AIPAC

About

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is an American pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates for policies strengthening the U.S.–Israel relationship. Founded in 1954 as the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs, the organization adopted its current name in 1959. AIPAC is considered one of the most influential lobbying groups in the United States.

Until 2021, AIPAC did not raise funds for political candidates itself; its members raised money for candidates through political action committees unaffiliated with AIPAC and by other means. In late 2021, AIPAC formed its own political action committee and announced plans for a super PAC, which can spend money on candidates' behalf. AIPAC's critics have said it acts as an agent of the Israeli government and that it has a "stranglehold" on the United States Congress. AIPAC has been accused of being strongly allied with Israel's Likud party and the U.S. Republican Party. An AIPAC spokesman has called this a "malicious mischaracterization".