Israel, AIPAC and Difficult Questions for Democrats

From The New York Times, I'm Rachel. Abrams and this is The Daily. [music]. In this year's [music] midterm. elections, AIPAC, the pro-Israel. lobbying group, has spent a record. amount of money mostly in Democratic. [music] primaries to either oust. candidates or support candidates based. on a changing definition of what it. means to support Israel. [music]. Today, my colleague Jonathan Mahler.

explains how this has created a new. litmus test for the [music] left at a. time perhaps when America's relationship. with Israel has never faced more. scrutiny. >> [music]. >> It's Wednesday, [music] July 29th. >> [music]. >> Jonathan Mahler, thank you so much for. joining us. >> Thanks for having me. >> Jonathan, the relationship between the.

US and Israel has for years been a huge. topic in American politics, but what's. felt particularly new and notable to me. at least is how much that relationship. is being both questioned and criticized. in this year's midterm elections. You. have been studying this relationship and. how it intersects with our politics for. many years and covered it for The New. York Times and so we wanted to turn to. you in this moment understand how you. are seeing and thinking about all of. this. >> Well, I have been covering the US-Israel.

relationship kind of in one form or. another for decades, I'm almost. embarrassed to say, and this looks to me. like a very different moment in the. US-Israel relationship. I mean, for the. first time you have a lot of politicians. coming out very publicly and in some. cases like aggressively putting distance. between the US and Israel. I mean, that. was for decades unheard of. That was. political suicide for a politician. >> Mhm. [clears throat] And that is no. longer the case, especially on the. Democratic side of the aisle. I mean,

it's true we've seen some on the right. question and challenge the relationship, but the Republican Party is still really. by and large pro-Israel. And that is not so much the case anymore. on the Democratic side, and that is a. huge paradigm shift. And it's a shift. we're seeing in the halls of Congress, but also out on the campaign trail. >> Just give us a couple examples of what. you mean by that. >> Yeah, so a couple of weeks ago in the. House, something like 100 Democrats. voted to end US military aid to Israel. That's like almost half of all House.

Democrats. >> Mhm. >> The effort failed. I mean, only one. Republican supported it, and so the. aid's going to continue, but the vote. was really unprecedented. I mean, we've. never seen so many Democrats take a vote. like that. And on top of that, we're. seeing support for Israel become a major. issue in Democratic primaries across the. country. It's really become a key litmus. test in all sorts of races from New York. to Illinois to Michigan. And if it's really manifested in a. debate over AIPAC, or the American. Israel Public Affairs Committee, it's.

the main lobbying group working in. support of Israel in the US. And at this. point, AIPAC has basically become. synonymous with Israel. >> Right, when you see people talking or. debating AIPAC, what they're essentially. debating is US support for Israel. >> Exactly. AIPAC is seen as a proxy for. Israel. And on top of that, it's also. become a stand-in for this larger debate. over big money in politics. Because. AIPAC really has become one of the. biggest spenders this election cycle. It's poured huge amounts of money into. primaries trying to support candidates,

but also to oust them really on the. basis of their views toward Israel. >> So, just to bring this all together, what we're seeing happening right now is. a few different forces colliding at the. same time in these midterms via this. debate over AIPAC. We're seeing both the. US-Israel relationship really become. front and center, and this debate about. the role that money should play in our. politics. >> Exactly. It's really a remarkable. political moment and it's one that AIPAC. helped create, probably unintentionally. It's really backed itself into a corner,

which has forced Democrats to take a. side in these big debates. And it's. gotten to this point because of a series. of key decisions that AIPAC made since. its founding. >> So, I want to talk about the history of. AIPAC and how we've gotten here. Let's. go back to the beginning when AIPAC was. formed. Sort of tell us about that. origin story. >> So, AIPAC was founded really just a few. years after the founding of the state of. Israel back in 1948. And um it really. had a simple mission. The idea was to. defend and protect and strengthen the. US-Israel relationship, which was uh.

fairly simple thing to do back then. because we were in the aftermath of the. Holocaust. You know, the state of Israel. was created with the blessing of the. United Nations. America was very much on. Israel's side. And so, AIPAC was born to. kind of defend and protect that. relationship on both sides of the. political aisle. >> Meaning it was supposed to be. bipartisan. >> Yes, it was supposed to be a bipartisan. organization and it very much was. But, it is kind of interesting to note in its.

