Competing Political Action Committees Lock Horns Over Israel and Far-Left Congressional ‘Squad’ in Democratic Primaries
In response to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s promise to spend $100 million oust Democrats critical of Israel, a coalition of left-leaning organizations has joined to create Reject AIPAC.
Political committees are moving into action both to oust and protect Democratic House members who are critical of Israel’s actions in the Israel Hamas war.
In Pennsylvania, the Moderate PAC is attempting to defeat Congresswoman Summer Lee in her Democratic Primary in the state’s 12th Congressional District.
A new ad, first shared with Politico, praises one of Ms. Lee’s opponents, Bavani Patel, while attacking Ms. Lee and accusing her of having an “extreme socialist agenda.” According to the PAC’s president, Ty Strong, the group has invested $270,000 in running the ad.
Ms. Patel has herself invested some $60,000 in ads against Ms. Lee, attacking her, claiming that she is trying to “undermine” President Biden and “dismantle” the Democratic Party.
The move by Moderate PAC is only a drop in the bucket of the money expected to be spent in the name of defeating Democrats critical of Israel in the party’s primaries this spring.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has pledged to spend $100 million in a campaign to oust the most left-leaning members of the Democratic coalition.
In response, a broad coalition of groups have come together to create the Reject AIPAC political action committee, which, according to the group’s website, “will organize Democratic voters and elected officials to reject the destructive influence of the Republican megadonor-backed AIPAC on the Democratic primary process.”
The coalition of some two dozen groups includes organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace Action, IfNotNow Movement, The Working Families Party, and the Democratic Socialists of America. Reject AIPAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
