The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is pulling back from the aggressive electoral strategy it deployed in the 2024 cycle — when it poured more than $100 million into congressional races specifically to remove critics of Israel from office. According to an investigation by The Intercept, AIPAC is taking a quieter, more indirect approach ahead of the 2026 midterms, wary of a brand that has become, in the words of former Rep. Marie Newman, “toxic across the nation.”
The full Intercept investigation is available here.
“They are fully aware their brand is in the toilet,” Newman told The Intercept. Newman was herself ousted from Congress in 2022 with the help of pro-Israel donors. She noted that rank-and-file centrist Democrats are now rejecting both AIPAC money and corporate PAC funding more broadly.
But AIPAC’s retreat from direct spending does not represent a retreat from influence. Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, told The Intercept that rejecting AIPAC money alone “doesn’t mean anything” as a standard for progressive candidates — the group is finding new ways to support allies and punish critics, routing money through less visible channels.
The story behind AIPAC’s rebranding problem is straightforward: more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, the images are inescapable, and the American public — including significant portions of the Jewish American community — has grown deeply uncomfortable with the politicians who enabled it. The $100 million AIPAC spent defending Israel’s congressional cover did not go unnoticed. It went on the record.
The organization may adapt its tactics. What it cannot adapt away from is its purpose: ensuring that the United States Congress remains a reliable instrument of Israeli policy, regardless of what that policy produces.
AIPAC Spent $100 Million to Punish Gaza Critics in Congress. Now It’s Running Scared of Its Own Brand.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is pulling back from the aggressive electoral strategy it deployed in the 2024 cycle — when it poured more than $100 million into congressional races specifically to remove critics of Israel from office. According to an investigation by The Intercept, AIPAC is taking a quieter, more indirect approach ahead of the 2026 midterms, wary of a brand that has become, in the words of former Rep. Marie Newman, “toxic across the nation.”
The full Intercept investigation is available here.
“They are fully aware their brand is in the toilet,” Newman told The Intercept. Newman was herself ousted from Congress in 2022 with the help of pro-Israel donors. She noted that rank-and-file centrist Democrats are now rejecting both AIPAC money and corporate PAC funding more broadly.
But AIPAC’s retreat from direct spending does not represent a retreat from influence. Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, told The Intercept that rejecting AIPAC money alone “doesn’t mean anything” as a standard for progressive candidates — the group is finding new ways to support allies and punish critics, routing money through less visible channels.
The story behind AIPAC’s rebranding problem is straightforward: more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, the images are inescapable, and the American public — including significant portions of the Jewish American community — has grown deeply uncomfortable with the politicians who enabled it. The $100 million AIPAC spent defending Israel’s congressional cover did not go unnoticed. It went on the record.
The organization may adapt its tactics. What it cannot adapt away from is its purpose: ensuring that the United States Congress remains a reliable instrument of Israeli policy, regardless of what that policy produces.