earliest incarnation, AIPAC reflected. the politics of the state of Israel, which we have to remember was a. socialist country. I mean, it was a. labor Zionist country. So, Israel was. very far left and so was AIPAC. You. know, having said that, they very. deliberately courted support on both. sides of the political aisle. Both. Republican and Democratic politicians. would go on AIPAC-supported trips to. Israel. They both received campaign. contributions from AIPAC. So, AIPAC, you. know, now we think of them as this. incredibly polarizing force in American.

politics. It's important to remember. that they were once actually a really. unifying force in American politics. AIPAC was something that both. Republicans and Democrats could agree. on. It was truly a bipartisan group. >> And just tell us at a very high level, what was the pitch that AIPAC was making. to the US? Like what was the rationale. for the bipartisan support they were. trying to curry at the time? >> I mean, it was honestly a pretty easy. pitch. AIPAC could say, and did say, that America's interests and Israel's.

interests are perfectly aligned. Israel. is the one real democracy in the Middle. East, so Israel shares your democratic. values. And AIPAC could also say that. Israel is a vital strategic ally, particularly during the Cold War, when a. number of the Arab nations were aligned. with the Soviet Union, and Israel was. aligned with the United States, and it. had a very powerful military and. intelligence operation that was really. useful to the United States. So, AIPAC. could sort of lean on all of that to. make its case to both Democrats and.

Republicans, and to say nothing of the. fact that there are a lot of of Jews. living in America, a lot of American. Jews who are Zionists, who felt strongly. about the existence and protection of. the state of Israel, and American Jews, you know, of course, had some degree of. influence in American politics. >> And in turn, what is AIPAC able to. achieve for Israel through all of this. bipartisan lobbying? >> Yeah, I mean, over time, it's meant. billions of dollars in military aid. In. fact, Israel has long been the largest.

recipient of US foreign aid, period. It's allowed them to buy fighter jets, their Iron Dome defense system, so much. of the Israeli military apparatus is in. part a product of that US aid. But, it's. also been political support on the world. stage, with the US really firmly backing. Israel for decades and decades. >> So, it's very interesting to note that. AIPAC started as a bipartisan. organization. Obviously, that is not the. case anymore. When did we start seeing. that shift? Like what was the first big. inflection point? >> You know, of course, no relationship is.

perfect, so over the years, there would. be minor dust-ups between Israel and the. United States, and AIPAC would have to. manage those moments. They were always a. bit tricky when there was a little bit. of tension between the two countries, but nothing really major, nothing. enduring until 2015. In 2015, something really kind of. seismic happened for the US-Israel. relationship and in turn for AIPAC. And. that is. >> Today, after 2 years of negotiations,

the United States, together with our. international partners, has achieved [music] something that. decades of animosity has not. >> President Obama's nuclear deal with. Iran. >> Today, President Obama announced an. agreement that he says will keep an. atomic bomb out of Iranian hands for. more than a decade. Critics say it will. do the opposite. >> Which Israel was furious about, Prime. Minister Netanyahu really did not want. to happen, but Obama was going ahead. with it anyway. [music]. And so in this moment, the Republicans.

in Congress. >> The speaker has invited the Israeli. Prime Minister to [music] address a. joint session of Congress. >> invite Bibi to come speak. >> before Congress. >> The general protocol for this kind of. thing is for Congress [music] to consult. with the White House. Our understanding. is that that was not done on purpose. [music]. >> A real poke in the eye to Obama. >> A real poke in the eye to Obama who said. [music] that he did not want this to. happen. But Bibi accepts the invitation. >> Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct.

honor of presenting to you the Prime. Minister of Israel, His Excellency. Benjamin Netanyahu. >> He comes to Congress. >> My friends, for over a year, we've been told. that no deal. is better than a bad deal. >> He uses that moment to inveigh against. this nuclear deal. [music]. >> That the only alternative to this bad. deal is war. That's just not true. The alternative to this bad deal is a. much better deal.

