A special election is being held in New Jersey to fill the congressional seat previously held by now-Governor Mikie Sherrill. With only one Republican nominee, all attention has been on the Democratic nominee election.
It should come as a surprise to no one that AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), one of the several pro-Israel lobbying organizations, is financially involved. Foreign lobbying seems to be commonplace in US elections these days. However, what is a surprise is that they seem to have shot themselves in the foot with their approach.
AIPAC and related groups have spent almost $2.5 million dollars on “television and digital ads, mailers, and phone banking” to oppose one of the candidates, Tom Malinowski. Previously, AIPAC financially supported Malinowski, who has been a longtime supporter of Israel and Israel-related politics.
This shift is due to Malinowski’s recent openness to back policies that restrict unconditioned aid to Israel. When he learned that AIPAC would be opposing his campaign, Malinowski stated, “If AIPAC’s definition of pro-Israel now excludes even someone like me, who passionately supports Israel but won’t commit to a blank check for anything [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] might want, there won’t be enough pro-Israel people left in America to sustain the relationship”.
It is important for everyone to remember that anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are two drastically different things. AIPAC’s goal is to make you believe they are the same thing so that anyone, politician or citizen, who speaks out about what Israel is doing in Palestine is branded as anti-Semitic.
AIPAC and related groups seem to be funding multiple “more moderate” Democrats in the race, including former Lt. Governor Tahesha Way. Their overall goal is to make the election easier for the Republican nominee, Joe Hathaway. However, it seems their actions against Malinowski were a bad decision.
What they didn’t account for was the campaign of far-left progressive Analilia Mejìa, a grassroots organizer and former staffer for Bernie Sanders. AIPAC failed to consider Mejìa a serious candidate and instead decided to target Malinowski. Mejìa has been very vocal about the genocide happening in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire multiple times and before many other Democrats. She is also endorsed by many progressive Democrats, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Pramila Jayapal.
Votes are still being tallied, and the race is too close to call between Mejìa and Malinowski. What we do know is that Way is in a distant third, a blow to AIPAC. As votes continue to be tallied, AIPAC supporters are calling the results of AIPAC’s interference “a worst-case scenario” for the election.
AIPAC’s reaction to their miscalculations in this election isn’t acknowledging that Americans are waking up to their attempts to buy elections, but simply that they didn’t spend enough money on this one. I’m sure they will do everything they can to avoid making that mistake again. The American public needs to be skeptical of AIPAC’s involvement in elections.
As Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned in a social media post, “I hope Dems begin to see that, moderate or progressive, AIPAC is not our friend. They are a right-wing organization that undermines democracy.”
