How AIPAC supports the U.S. House Speaker in passing pro-Israel resolutions

Washington (Quds News Network) – The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) donated around $95,000 to Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican from Los Angeles, in November, according to an analysis by Intercept of Federal Election Commission records.

AIPAC, the lobbying group supporting the Israeli occupation, emerged as the top donor to Johnson in 2023, pouring funds into his campaign after he led the passage of a $14 billion aid package for Israel.

AIPAC’s affiliated political action committee, AIPAC’s Campaign Committee, donated a total of $104,000 to Johnson last year. The majority of these payments occurred during and after Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and Johnson’s election as House Speaker in late October.

This sum is four times the amount the group donated to his previous congressional campaign, which was around $25,000. AIPAC has become a more partisan player in recent years, focusing its efforts on Democratic critics of the Israeli occupation.

The group actively recruited primary challengers to progressive members of Congress and launched a super PAC called United Democracy, which spent millions of dollars to help defeat Democratic candidates expressing concerns or support for the Palestinian people in any form.

James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute, said AIPAC’s campaign contributions serve two purposes: rewarding candidates who vote in its favor and acting as a “whip” to keep people in line, citing AIPAC’s history of funding attack ads against Senators Bernie Sanders, Tammy Baldwin, and Jamal Bowman.

Stephen Walt, co-author of “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” told Intercept that U.S. policy towards the Middle East is the foreign policy issue where lobbying groups have the greatest impact.

According to Walt, a professor of international relations at Harvard’s Kennedy School, “When it comes to foreign policy, this is probably the one issue where money in politics has the most negative impact.”

AIPAC and Johnson did not respond to Intercept’s request for comments on the data.

According to Federal Election Commission records, Johnson received several small donations from AIPAC in late October, ranging from $10 to $500 per contribution. However, these contributions increased significantly in the following month, with Johnson receiving a total of 71 disbursements, each amounting to $5,000, between November 5th and November 29th.

This cash flow came shortly after Johnson, who was then the newly elected House Speaker, led the House in passing legislation to fund Ukraine and use tax funds for it.

Upon passing the bill in the House, Johnson urged the Senate to approve it as quickly as possible, stating, “This is essential and critical assistance at a time when Israel is struggling for its right to exist.”

AIPAC also vocally supported sending additional aid to the Israeli occupation, describing the bill as an attempt to “fully fund vital security assistance to Israel” in a late October tweet.

In early November, the group targeted lawmakers who opposed aiding the occupation or raised awareness about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Johnson, a staunch supporter of the Israeli occupation, began his speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas by saying, “God is not done with America yet, and I know He is not done with Israel yet.”

In the same speech, he claimed that solidarity with the Palestinian people reflects a “troubling trend of anti-Semitism.” Johnson also falsely argued that Palestinians are not oppressed and live “this terrible life,” stating, “We haven’t seen any of that.”

During his visit, Johnson toured the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, known for being isolated and home to hundreds of Israeli settlers. His first trip to the occupation in 2017 was funded by the American Israel Education Foundation, the educational arm of AIPAC, which considers its delegations to the occupation as rites of passage in Congress.

Even with an increasing number of Democrats willing to challenge the consensus in favor of the occupation in Washington and resist AIPAC’s influence, they still face a significant resource gap.

According to Walt, “The key is there are no similar groups on the other side,” explaining that there are groups supporting Palestinian or Arab Americans with roughly the same resources.