The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is getting out of the endorsement business. In a letter to members on Wednesday, the pro-Israel lobbying group said it will no longer issue endorsements, make direct political action committee contributions or earmark funds for candidates, NPR reported. The letter said the challenges the group confronts will continue to grow in the years ahead, and that the 2028 cycle will demand an even stronger commitment from its activists.
AIPAC only entered direct electoral politics five years ago, and this midterm cycle brought mounting resistance from both the right and the left, including criticism over the wars in Gaza and Iran and candidates who said they would not accept the group’s money. Ending the endorsement list removes the most visible target: candidates will no longer carry an AIPAC endorsement or have to record donations as raised for them by AIPAC, and the group’s website will no longer carry a clickable list of endorsed candidates.
What continues is the money, in less branded forms. AIPAC said it will prioritise organised contributions from individual Americans to candidates it favours, and its affiliated super PAC, the United Democracy Project, is not covered by the change and keeps making independent expenditures. A spokesperson told JNS that AIPAC members gave more than 90 million dollars directly to candidates this cycle and that this organised giving will continue and increase, adding that the group’s mission and strategy remain the same.
The practical test is the 2028 cycle the letter points to: whether removing the endorsement label lowers the political cost to candidates of taking pro-Israel money, or whether opponents simply campaign against the super PAC spending instead.