Editing AIPAC (section)

===Criticism===
One critic, former congressman [[Brian Baird]], who "had admired Israel since I was a kid," but became alienated from AIPAC, argued that "When key votes are cast, the question on the House floor, troublingly, is often not, 'What is the right thing to do for the United States of America?', but 'How is AIPAC going to score this?{{'"}}
He cited a 2009 House resolution he opposed condemning the [[Goldstone Report]] on civilian deaths. "When we had the vote, I said, 'We have member after member coming to the floor to vote on a resolution they've never read, about a report they've never seen, in a place they've never been.{{'"}}<ref name=bruck/>
Baird worries that AIPAC members and supporters believe that they're "supporting Israel" when they are "actually backing policies" such as the killing of civilians in Gaza, "that are antithetical to its highest values and, ultimately, destructive for the country."<ref name=bruck/>

A criticism of AIPAC's proposal for tougher sanctions on [[Iran]] is that the primary incentive [[P5+1]] negotiators can give Iran to stop its nuclear program is reduction in the [[Sanctions against Iran|sanctions]] that have harmed Iran's economy. By imposing even harsher sanctions on Iran, AIPAC takes this chip away. According to a "senior" Obama Administration official, the administration told AIPAC leadership that its tougher sanctions on Iran "would blow up the negotiations—the Iranians would walk away from the table." The official asked them, "Why do you know better than we do what strengthens our hand? Nobody involved in the diplomacy thinks that."<ref name=bruck-53/> A former congressional staffer complained to journalist Connie Bruck, "What was striking was how strident the message was," from AIPAC. {{"'}}How could you not pass a resolution that tells the President what the outcome of the negotiations has to be?{{'"}}<ref name=bruck-60>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=60|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref>
[[Image:AIPAC Protest DC 2005-a.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Protesters at AIPAC conference in [[Washington, D.C.]], May 2005]]

AIPAC has been criticized as being unrepresentative of American Jews who support Israel, and supportive only of right-wing Israeli policy and viewpoints.<ref name="SAIP">{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/2007/12/12/ajc_poll/ |title=New poll reveals how unrepresentative neocon Jewish groups are |last=Greenwald |first=Glenn|author-link=Glenn Greenwald|date=December 12, 2007 |website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref> A PEW center poll found that only 38% of American Jews believe that the Israeli government is sincerely pursuing peace; 44% believe that the construction of new settlements damages Israel's national security.<ref name=pew-peace>{{cite web|title=A PORTRAIT OF JEWISH AMERICANS Chapter 5: Connection With and Attitudes Toward Israel|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-5-connection-with-and-attitudes-towards-israel/|website=Pew Research, Religion and Public Life Project|publisher=Pew|date=October 1, 2013|access-date=September 14, 2014}}</ref><ref name=bruck-52-pew>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=52|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014|quote=Today, a growing number of American Jews, though still devoted to Israel, struggle with the lack of progress toward peace with the Palestinians. Many feel that AIPAC does not speak for them. The Pew Center's survey found that only thirty-eight per cent of American Jews believe that the Israeli government is sincerely pursuing peace; forty-four per cent believe that the construction of new settlements damages Israel's national security.}}</ref>

Among the best-known critical works about AIPAC is ''[[The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy]]'', by [[University of Chicago]] professor [[John Mearsheimer]] and [[Harvard Kennedy School]] professor [[Stephen Walt]]. In the working paper and resulting book, they accuse AIPAC of being "the most powerful and best known" component of a larger pro-Israel lobby that distorts American foreign policy. They write:<ref name=Mear>
{{Cite magazine |last1=Mearsheimer |first1=John |last2= Walt |first2=Stephen |date=March 23, 2006 |title=The Israel Lobby |language=en |magazine=London Review of Books |volume=28 |issue=6 |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby |access-date=2022-02-26 |issn=0260-9592}}</ref>

<blockquote>[AIPAC's] success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge it. ... AIPAC makes sure that its friends get strong financial support from the many pro-Israel [[political action committees]]. Anyone who is seen as hostile to Israel can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to his or her political opponents. ... The bottom line is that AIPAC, a ''de facto'' agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on Congress, with the result that US policy towards Israel is not debated there, even though that policy has important consequences for the entire world.</blockquote>

AIPAC has also been the subject of criticism by prominent politicians including Democrats [[J. William Fulbright]],<ref name=Forward>Ori Nir, [http://www.forward.com/articles/4064/ Leaders Fear Probe Will Force Pro-Israel Lobby To File as ‘Foreign Agent’] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127095221/http://www.forward.com/articles/4064/ |date=January 27, 2012 }}, ''[[The Forward]]'', December 31, 2004.</ref> [[Dave Obey]]<ref>{{cite news| last = Edsall| first = Thomas B.|author2=Moore, Molly| title = Pro-Israel Lobby Has Strong Voice|newspaper=The Washington Post| date = September 5, 2004| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62438-2004Sep4?language=printer| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200324085403/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62438-2004Sep4/?language=printer| url-status = dead| archive-date = March 24, 2020| access-date =August 14, 2008}}</ref> and [[Mike Gravel]],<ref>{{cite episode| title = Gravel Discusses Campaign Funding, Relations with Iran| url = https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec07/gravel_10-01.html| series = The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer| airdate = October 1, 2007| access-date = August 24, 2017| archive-date = January 19, 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140119000232/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec07/gravel_10-01.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> as well as Republicans [[John Hostettler]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Marans|first=Daniel|title=Why Pro-Israel Groups Are Targeting An Indiana Republican|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-hostettler-pro-israel-groups-gop-primary_n_6638117ee4b0e44cfb120fb4|work=Huffington Post|date=6 May 2024}}</ref> and [[Thomas Massie]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Magid|first=Jacob|title=GOP Rep. lashes AIPAC for 'foreign interference' after Iron Dome vote attack ad|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/gop-rep-lashes-aipac-for-foreign-interference-after-iron-dome-vote-attack-ad/|work=Times of Israel|date=28 September 2021}}</ref>