>> [music]. >> And that moment put AIPAC in a really. difficult situation because now they're. faced with the Prime Minister of Israel, the leader of the country that they're. here to defend, is really going [music]. after the President of the United. States, really undermining him, and they. have to make a choice. I mean, are we. going to side with Israel or are we. going to side with [music] the. President? And they chose Israel. They. agreed with Bibi's [music] take on it,

and they tried to defeat it. >> So, I understand that Netanyahu was. invited by Republicans. It was an insult. in some way to the President of the. time, Barack Obama, but. what are we seeing coming out of this? >> Yeah, what we're seeing is that there'd. never been a moment like this when the. United States went forward with a major. policy shift that was going to have a. major impact on Israel that Israel was. opposed to. So, for AIPAC, which had. always been able to support both Israel. and the United States because Israel and.

United States interests always seemed to. be perfectly, cleanly aligned. Suddenly, America and Israel's interests. seem to diverge, they split, and AIPAC. had to line up with one side or the. other, and they lined up with Israel. >> Mhm. >> So, that was the first big inflection. point in 2015. The next one came in 2018. >> [music]. >> when we saw the election of the squad. >> Sure. >> So, this was AOC.

>> What people are starting to see, at. least in the occupation of Palestine, is. increasing crisis of humanitarian. condition. >> This was Rashida Tlaib. >> Will you vote against US military aid. for Israel? >> Absolutely. For me, US aid should be. leveraged. >> This was Ilhan Omar. >> We think of Israel as the only democracy. in the Middle East, and as such, we have to make sure we're. holding it to that standard.

>> This was a group of progressive. >> [music]. >> lawmakers who were willing to say things. about Israel, critical things about. Israel. >> They support the movement known as BDS, which calls for a boycott of Israel. until property is returned to. Palestinians. [music]. >> And to sort of begin to try to redefine. the American-Israel relationship. I. mean, no one had ever gone there in this. way before. >> Mhm. >> You'd had isolated critics of Israel. elected to Congress before, but you. definitely never had a block of them in.

Congress, and especially ones who were. young, popular, and progressive. This was going to be a problem for. AIPAC, and [music]. so the question becomes, what is AIPAC. going to do about the arrival in. Congress of this block of outspoken. critics of Israel? And what if this is just the beginning? >> [music]. >> So, what does AIPAC decide to do? Because at this point in the story, it sounds like AIPAC has basically. identified both a near-term problem with.

these new lawmakers, but also it's. identified maybe a longer-term issue. that the squad might be foreshadowing, just this general shift of opinions on. Israel. So, how do they respond after. these folks are elected to Congress? >> Yeah, so up until this point, AIPAC had. been steadfast in its approach to US. elections, which was basically to. encourage its members to make individual. donations to candidates who supported. Israel on both sides of the aisle. And those donations were limited by law. to roughly a few thousand dollars per.

cycle. >> So, relatively small amounts. >> Yeah, I mean, they can add up, but we're. still talking about limited amounts of. money. But then, as I said, the squad is. elected in 2018, and then a couple more. members are elected in 2020, Jamaal. Bowman and Cori Bush, who join in the. criticism of Israel. And so, AIPAC sees. this new threat, and it decides that the. gloves have to come off. Like, small. donations are not enough anymore. So, what happens is a few years later, before the 2022 midterms, AIPAC makes a.

huge, really important decision. And. that is that they decide they are going. to create their own super PAC, which. they call the United Democracy Project. >> Not clearly pro-Israel, just to say in. that name. >> Right. The name does not communicate. that it is a pro-Israel PAC. And this is. significant because this will allow them. to steer really unlimited amounts of. money into local races, into. congressional races. And the political. context here is really important because. we are now in the post-Citizens United.

decision era, when suddenly it has. become possible through these super PACs. to give unlimited sums to political. campaigns. And AIPAC, if it wants to. continue to be a powerful force in. American politics, as it has always. been, and if it wants to deal with what. it sees as this coming threat of a real. anti-Israel current in Congress, they. need to get into this game. They need to. get into the big money game. And so, they set up this PAC for the 2022. midterms, and they got to work spending.

money. >> So, tell us what that means, Jonathan. Like, how do we see that playing out in. elections? >> Yeah. So, in 2022, they sort of dipped. their toes in. They spent $26 million. to support pro-Israel candidates and to. oppose anti-Israel ones. But there's also the dark money side of. it, which is you can give this money and. you can pay for ads that actually don't. have anything to do with the issue your. group is interested in. So, you know, in. the case of AIPAC, what we have seen is.

