Pro-Israel Groups Rake In Big Bucks And 4 Other Takeaways From Candidates’ Final 2023 Fundraising Period

The fundraising picture is rosy for Democrats in Ohio and Montana. But progressive Israel critics face well-financed foes.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other high-dollar groups that collectively make up the pro-Israel establishment have long had it out for progressive House Democrats with strong pro-Palestinian sympathies.

Their anger at members of the left-wing “Squad” bloc and other fellow travelers has intensified several-fold since the Palestinian group Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza.

In Congress, the largely progressive critics of Israel’s actions argue that the U.S. ally’s response to the Hamas terror attack has been unnecessarily brutal, killing more than 26,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, and fostering a humanitarian catastrophe for those Gaza residents who survive. A vocal minority of these Democrats has advocated for an immediate cease-fire to end Israel’s invasion and reiterated their calls for stricter conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel.

But mainstream pro-Israel groups, which are ideologically right of center but endorse many liberal Democrats, see Israel’s war as a righteous effort against Hamas’ extremists. These groups share the Israeli government’s assessment that Hamas has endangered its own population by operating out of a tunnel network underneath civilian communities in Gaza.

As a result, AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel — which, unlike AIPAC, does not endorse Republicans — and other allied groups have announced their plans to support primary challenges against a list of lawmakers that includes Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Cori Bush (Mo.). Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Congress’ first-ever Palestinian American woman, is also a top target for pro-Israel groups, but a serious challenger has yet to materialize in her race.