Democratic congressman [[Jim Moran]] from [[Northern Virginia]] has been a vocal critic of AIPAC, causing national controversy in 2007 and drawing criticism from many Jewish groups after he told California Jewish magazine ''[[Tikkun (magazine)|Tikkun]]'' that AIPAC had been "pushing the [Iraq War] from the beginning," and that, "I don't think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful—most of them are quite wealthy—they have been able to exert power."<ref name="politico moran">{{cite news|last=Hearn|first=Josephine|title=Dems slam Moran's tying AIPAC to Iraq war|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5925.html|access-date=May 31, 2010|newspaper=Politico|date=September 19, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100425053328/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5925.html| archive-date= April 25, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="washpost moran">{{cite news|last=Gardner|first=Amy|title= Moran Upsets Jewish Groups Again|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402171.html|access-date=May 31, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 15, 2007}}</ref> AIPAC's membership has been described as "overwhelmingly Democratic" by one conservative columnist (Jennifer Rubin).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rubin|first1=Jennifer |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/aipac-weighs-in-all-is-not-well-with-the-us-approach-to-israel/2011/03/29/AG6WrxVH_blog.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 15, 2011 |title=AIPAC weighs in: All is not well with the U.S. approach to Israel |access-date=May 29, 2013}}</ref>

In 2020, Democratic congresswoman [[Betty McCollum]] accused AIPAC of [[hate speech]] and said the group is a [[hate group]].<ref name="aje2020" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mccollum.house.gov/media/press-releases/mccollum-statement-hate-speech-makes-aipac-hate-group|title=McCollum Statement: Hate Speech Makes AIPAC a Hate Group|date=February 12, 2020|website=Congresswoman Betty McCollum}}</ref>

In 2020, Senator [[Bernie Sanders]] said AIPAC provides a platform for [[bigotry]] and said he will not attend their conference.<ref name="aje2020">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/2/24/sanders-accuses-pro-israel-group-of-giving-platform-to-bigotry|title=Sanders accuses pro-Israel group of giving platform to 'bigotry'|website=Al Jazeera|first=Usaid|last=Siddiqui|date=February 24, 2020|access-date=September 1, 2022}}</ref> In 2023 (February 19), on [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]] ''[[Face the Nation]]'', Sanders said that AIPAC, formerly bipartisan, had evolved towards attempting to "destroy" the [[Progressivism in the United States|American progressive movement]].<ref name="face_the_nation_2023_02_19_cbs">[[Bernie Sanders|Sanders, Bernie]], interviewed by [[Margaret Brennan]], February 19, 2023, ''[[Face the Nation]],'' [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]], retrieved February 19, 2023</ref>

====Alleged complicity with antisemitism====
Critics have alleged that AIPAC is [[Zionist antisemitism|antisemitic]], complicit in antisemitism, or silent concerning antisemitism coming from Donald Trump and other right-wing politicians.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 25, 2022 |first1=Gabe |last1=Friedman |first2=Ron |last2=Kampeas |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/aipac-gop-silent-on-trump-warning-us-jews-to-get-their-act-together-on-israel/ |title=AIPAC, GOP silent on Trump warning US Jews to 'get their act together' on Israel |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |accessdate=2025-03-31}}</ref> Eva Borgwardt, writing for ''[[The Nation]]'', criticized AIPAC for alleged complicity with antisemitism, stating that the organization "has welcomed Trump—and his top donors—with open arms, while refusing to condemn his blatantly antisemitic remarks."<ref>{{cite magazine |date=November 1, 2024 |first=Eva |last=Borgwardt |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/adl-trump-rally-fascism/ |title=Let's Call the ADL What It Is: an Ally of Fascists |magazine=[[The Nation]] |accessdate=2025-03-31}}</ref>

In August 2022, AIPAC tweeted that "[[George Soros]] has a long history of backing anti-Israel groups...Now he’s giving $1 million to help @jstreetdotorg support anti-Israel candidates and attack pro-Israel Democrats. AIPAC works to strengthen pro-Israel mainstream Democrats. J Street & Soros work to undermine them." In response to the tweet, the left-wing Jewish organization [[IfNotNow]] denounced AIPAC for antisemitism, tweeting that "AIPAC is the antisemitic far right...They are not a Jewish org, nor claim to be one."<ref>{{cite web |first=Emily |last=Tamkin |url=https://forward.com/opinion/515927/aipac-accused-george-soros-american-politics-antisemitism/ |title=AIPAC accused George Soros of undermining American politics. Is that antisemitic? |date=August 29, 2022 |publisher=[[The Forward]] |accessdate=2023-04-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Michael |last=Starr |url=https://www.jpost.com/bds-threat/article-715593 |title=In ridiculous claim, left-wing Jewish group calls AIPAC 'antisemitic' |date=August 26, 2022 |publisher=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |accessdate=2023-04-06}}</ref>