feature story
A IPAC believes it’s getting bang for its buck.

Big time.

As of last month, the United Democracy
Project, one of the two political action commit-
tees AIPAC established last December, is the big-
gest-spending nonpartisan political committee and
the second-largest overall this cycle, dispensing more
than $26 million on its favored candidates.

Th e results: Out of nine candidates backed by UDP,
a super PAC allowed to spend unconditionally as
long as it does not coordinate with a campaign, seven
have won their primaries and two have lost.

Meanwhile, an affi liated conventional PAC — the
AIPAC PAC — raised close to $12 million by the end
of June, and of the 212 of its candidates that have
faced primaries to date, 207 have won.

“It has become crystal clear that being anti-Israel
will have a negative eff ect on a candidacy,” Patrick
Dorton, a spokesman for UDP, the super PAC, said.

Th e two PACs “have already had a signifi cant
impact, and they have helped to underscore that it
is both good policy and good politics to support the
U.S.-Israel relationship,” said Marshall Wittmann, a
spokesman for AIPAC and its AIPAC PAC.

Message sent. But the outsized spending has the
potential to roil a number of longstanding orthodox-
ies, not just about pro-Israel politics, but elections
in general.

Spending by UDP has made Israel, an issue few
BUT AT
WHAT PRICE
DOWN THE
ROAD? RON KAMPEAS | JTA
Americans are invested in, a front and center elec-
toral issue in major races. AIPAC hopes to once again
narrow a defi nition of pro-Israel that liberal groups
like J Street have succeeded in expanding in the last
15 years. And, with UDP’s focus only on Democratic
primaries, the super PAC appears to be proving that a
single-issue group is capable of shaping a party to its
preferred contours.

Th e spending has bewildered political veterans and
thrust Israel issues into the fore in places and races
where there would likely otherwise be little interest.

“Never in Detroit ever have I seen it,” Jonathan
Kinloch, who chairs the Democratic Party in
Michigan’s 13th District, one of two in the state
where UDP has spent millions on primaries, told
Th e Detroit News. “I’ve been involved since the early
1980s as a teenager. I’ve never seen in Detroit a con-
gressional race having this kind of outside money.”
In May, Th e Assembly, a North Carolina magazine,
AIPAC didn’t target prominent
Israel critic Michigan Rep.

Rashida Tlaib, left, but it
spent heavily to defeat Donna
Edwards in Maryland.

20 AUGUST 11, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
headlined its deep dive into UDP’s spending in its
state “Buying a Blue Seat.”
Until a year ago, the pro-Israel powerhouse was at
pains to explain that it was not, in fact, a PAC. Th e
PAC in its name stood for Public Aff airs Committee,
and AIPAC did not involve itself directly in elections.

AIPAC’s annual policy conferences were at pains
to present as welcoming one and all — roll calls at
the massive Monday night dinner named congressio-
nal guests that included critics of Israel. Lay leaders
sternly reminded activists never to boo anyone who
had crossed the lobby, and to always make their case
without rancor. Th e lobby was about suasion, and not
alienation, at least ostensibly.

Behind the scenes, AIPAC could be ruthless, burying
legislative initiatives that were even moderately critical
of Israel. And while AIPAC did not directly involve
itself in elections, it encouraged its donors to do so.

Th ere were big givers to both parties who were unmis-
takably identifi ed with the lobby, among them Haim
Saban, the Israeli American entertainment mogul who
backs Democrats, and Sheldon Adelson, the late casino
billionaire and GOP giver who had a close relationship
with AIPAC until a split in 2007.

Still, maintaining at least a superfi cial distance
from partisan attacks served AIPAC well for decades.

But Dorton explained that the shift ing political land-
scape necessitated a direct entry into the fray.

For one thing, political winds change much faster
than in the past, and relying on others to shift donor
attention to an election AIPAC deemed critical was
not cutting it anymore. UDP made AIPAC more
nimble, Dorton said.

“Th ere are short windows in these races, and it’s
important to get a message out, and in a matter of
weeks,” he said.

Another factor is the growing infl uence of an
Israel-critical wing among progressives in the
Democratic Party. A small but vocal number of
left -wing Democrats in Congress briefl y held up a
vote on defense assistance for Israel last year aft er
the country’s confl ict with Hamas in Gaza, a public
display that once would have been unthinkable aft er
scenes of Israelis running for shelter. Insiders say
progressives are slow-walking approval for defense
expenditures through Congress and subjecting the
demands to increased scrutiny.

Keeping Democrats on board with AIPAC’s agenda
is critical to its bipartisan ethos, Dorton stressed.

“Th ere was rising concern in the pro-Israel com-
munity about candidates for Congress who held
radical anti-Israel views,” Dorton said. “What we’re
trying to do is build the broadest bipartisan pro-
Israel coalition in Congress possible.”
JOAQUIN CORBALAN / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
AIPAC’S HUGE INVESTMENT IN PRIMARY CAMPAIGNS IS PAYING OFF