Israel’s US Lobby in Frantic Damage Control

The American-Israel Public Action Committee or AIPAC, the state of Israel’s American lobby, has come under intense criticism for a Facebook ad it ran that many see as an indictment against the Democratic Party, accusing it of abandoning the Jewish state. Since the 2018 Congressional election several new voices far more critical of Israel and not willing to abide by certain “red lines” that have historically maintained scrupulous bipartisanship in the House and Senate, critics have tried to imply that those new voices speak for the entire party – an assertion vehemently denied by the party and its membership. On Saturday, Democrats were furious when the social media ad appeared alleging “The radicals in the Democratic Party are pushing their anti-Semitic and anti-Israel policies down the throats of the American people.” The ad was quickly removed and AIPAC issued an explanation/apology, saying “The ad, which is no longer running, alluded to a genuine concern of many pro-Israel Democrats about a small but growing group, in and out of Congress, that is deliberately working to erode the bipartisan consensus on this issue and undermine the US-Israel relationship… We regret that the ad’s imprecise wording distorted our message and offended many who are deeply committed to this cause. We look forward to continuing our work with friends in Congress to strengthen the US-Israel relationship and oppose any efforts to undermine its deep, bipartisan support.”