Does AIPAC decide US policy towards Israel? – People’s World

Projected on screens, then-Vice President Joe Biden gesticulates during a speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference held on March 4, 2013 in Washington, DC. | Susan Walsh / AP

There is much talk these days about the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on U.S. government policy. Some opponents of the Gaza war say that without AIPAC’s influence, the United States would not support Israel.

Certainly, AIPAC is a powerful lobbying group that uses its financial power to influence U.S. policy. However, it is not difficult to find people circulating the Internet with claims that AIPAC is a modern-day manifestation of an ancient Jewish cabal that secretly controls the world. This is madness and has no relation to reality.

The fact is that AIPAC itself is not the problem; rather, it is a symptom of a problem.

AIPAC is one of many lobbying groups that use their financial resources to persuade our government to adopt policies that only serve narrow interests. It is true that AIPAC insists that the United States continue to supply weapons to Israel, but so do Lockheed-Martin, Boeing and other defense contractors, not to mention many other companies that stand to profit from Israel’s genocidal war.

A decade of corporate influence over campaign finance and lobbying legislation has led to a situation of institutionalized bribery in the US. Anyone with money can use it to try to buy the loyalty of politicians – from local city officials to the president. In all sectors, lobbyists pay politicians to push agendas that increase their industry’s profits and make the rich richer.

According to OpenSecrets.org, a lobbying tracking website, the healthcare industry spent the most money buying politicians in 2023. Nearly $200 million was burned to get lawmakers to ignore the fact that the vast majority of Americans support affordable health care.

The financial and insurance industries have spent more than $150 million buying support for their companies, ensuring Congress continues to enact policies that favor banks and large corporations over the American public.

The defense industry has spent nearly $40 million to ensure that the annual defense budget continues to grow and that Washington continues to support wars around the world, such as those in Ukraine and Gaza.

How are AIPAC’s efforts stacking up?

In 2023, AIPAC spent just over $3 million to buy political support for Israel. While this is undoubtedly a large sum of money compared to all the money spent by lobbyists as a whole, it is quite small. The weapons manufacturers, who spent more than 13 times as much money as AIPAC, probably played a bigger role in promoting the war than the “pro-Israel lobby.”

None of this excuses AIPAC’s role in encouraging American politicians to support war, apartheid and, of course, Israeli war crimes. AIPAC is pushing nefarious policies and it is important to call them out. However, ceasefire activists are not allowed to leave the forest for the sake of the trees; the problem is that in the US, the capitalist class can legally use their wealth to buy the laws and policies they want (or sink the ones they don’t want).

It is also important to be on guard against anti-Semites (both Zionist and non-Zionist) who attempt to manipulate well-intended opposition to Israel’s genocidal war to push their agenda by claiming that either: A.) Jews control the world or B. ), that there is no place for Jews in the world and they must create a Jewish nation-state at the expense of the Palestinian people.

It’s time to get the big money out of politics completely, regardless of who spends it.

As with all columns published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.

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