Daily Dose From the Pod: My Experience With AIPAC, and Its Outsized-Role in American Politics

These Daily Doses come to you from my happy place in the backyard where I sit in an Adirondack chair with my back to the lone Sequoia Sempervirens that stands guard on the Western edge of our lot here in Silicon Valley.

Each day (or so) I’m sharing a brief thought about one thing. Perhaps it’s something that’s on your mind too. And if so, we each get to know we’re in this together.

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Without further ado, here’s Today’s Daily Dose.

I came face-to-face with AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) this past winter, when I was a candidate for Congress and supported some form of ceasefire. I knew that when it was my turn to be interviewed by AIPAC, my job was to avoid raising their ire.

If you don’t know of them, AIPAC sits behind the scenes in American elections, and decides which politicians to support financially, and also, which politicians to “spend against,” whether on its own or through its affiliated political action committees (PACs) and Super PAC. The vagaries of these particular fundraising mechanisms might confuse and bore you. But it suffices to say that through some mechanism or another, AIPAC can raise and spend as much as they like to influence American elections. (And boy do they.) To read more on AIPAC’s influence, check out Politico’s recent article “AIPAC Uncorks $100 Million War Chest to Sink Progressive Candidates.”

My phone call interview with AIPAC lasted about forty-five minutes. It was just me and a genial local physician who handles AIPAC inquiries in my region. I focused on chit-chat for quite some time, so he would know I was a thoughtful listener, and also curious, smart, kind, and reasonable, before he drilled into whatever he needed to know about Julie-the-Candidate in order to decide whether AIPAC would do a negative spend on me.

About twenty minutes in, the man told me all about the organization. The salient points were:

1. AIPAC is an American organization.

2. AIPAC came into being after the Holocaust to be sure America had Israel’s back.

When it was my turn to ask some questions, I told the man that I understood and appreciated the origins of the organization and then I read back from my notes so the gentleman knew I’d been listening. I also told him I believed in Israel’s right to exist, and that my children are half-Jewish.

Then I pivoted to my values:

“You’re an American organization."

“Yes.”

“Can you help me understand how I should interpret something I’m reading in the news?”

“Of course.”

“I’m reading that AIPAC supports the re-election campaigns of over 100 members of Congress who supported the January 6 insurrection.”

“We don’t get involved in domestic politics.”

”Oh okay. But you’ve made the point that you’re an American organization. Let me try to rephrase. How does funding members of Congress who supported the January 6 insurrection help America?”

“We don’t get involved in domestic politics.”

“Well let me put it differently. How is the undermining of America’s very democracy good for Israel?”

“We don’t get involved in domestic politics.”

Just writing about my experience with AIPAC could be the nail in my coffin, should I ever seek to run for a higher office again. If that’s the price of speaking up, so be it.

Because looking back on my congressional race, I can see that I said less about Gaza and Israel than I wanted to, out of a fear of incurring the wrath of AIPAC and of the large group of wealthy Democrats in my region who are pivoting toward a more conservative and pro-Israel policy stance. It was a defensive posture. It was perhaps politically astute. But it also alienated me from me, and that kind of feeling will sit in your bones and eat away at you.

Meanwhile those progressive candidates who, unlike me, DID raise AIPAC’s ire are drowning from the deluge of money AIPAC spends to support their opponent, or on negative ads against them. Rep. Jamaal Bowman in New York’s 16th district is one of them. His Democratic opponent is being propped up by AIPAC, and Bowman’s fate will be decided tomorrow.

We should all be tired of outsized money in American politics. Of the tremendous influence of a handful of wealthy people who create organizations and funnel money through them to determine policy and election outcomes in America. We should stop it. But in order for us to stop it we need to understand it.

AIPAC is one such organization. They have a stranglehold on politicians in both parties. And as is evident from their support of January 6 insurrectionists, they don’t care what happens IN or TO America. They just want to be sure that the treasure and policies of America support Israel.

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I was relieved when AIPAC announced they were not going to get involved in my race. Alas, my congressional campaign ended in a loss anyway. After all of our bills were paid, I had a few thousand dollars left over. So I chose to give the maximum legally allowed to Susheela Jayapal, a progressive Democrat who was running for Congress in Portland Oregon, and whose primary Democratic competitor was heavily funded by AIPAC. (My legal limit was $2,000 while AIPAC was allowed to pour millions into supporting Jayapal’s pro-Israel Democratic opponent. You can read about AIPACs involvement in that race here.) Susheela lost by a 2-1 margin. I knew my meager dollars would be a drop of water in that desert. I did it on principle. And found it healing.

xo

🤗 Here’s a hug for anyone who has stood up for what they believe in lately.

🗞️ Past “Daily Doses” include a brief meditation on the dumpster fire consuming our 20th Century’s progress, which you can read here.

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