that they can target an anti-Israel. candidate or target a pro-Israel. candidate they want to support, and they. can dump money into advertising that has. absolutely nothing to do with Israel. >> They're taking away [music] our rights. Kevin Mullin is fighting back. >> You would see in 2022 an ad that. endorsed a Democratic candidate or. credited a Democratic candidate for. instance with with supporting. reproductive rights. >> Kevin Mullin will work [music] to. guarantee all women have the right to.

make their own medical decisions. >> a pro-choice ad and you would have no. idea that it was paid for by APAC's. super PAC. >> To guarantee the [music] right to. choose, to vote, to earn a livable wage. Fighting for our democratic values, Adam. Oliye [music] for Congress. UDP is. responsible for the content of this ad. >> Importantly, they did something else in. the 2022 midterms that really kind of. helped fuel our perception of APAC as a. polarizing force in politics. And what.

they did is they endorsed more than 100. candidates who had supported Trump's. effort to overturn the election in 2020. So, this was really a slap in the face. to a lot of Democratic American Jews. People who had always felt aligned with. Israel and therefore with APAC suddenly. felt like, "Whoa, you are choosing what. you perceive to be Israel's interests. over American democracy." That was a. kind of a shocking single-issue position.

that APAC took that really earned them a. lot of critics and future enemies. >> And how did APAC justify this at the. time? >> Well, you know, to APAC their whole. raison d'être, the whole reason why they. exist is to defend the American-Israel. relationship, to protect America's. relationship with Israel. And their view. of the matter was it didn't matter how. these politicians treated the election, what mattered is what would they do in. Congress when a vote came up that was.

relevant to Israel. Would they vote in. Israel's interests or not? And they. determined that they would vote in. Israel's interests and therefore they. were going to support them regardless. >> Even if that means supporting election. deniers. >> Exactly. >> I just want to point out that feels like. a very different strategy than AIPAC had. used before. >> Yeah, they're assuming a fully partisan, aggressive, money-based posture. I mean, they're throwing their weight. around, they're throwing money around, and they're influencing American. politics in a much more direct way. >> [snorts]. >> And they're having a lot of success.

getting pro-Israel candidates elected. And then, of course, something. world-changing happens, and that is. October 7th, 2023. >> Right. And I think a lot of people. remember that after October 7th, when. Hamas led an attack on Israel that. killed more than a thousand people, there was a brief moment of bipartisan. support for Israel in Congress. >> Yes, there was. And for a little while, it was almost like we were back where we. once were. We were kind of back in time. when there was widespread support and.

sympathy for Israel. Israel was again. the victim, I guess you might say, because the narrative in preceding years. had started to shift. And that's because. Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, especially in the West Bank, had been. attracting a growing chorus of. criticism. So, in the eyes of some Americans, they. started to become the perpetrator rather. than the victim. And after October 7th, they were the victims again. But we all know what happens next. Israel goes into Gaza, they cause a lot. of destruction, they kill tens of. thousands of people, including. civilians. And popular opinion starts to.

turn against Israel. And so, for AIPAC, this is a new kind of threat, and not. only a new threat, I mean, a really kind. of urgent one, because there really was. a degree of animosity toward Israel in. America, in American politics, that we. really hadn't seen before. And it is in. many ways the manifestation. of what they had feared back in 2018, when the squad first arrived in. Congress. They had feared that there was. going to be a kind of a building.

anti-Israel movement in Washington. Well, now we seem to be getting all of. the signs that that was indeed coming. >> We'll be right back. >> [music]. >> So Jonathan, once it becomes clear that.

the tide is turning against Israel, how. does AIPAC decide to respond? >> Yeah. So, AIPAC goes into complete. overdrive. >> Jamaal Bowman [music] voted against. condemning Hamas' brutal attack. He. supported a resolution calling the. founding [music] of Israel a. catastrophe. >> They spend $120 million in the 2024. election cycle, a staggering amount of. money. >> when Biden [music] really needs her, Cori Bush just isn't there. The facts: Cori Bush has her own [music] agenda, and it's hurting St. Louis. UDP is.

