AIPAC

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC; , AY-PAK) is an American pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the United States, and has been called one of the most influential lobbying groups in the U . From 1954 to 1959, the organization was called the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs. The present name was deemed more descriptive of the participants. Until 2021, AIPAC did not raise funds for political candidates itself; its members raised money for candidates through political action committees unaffiliated with AIPAC and by other means. In late 2021, AIPAC formed its own political action committee and announced plans for a Super PAC, which can spend money on candidates' behalf. AIPAC's critics have said it acts as an agent of the Israeli government and that it has a "stranglehold" on the United States Congress. AIPAC has been accused of being strongly allied with Israel's Likud party and the U . Republican Party. An AIPAC spokesman has called this a "malicious mischaracterization". AIPAC describes itself as a bipartisan organization. Its supporters claim its bipartisan nature can be seen at its yearly policy conference, which in 2016 included both major parties' nominees, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. But reporting has found that its political spending has often supported efforts against candidates—mostly Democrats—considered "insufficiently supportive" of Israel. In the lead-up to the 2024 elections, The Guardian reported that AIPAC had recruited and supported challengers to candidates who had been critical of Israel's actions in the Gaza war. AIPAC has also been criticized as unrepresentative of the diversity of views among American Jews who support Israel, and for aligning closely with policies of right-wing Israeli governments. As of 2025, AIPAC reports more than 5 million members in the U ., 17 regional offices, and "a vast pool of donors". It was founded in 1954 by Isaiah L. Kenen, a lobbyist for the Israeli government, partly to counter international criticism of Israel's Qibya massacre of Palestinian villagers that year. AIPAC became a powerful organization during the 1980s. In 2002, it expressed intent to lobby Congress to authorize use of force in Iraq, and in 2003, the Iraq War was defended at AIPAC events. In 2005, a Pentagon analyst pleaded guilty to espionage charges of passing U . government secrets to senior AIPAC officials, in what became known as the AIPAC espionage scandal.