopted amendments to aid bills that were endorsed by the Israeli lobby.

The lobby’s lack of success on political issues was likely due to the fact that most of these cases were decided in the executive branch, where lobby influence is relatively weak. The tradition of congressional deference to the president on matters of security and diplomacy may also explain the outcome.

The lobbies continue to exert their influence in any way possible. One of AIPAC’s most impactful programs, for example, has been to organize trips to Israel for members of Congress. It created the American-Israel Education Foundation as its nonprofit educational arm to arrange the trips. Ben-David, who opened and ran AIPAC’s office in Jerusalem for many years, said he learned that “the most persuasive lobbyists for American visitors were the Land and People of Israel.”

Sources: ¹Amir Tibon, “This Jewish Community in the ‘Ultimate Swing State’ Will Play a Crucial Role in Deciding Who Controls the Senate, Haaretz, (August 8, 2018).
²JTA, (January 13, 2006).
³Alex Ionides, Getting Their House Together, Egypt Today, (November 2003).
⁴U.S. Census Bureau (2000); Jewish Demography Project.
⁵Shirl McArthur, “Five Senators, 29 Representatives Included in 108th Congress’ ’Hall of Shame,’” Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, (November 2004), pp. 36-37.

Mitchell G. Bard, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Middle East Conflict, 4th Edition, (NY: Alpha Books, 2008).
Mitchell G. Bard, The Water’s Edge And Beyond. (NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1991.
Mitchell G. Bard, The Arab Lobby: The Invisible Alliance That Undermines America’s Interests in the Middle East, (HarperCollins: 2010).
Center for Responsive Politics.
Republican Jewish Coalition.
Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI).
Near East Report, (August 25 and October 1964).
Near East Report, (August 28, 1974).
Near East Report (June 5, 1981), p. 105.
Near East Report, (September 4, 1974); I.L. Kenen, Israel’s Defense Line, (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus, 1981), p. 118.
“Jewish Democrats Form Organization to Ensure Voting Tradition Continues,” JTA, (December 18, 1990).
Daniel E. Price, “Presidential Power as a Domestic Constraint on Foreign Policy: Case Studies Examining Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 4, (Fall 1996), pp. 1099-1113.
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, “The Power Player Who Faces Charges for Talking Case of Lobbyist Fired by Pro-Israel Group Puts Spotlight on a Murky Type of Advocacy,” Washington Post, (April 21, 2006).
Ron Kampeas, “Doves launch J Street initiative,” JTA, (April 14, 2008).
James Q. Wilson, “Why Don’t Jews Like the Christians Who Like Them?” City Journal, (March 17, 2008).
Neil A. Lewis and David Johnston, “U.S. to Drop Spy Case Against Pro-Israel Lobbyists,” New York Times, (May 1, 2009).
Near East Report, (October 1964); Hugh Wilford, Friends of the Princeton University Library, (July 2009).
Lee Smith, “Case Closed?” Tablet, (April 1, 2010).
Alex Kane, “These Democratic Insiders Want to Keep the Party From Moving Left on Israel-Palestine,” The Nation, (December 16, 2019).
Allison Kaplan Sommer, “Pro-Israel Jewish Groups Worry as Sanders Surges Toward Monday’s Iowa Caucus,” Haaretz, (February 2, 2020).
Armin Rosen, “AIPAC-Connected Lobby Whiffs in Eliot Engel Debacle,” Tablet, (July 21, 2020).
Ira M. Sheskin & Arnold Dashefsky, “United States Jewish Population, 2019,” in Arnold Dashefsky & Ira M. Sheskin, Eds., American Jewish Year Book, 2020, (Cham, SUI: Springer, 2021).
AIPAC on Facebook, (December 16, 2021).
Shane Goldmacher, “Bernie Sanders Prepares for ‘War’ With AIPAC and Its Super PAC,” New York Times, (May 20, 2022).
Orge Castella, “Latin-Jewish alliance aims to use star power to combat antisemitism and misinformation in media,” JTA, (July 26, 2022)
“U.S. states with the highest Arab American population in 2019,” Statista, accessed August 24, 2022.
Lenny Ben-David, “The Evolution of AIPAC’s Political Operation in Washington over 50 Years – An Eyewitness Perspective,” JCPA, (December 12, 2022).
AIPAC PAC, accessed February 13, 2023.
Alex Kane, “J Street’s Balancing Act Comes Under Pressure,” Jewish Currents, (February 1, 2023).
Andrew Solender, “Inside Congress’ little-known, makeshift Jewish caucus,” AXIOS, (May 24, 2023).
Jeremy Ben-Ami, “From My Basement to the White House: J Streets First 15 Years,” J Street, (April 14, 2023).
“2016-2022 Validated Voter Detailed Tables,” Pew Research Center, (July 12, 2023).
“Ocasio-Cortez calls AIPAC ‘racist and bigoted’ after it criticizes her Gaza stance,” Times of Israel, (November 2, 2023).
Alex Seitz-Wald, “Poll shows Biden support slumping among Michigan Muslims,” NBC News, (November 6, 2023).
Marc Rod, “House censures Tlaib for anti-Israel comments, with support from 22 Democrats,” Jewish Insider, (November 8, 2023).
“The White House condemns Rashida Tlaib’s embrace of the phrase ‘river to the sea,’” New York Times, (November 9, 2023).
Ron Kampeas, “J Street drops Jamaal Bowman endorsement, saying his rhetoric ‘crossed a line,’” JTA, (January 29, 2024).
Ami Eden, “AIPAC spent more than $14M to unseat Jamaal Bowman. Did it have to?” JTA, (June 26, 2024).
Ron Kampeas, “White House slams Cori Bush’s threat to AIPAC to ‘tear your kingdom down,’” JTA, (August 8, 2024).
Patrick Svitek, “Pro-Israel PAC notches striking electoral victories with Bush, Bowman defeats,” Washington Post, (August 8, 2024).
Anthony Man, “Wasserman Schultz helps form new Congressional Jewish Caucus as ‘antisemitism reaching record levels,’” Sun Sentinel, (February 8, 2025).
“JStreet: No More Blank Checks,” Fundraising letter, (September 7, 2025).
“Crossroads of Belief: Evangelicals and the Jewish People,” Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research, (2025).
Daniel Mael, “A Manufactured Menace: How ‘Track AIPAC’ Turns Normal Politics Into a Jewish Suspicion,” The Mael Review, (November 18, 2025).
Gabby Deutch, “Dem lawmakers launch PAC to fight antisemitism within the party,” Jewish Insider, (November 21, 2025).

Photo: AIPAC 2016 Policy Conference, Lorie Shaull, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Pro-Israel & Pro-Arab Lobbies