Credit: the author Doesn’t “committee” have a nice public participation ring to it? In fact, AIPAC is the major force funding many US politicians to vote for subsidies and weapons to Israel. AIPAC also busies itself funding candidates in opposition to those who may not be so keen on Israel's, ahem, excesses. AIPAC has five million members in the United States. Hm. there are between 6M and 7.5M Jews in the US. Does this mean 85% of them are members of AIPAC, including all the children, toddlers and babies? Something fishy here. It receives no funding from Israel, as prohibited under law. “Every cycle, they are at the forefront of exploiting those gaps for their right-wing donors and at the expense of voters.” AIPAC operates other entities to conceal the source of its funding. In Illinois alone four PACs are wholly funded by AIPAC. The Chicago Progressive Partnership, East Chicago Women and Affordable Chicago Now are the beneficiaries of AIPAC’s largesse. In Pennsylvania, it’s 314 Action Fund. AIPAC is the oversized influence of campaign spending in US politics, turning the group into a pariah for free and fair elections. Omar Shakir, director of the human rights group, DAWN, says: “They can’t defend Israel’s genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, so they’re rigging the system outside of public view. Routing funds “through layered PAC structures designed to obscure where the money originates.” A 2010 US Supreme Court ruling has allowed corporations and advocacy groups to spend unlimited amounts of money in elections, as long as they do not directly coordinate with the campaigns they are backing. In many cases, PACs do not have to list all of their donors until after the elections. Some nonprofits that influence elections — known as dark money groups — do not have to reveal their donors at all. AIPAC's charitable status means it doesn't have to disclose anything at all. “We know that AIPAC does not throw money at candidates unless those candidates will rubber-stamp their agenda in Washington,” Bilal Andrabi said. AIPAC was founded in 1954 by Isaiah L. Kenen, a lobbyist for the Israeli government, as the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs. It was formed to counter international outrage over Israel’s Qibya massacre under Ariel Sharon of 63 Palestine villagers, two-thirds of them women and children that year. Jewish slaughter in Palestine began 40 years before Israel became a state. However, AZCPA began by successfully lobbying Congress for $65M in aid, following $73M. Israel was struggling economically because of all the money they spent on the Arab-Israeli war. Israel has always been all about war. This grant sure propped them up. I can only speculate what Israel would have been today had that money not come through. There may well have been a Palestinian leadership with Jews in the minority. No Nakba. Would anything be better than what Israel has pursued till today? At least there might be a shot at peace. The major funders of AIPAC’s $90M war chest are 231 fatcats. These pro sports team owners, heads of private equity firms, real estate titans, CEO of Victoria’s Secret, founder of Zumba and creator of Squishmallows (“putting a smile on children’s faces is at the heart of everything we do” before we shoot them), a cross-section of American elites who defend unconditional ethnic cleansing. (Jewish Daily Forward), $12M a month. Leonid Radvinsky, creator of OnlyFans, contributed $11M. AIPAC CEO, Howard Kohr, defined its role bluntly: “We are going to have to continue to demonstrate in even more dramatic ways that if you’re willing to stand with Israel when she’s at war and she needs America… we’re willing to help [you] politically.” 90-year old businessman and survivor of a Jewish ghetto in Ukraine, Paul Burg, defended his $150k donation, “I will give my life for Israel,” Burg added, “and I never lived in Israel!” Canada has a $100k total campaign contribution limit and an election cycle of four months as opposed to America’s four years. Yet, no Congress has seen fit to outlaw the lobbyists. Too busy spending their donations.
Create an account or sign in to comment