The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has cemented itself as one of the most powerful forces in politics, pouring tens of millions of dollars into primaries this year.
As November approaches, a liberal alternative to AIPAC in pro-Israel advocacy is ratcheting up its efforts to counter that influence.
The super PAC of J Street said Thursday that it is making its largest investment ever to target Republican candidates who have been backed by AIPAC. It will spend $3 million on ads against Georgia Senate contender Rep. Mike Collins and incumbent Reps. Max Miller in Ohio, Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin, Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania and Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa.
“While AIPAC supports deeply unqualified, antisemitic and anti-democracy candidates to preserve blank-check support for the Netanyahu government, J Street is committed to exclusively supporting candidates who will fight for peace and democracy in the U.S. and abroad,” said Tali deGroot, J Street’s vice president of political and digital strategy.
AIPAC responded by casting doubt on J Street’s pro-Israel stance.
“Not a word about helping elect pro-Israel candidates further exposes the difference between J Street and actual pro-Israel organizations,” AIPAC wrote on its X account.
AIPAC promotes strong ties between Israel and the United States and has intervened in primariesto oppose Democratic critics of Israel. J Street is more critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has called for an end to the war in Gaza.
Alongside J Street, other super PACs, including the newly formed American Priorities group, have tried to thwart AIPAC’s influence on elections, but they’re working with much less money.
J Street’s super PAC ended July with just over $1 million available, according to Federal Election Commission records. The United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, ended the same month with $59 million.
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