responsible for the content of this ad. >> And they rack up two big wins. They defeat Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, both members of the Squad. >> [clears throat]. >> And you know, to AIPAC, the Squad really. is kind of ground zero for anti-Israel. sentiment in Washington. And of course, that doesn't go unnoticed. by the candidates who were unseated by. AIPAC. >> We should be outraged when a super PAC. of dark money. can spend $20 million.

to brainwash people into believing. something that isn't true. We should be. outraged about that. >> They're furious, and they call out AIPAC. very explicitly [music]. in their concession speeches. >> Let me say this. >> [cheering]. >> AIPAC, I'M COMING TO tear your kingdom. down! >> [cheering]. >> And I think it's at this moment where. you really begin to see some Democrats. on the left try and paint AIPAC as. [music] this boogeyman in American. politics. >> [music].

>> I think I want to pause for a second cuz. I think it is important that we address. an elephant in the room or perhaps. several elephants in the room. Which is that even talking about AIPAC. and its support for pro-Israel. candidates has brought up in the course. of this conversation. a lot of topics that I think are fodder. for well-known anti-Semitic tropes. Like. we are talking about Jewish people and. money. We're talking about Jewish people. exerting political power. We're talking. about an idea that there's a group of.

Jewish people who prioritize foreign. interests over the interests of the. United States. So I'm wondering how all of that has. played out as AIPAC has really tried to. show its muscle in these different. election cycles. >> Yeah, you're right to bring it up and. it's a really complicated and sensitive. issue. I think there's no question that. AIPAC is wielding a lot of influence in. American politics. Like full stop. >> It's measurable. It's measurable with. the money they're spending. >> It is indeed measurable with dollar.

signs. At the same time, there is also. no question that AIPAC's role in. American politics has drawn a lot more. criticism than the role of plenty of. other advocacy groups. It is also clear. to me anyway that there is a degree of. anti-Semitism behind at least some of. the criticism of AIPAC that there are. certain obvious tropes here of Jews and. money and political influence that go to. the core of the sort of anti-Semitic.

ideology going back centuries. And you. see this unfolding on the left. You also. see it unfolding on the right with. Tucker Carlson and other AIPAC critics, you know, who talk about foreign. influence in American politics, which. often feels like a dog whistle for. Jewish influence in American politics. And so this is really difficult stuff to. kind of untangle, but it's really. important and it's particularly. important because this is all happening. at a moment when anti-Semitism is.

unequivocally rising all around the. world in really like dangerous and scary. ways. So, when the conversation in. America begins to tip into like. all the Jewish influence in American. politics, there is real reason for. concern. And AIPAC, you know, which of. course is the first to say that. criticizing AIPAC is anti-Semitic, is. not always wrong. I mean, there is. clearly a kind of a degree of. anti-Semitic sentiment behind at least. some criticisms of AIPAC. >> It sounds like a few things can kind of.

be true at once here. Like, AIPAC is. having a significant impact on American. elections with big donations. And it is also perhaps under more. scrutiny than other influential donors. and single interest groups. And the war. in Gaza, the changing political tides. has opened the door to criticism of. Israel that perhaps was a non-starter. before. And also. opened the door to. a lot of anti-Semitic rhetoric that has. become normalized. >> I think that's exactly right. I mean,

AIPAC's actions, and right or wrong, their actions have provided an opening, honestly, for bad actors. But in. particular, in a sort of worrying sense, for people who are not just criticizing. Israel, but who are criticizing Jews and. Jewish influence. >> You know, I think Jonathan, it would be. helpful just to understand whether that. argument has any merit to it to compare. the spending and influence of AIPAC to. perhaps other single-issue super PACs. So, in other words, does AIPAC actually give more money than.

other single-issue super PACs? >> Yeah, that's a really important point. I. mean, AIPAC is definitely up there, but. it actually gives comparable amounts to. the crypto lobby and the AI lobby. And. we're seeing some backlash against those. PACs in some recent election cycles. But. AIPAC definitely gets the majority of. the heat. >> Mhm. So, I think that brings us to this. year and the 2026 midterms. Talk to us, Jonathan, about the role that we've seen. AIPAC play so far and what the response. to their role has been. >> Yeah, so what's happened in 2026 is is.

