J Street to spend $3 million on campaign against AIPAC-backed Republicans in the US
In the United States, the liberal Jewish Middle East advocacy group J Street announced its intention to spend $3 million on advertising against several Republican candidates backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). According to the Jerusalem Post, these will be the largest expenditures in the history of J Street’s super PAC.
The funds will be directed toward a campaign against House member Mike Collins, who is running for the US Senate from Georgia against Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. The advertising will also target incumbent House members Max Miller of Ohio, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa.
Choice of candidates
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said these politicians were selected, among other reasons, because of the competitive nature of their races, in which Democrats are seeking to gain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. According to him, the organization’s positions and those of these candidates differ significantly ideologically.
Ben-Ami also said that many of them were linked to the movement that denied the results of the 2020 US presidential election and sought to overturn them. Max Miller is seeking re-election amid allegations of domestic violence, which he denies.
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According to Ben-Ami, such an offensive campaign is unusual for J Street, which usually supports candidates but does not attack their opponents solely because of AIPAC’s support. In 2022, J Street had already opposed an AIPAC-backed candidate, but only after AIPAC made negative expenditures against a candidate supported by J Street.
AIPAC’s reaction
AIPAC criticized the campaign in a post on X, saying that J Street’s super PAC is spending millions to defeat candidates supportive of Israel and spreading falsehoods about AIPAC. An AIPAC representative said that the organization’s members are focused on supporting Democrats and Republicans who will strengthen the US-Israel partnership.
AIPAC is actively spending funds through its United Democracy Project super PAC, created ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. According to OpenSecrets, AIPAC is the largest outside spender in the current election cycle. At the same time, J Street and AIPAC have supported some of the same moderate Democrats, including House members Hakeem Jeffries and Dan Goldman.
J Street has recently been leaning toward supporting a gradual end to US military aid to Israel in 2028. Ben-Ami emphasized that the current campaign, according to him, is also intended to support candidates who fear AIPAC’s political spending.
