The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has cemented itself as one of the most powerful forces in politics, pouring tens of millions of dollars into primaries this year.
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As November approaches, a liberal alternative to AIPAC in pro-Israel advocacy is ratcheting up its efforts to counter that influence.
The super PAC of J Street said Thursday that it is making its largest investment ever to target Republican candidates who have been backed by AIPAC. It will spend $3 million on ads against Georgia Senate contender Rep. Mike Collins and incumbent Reps. Max Miller in Ohio, Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin, Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania and Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa.
“While AIPAC supports deeply unqualified, antisemitic and anti-democracy candidates to preserve blank-check support for the Netanyahu government, J Street is committed to exclusively supporting candidates who will fight for peace and democracy in the U.S. and abroad,” said Tali deGroot, J Street’s vice president of political and digital strategy.
AIPAC responded by casting doubt on J Street’s pro-Israel stance.
“Not a word about helping elect pro-Israel candidates further exposes the difference between J Street and actual pro-Israel organizations,” AIPAC wrote on its X account.
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AIPAC promotes strong ties between Israel and the United States and has intervened in primaries to oppose Democratic critics of Israel. J Street is more critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has called for an end to the war in Gaza.
Alongside J Street, other super PACs, including the newly formed American Priorities group, have tried to thwart AIPAC’s influence on elections, but they’re working with much less money.
J Street’s super PAC ended July with just over $1 million available, according to Federal Election Commission records. The United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, ended the same month with $59 million.
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