really been kind of fascinating because. AIPAC has again gone out and decided to. spend big in various races. But what has. happened is that AIPAC has had to shift. its strategy. And what they've had to do. in 2026 is because so many moderate. Democrats are now starting to question. America's unconditional support for. Israel. >> [snorts]. >> AIPAC has had to what has at least. decided to target moderate Democrats. Moderate Democrats who in many cases.

consider themselves to be supporters of. Israel, consider themselves to be. pro-Israel. And that has made AIPAC even. more polarizing. >> But [snorts] why alienate people who. have expressed a lot of support of for. Israel, especially at a time when that. support is waning? Like what is the. thinking behind that strategy? >> Yeah, I mean AIPAC has created what is. essentially a kind of a basic litmus. test for what it means to be pro-Israel. And that litmus test is if you question. unconditional American military support. for Israel, you are not pro-Israel.

enough. >> So in creating this very strict litmus. test, it sounds like AIPAC has actually. expanded the pool of lawmakers that it's. spending against. So where have we seen that dynamic play. out so far in these midterms? >> Yeah, the first race that AIPAC really. got involved in in this cycle was the. Democratic primary for a House seat in. New Jersey. And they targeted a representative there. named Tom Malinowski. >> [music]. >> And Tom Malinowski is like by no means a. squad member. He is by no means a.

progressive. >> I believe in Israel's right to exist and. defend itself as a Jewish and democratic. state, particularly after the atrocity. of October 7th. >> He also is a believer in defending. America's commitment to defend Israel's. security. >> I had a perfect pro-Israel voting record. in Congress. >> In fact, he had angered some people by. refusing to call Israel's war in Gaza. genocide. He would [music] not use the. G-word. But, he also has been very. critical of Israel's response to October.

7th. And he thinks that the US should be. making kind of case-by-case decisions on. military aid to Israel. >> So, no longer unconditional. That sounds. very key here. >> Exactly. He wants to place conditions. [music] He wants to consider every. allocation that the United States makes. to Israel's military. >> Tom Malinowski says members of Congress. shouldn't be [music] allowed to trade. stocks. But, in Congress, he cashed in. on COVID-related stocks. >> So, AIPAC super PAC spent over $2. million over $2.3 million to defeat him.

>> ICE deportation force is out of control. Tom Malinowski voted with Trump to. increase funding. >> And they did so by running ads that were. not explicitly about Israel, but by. attacking Malinowski on other issues. that they thought would be disqualifying. in the eyes of Democratic primary. voters. >> We just can't trust Tom Malinowski. UDP. is responsible for the content of these. ads. >> Malinowski was completely outraged by. this, especially the ICE ad, which. landed right at the time that two. American citizens were shot and killed. by federal agents in Minnesota.

>> I'm here at an anti-ICE rally, where. I've just finished giving a speech. And. we just found out, believe it or not, that a dark money group has put an ad on. television accusing me of supporting. ICE. >> And he let his voters know what was. going on. >> This is the first time they've gone. after someone who has mainstream views. on Israel. And the ad itself is a despicable and. unforgivable lie. >> But, in this instance, AIPAC's efforts. completely [music]. backfired.

They did succeed in defeating. Malinowski, but their candidate, the. candidate they were backing, also lost. And instead, the nominee was a. progressive candidate who was way to. Malinowski's left on Israel. >> Wow, so they got a candidate that was. even more hostile to the cause they were. trying to champion in this race. >> Exactly. >> Which makes me wonder why AIPAC would. even take that kind of risk to begin. with. Like, I understand that Malinowski. didn't pass this new litmus test, but it. still seems really risky to go after. moderate Democrats.

>> Yeah. Well, in many ways, you can see. someone like Tom Malinowski as a bigger. threat to AIPAC than a member of the. squad because he's a moderate Democrat. who is still, yes, supportive of Israel, but is starting to very openly question. America's unconditional support for. Israel. So, when you have moderates, and. he's by no means the only one, who are. beginning to look critically at the. US-Israel relationship, something that. was really unheard of not that many. years ago, that is a sign that things.

are actually like getting serious for. AIPAC, that they really have to watch. out because this is not just a. phenomenon on the far left. This is. becoming a phenomenon among moderate. Democrats, and so it's almost a bigger. threat to AIPAC that moderate Democrats. are starting to sound much more critical. of Israel than they had in the past. >> Mhm. >> And so, they need to do everything they. can to keep them out of office. >> Give us another example, Jonathan, of. how you've seen this play out. >> Yeah. Well, another kind of amazing.

