Progressive Groups Urge Democratic National Committee To Reject Aid Of Israel Lobby

A progressive coalition is calling on Democratic leaders to resist the pro-Israel group’s influence in party primaries, following two stinging progressive defeats.

A coalition of progressive groups is demanding that Democratic leadership reject endorsements and outside spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group that helped take down two members of the “Squad” in their recent primaries.

The letter, addressed to Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison, exclusively shared with HuffPost, emphasizes that AIPAC’s reliance on large donations from right-wing donors and outsized attacks on the left wing of the Democratic Party.

“AIPAC and their allies are spending millions of dollars to defeat champions of the popular progressive agenda that voters demand and that help Democrats win, like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, reproductive justice, transformative immigration and democracy reform, a lasting ceasefire, hostage deal, and halt on all weapons funding to the Israeli military’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza,” the letter says. “It will be significantly more difficult for Democrats to defeat Trump in November as long as the Party continues to allow GOP-backed PACs and corporate lobbies to have sway over Democratic politics.”

The letter comes after AIPAC and its affiliated super PAC poured more than $25 million into defeating two congressional progressives: Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.). Bush and Bowman, members of the informal left-leaning group that named itself the Squad, suffered decisive losses as allies complained Democratic leadership had done too little to protect its incumbents.

The timing also falls just days before the 2024 Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago, where the party is hoping to project a unified front as Vice President Kamala Harris publicly accept the nomination for president. Few issues have riven the party like U.S. support for Israel and its deadly war in Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 civilians, according to figures released Thursday by Gaza’s Health Ministry.