example, which sort of speaks to the. role that AIPAC is trying to play in. this election and the ways that it's. backfiring, is a house race that was in. the suburbs of Chicago, where AIPAC. targeted a guy named Daniel Biss, who. had been the mayor of the city of. Evanston. Biss, like Malinowski, is a. sort of more moderate Democrat who has. raised some questions about America's. unconditional support for Israel, but is. still, you know, not far left by any. means, and certainly not anti-Israel, and is, in fact, the grandson of. Holocaust [clears throat] survivors. Biss has strong connections to Israel,

has family in Israel, and he got kind of. a whiff of the fact that AIPAC was. potentially going to get involved in his. race in Illinois. And so, you know, he. went to AIPAC and said, "Listen, don't. do this. I am willing to speak to you. guys anytime. If I'm If I'm elected, my. door is always open to AIPAC. We can. discuss any Israel-related issue." And. AIPAC said to him, "What we need you to. do, if you want us to back out of this. race, or to not get involved in your. race, is to support unrestricted. military aid for Israel.".

And Biss said, "I'm not going to do. that." And so, it became clear to him at. that moment that AIPAC was going to get. involved in his race. >> to try to defeat him. >> to try to defeat him. And so, what he. did at that point is that he pulled. voters in his in his district, and asked. them how they felt about AIPAC. And the. numbers that came back were 51%. of those polled said they viewed AIPAC. unfavorably, and only 17% said they. viewed AIPAC favorably. >> I'm Daniel Biss, and I'm running for. Congress in the 9th District of.

Illinois. >> So, armed with that information, Biss. decides to actually campaign on the fact. that he's being attacked by AIPAC. That. he was, in other words, like the. anti-AIPAC candidate. >> They're calling me anti-Israel because I. don't think starvation should be used as. a weapon of war, because I don't think. the US should have been bankrolling the. bombs that Bibi was dropping on. Palestinian civilians. >> And he really leans into his Jewish. identity as part of this. >> They want to scare Jewish people like me. out of criticizing the Israeli. government. They want to silence us. But. listen, I criticize the Israeli. government exactly because Israel is so.

important to me. Israel was a safe haven for my. grandparents after they survived the. Holocaust. >> I think it gives him an opportunity to. both [snorts] kind of demonize AIPAC in. a sense, but also speak to voters about. his own evolving understanding of Israel. and the American-Israel relationship. >> AIPAC and their allies know. that it's exactly my connection to. Israel that makes me so dangerous to. their hardline, right-wing agenda. >> And so, that was successful for Biss. He.

wins the Democratic primary. So, there. was a kind of a growing recognition that. it was good politics to publicly. distance yourself from AIPAC and even. potentially tar your opponent as being. supported by AIPAC. >> Right. Well, to that point, the next big. test of this coming up is next week in. Michigan, the Democratic primary for the. Senate seat there. So, just tell us, what are you paying attention to in that. race? >> Yeah, I mean, we're seeing there in. Michigan a race where AIPAC is spending.

more money than they have ever spent. before in a single race, something. approaching $30 million, which they have spent supporting Haley. Stevens, who is a moderate, blue-collar, pro-manufacturing Democrat, kind of. old-school Michigan Democrat, who is. running against Abdul El-Sayed, who is. the son of Egyptian immigrants, far to. the left, very opposed to US aid to. Israel, very vocal about what he. describes as a genocide in Gaza, has. really turned Israel into a kind of a. central plank of his campaign there. And.

has also seized not just on the Israel. side of this, but the kind of corrupting. influence of money and dark money in. American politics, and sort of turning. AIPAC into a symbol of of the kind of. corrupting influence of money in. politics. >> And how is Haley Stevens approaching the. fact that she is getting so much support. from AIPAC? Like, is she trying to run. against that, given the other examples. that you've laid out? >> Yeah, no, she's she's taken a different. approach toward AIPAC and really even. toward Israel. I mean, she has.

criticized Netanyahu in the past, but. she has embraced AIPAC. She considers. herself and speaks of herself as a proud. supporter of Israel, though she's not. Jewish. But I think in general, you can sort of. see her as more of an exception to the. rule that's come to define many of these. Democratic primaries. And if El-Sayed wins the primary, I mean, he has a chance of winning the. seat in the general election in. November, for sure. And if he does, he'll be a sitting US Democratic senator. calling for the end of US aid to Israel, which is definitely not something we've.

ever seen before. >> What is so interesting about this, Jonathan, is that we are arriving in. this moment not just because of October. 7th, not just because of our. hyper-partisan time, but also because of. a series of decisions that AIPAC has. made over the years that has helped to. lead us to where we are today. This. organization that started as a. bipartisan organization to support. US-Israel relations, it has now become. one of the causes for that relationship. deteriorating. And so, I wonder, where. do you think that leaves AIPAC? Like, it.

doesn't seem like these dynamics are. going away anytime soon. So, what are. the options for it going forward? >> So, AIPAC is really at a crossroads. right now. What it could do, and um you. know, what it might do, is begin to. recognize that there isn't necessarily a. single litmus test for being pro-Israel. There should be room in the kind of. pro-Israel tent for politicians on both. sides of the aisle, Republicans and. Democrats, who are willing to criticize.

Israel, have real questions about this. Israeli government, about the actions of. the Israeli government, and want to. scrutinize the military and financial. support we give the state of Israel, but. still support Israel. In other words, AIPAC could come to a place where they. begin to recognize that they can't stop. this. They cannot prevent the shifting. of the tides that's happening right now. They have to acknowledge it. You know, and the reality is that the. way things are moving right now in. American politics, if they want to. remain relevant, AIPAC may not really.

have a choice because this same shift. that we've been talking about on the. left is also happening, albeit a lot. more slowly and with very different. dynamics on the right. It is not hard to imagine that in the. future. there could be [music] a race with two. candidates who are both critics of. Israel, and AIPAC is going to have to, if it wants to remain relevant, is going. to have to reconsider [music]. what it means to be pro-Israel.

>> [music]. >> Jonathan Miller, thank you so much. >> Thank you for having me. >> This week, [music] President Trump. appeared to lose his patience with. Israel and its leader, Benjamin. Netanyahu, who met with the [music]. president at the White House on Tuesday. Ahead of that meeting, Trump told. reporters that without his support for. the war against Iran, Israel would not. have survived. "If I didn't get involved," [music].

Trump claimed, "Israel would have been. terminated.". We'll be right back. >> [music]. >> Here's what else you need to know today. >> He was a man who gave America the full. measure of his good and mighty heart. until that heart itself just gave out. >> President Trump eulogized South Carolina.

Senator [music] Lindsey Graham in a. memorial service at the National. Cathedral on Tuesday, hailing Graham, who died this month at the age of 71, as, quote, "one of the great figures in. Senate history.". >> He went out at the peak of his career, the top of his game, as a legend that. everyone. of us, many of us here today, blessed to know him, and a friend that. none of us will ever forget. >> The two men didn't always agree on. policy, >> [music]. >> which the president referenced in his. remarks, particularly when it came to.

foreign affairs. >> He was extremely hawkish. I will tell. you, he never saw a war that he didn't. like. >> The Fox News host, Sean Hannity, also. spoke, [music] saying that Graham was. often unfairly characterized as a. warmonger. >> Lindsey desperately wanted and talked to. the president about a lasting peace in. the Middle East. >> Some of the foreign dignitaries whose. causes Graham championed as a senator. were in attendance, including Prime. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of.

Ukraine. [music]. And. emergency workers raced to find. survivors of a powerful 6.8 magnitude. earthquake in southwestern Japan on. Tuesday. The quake, [music] which hit around 4:30. p.m. local time, ignited fires and. damaged buildings. At least one person has been confirmed. dead and dozens more are injured or. [music] missing. Today's episode was produced by Ricky. Nvetsky and Chris Benderav [music]. with help from Olivia Nat. It was edited.

by Rachel Quester with help from. Patricia Willens and contains music by. Marion Lozano, Dan Powell, Rowan. Nemiasto, and Alicia Baeyiu. Our theme. music is by Wonderly. This episode was. engineered by Alyssa Moxley. [music]. >> [music]. >> That's it for the Daily. I'm Rachel. Abrams. See you tomorrow.