Pro-Israel groups are asking for clarification from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), after the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) chairwoman said that the group might stop endorsing candidates who take Super PAC money.
“The other thing we’re really looking at is do we need to have some kind of a change in endorsement based on whether somebody accepts this kind of giant PAC money, whether it’s from the crypto billionaires or whether it’s from DMFI [Democratic Majority for Israel],” Jayapal told Punchbowl News.
Ironically Jayapal made the comments while discussing the backlash over the CPC’s endorsement of Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH), a House member who has taken money from crypto billionaires and DMFI. The CPC backed progressive candidate Nina Turner in last year’s special election, but switched to Brown this year when the two squared off again in the Democratic primary. Brown beat Turner by just six points in 2021, but prevailed by almost 33 this time around. According to Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), who is chair emeritus at the CPC, no one voted against Brown during the endorsement process. The CPC has almost one hundred members.
Although Jayapal didn’t single out pro-Israel groups specifically, advocates for the country have jumped on her remarks. DMFI president, and Yair Lapid strategic adviser, Mark Mellman told Jewish Insider that, “Reforming our campaign finance system as a whole is a laudable goal, but I don’t think the progressive caucus is going to want to allow endorsees to ‘accept’ anti-Israel money, but then turn around and discriminate against pro-Israel Democratic money, especially since they’d be repudiating a core element of the Democratic platform and the Biden-Harris agenda, which is support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.”
It’s unclear what Mellman means by “anti-Israel money” and, despite his assertion that Brown supports the “Biden-Harris agenda”, she’s joined a Democratic effort to undermine the administration’s attempt at resurrect the Iran nuclear deal.
The DMFI PAC spent almost $2 million on ads for Shontel Brown during the 2021 cycle. Progressive organizations that helped finance Turner’s campaign the first time around decided to sit the recent election out based on what kind of money they were up against. “Nina is a giant in the progressive movement and we’re proud to have gone all in for her campaign last year,” the progressive PAC Justice Democrats told The Intercept. “The reality is our organization has to be strategic about our priorities as we are getting massively outgunned by Republican donors funneling millions to SuperPACs like AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee] and DMFI [Democratic Majority for Israel] against our existing candidates.”
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt also addressed Jayapal’s comments. “There are many pro-Israel and progressive Members of Congress; those commitments are no way in conflict,” he tweeted. “Rep. Jayapal needs to clarify her remarks here, because singling out pro-Israel groups would be deeply problematic.”
Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) president Lara Friedman responded to Greenblatt on Twitter. “Greenblatt appears to have adopted a policy of attacking ANY critical mention of Israel on the Hill as illegitimate/anti-Israel/antisemitic [singling out=antisemitism for the ADL],” she wrote. “Even if he has to misrepresent what was said. Jayapal quite literally didn’t single out any group.”
This cycle the CPC has also endorsed Summer Lee, a community organizer and state representative, who is running for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 12th district. Lee supports conditioning aid to Israel and opposes anti-BDS laws. “When I hear American pols use the refrain ‘Israel has the right to defend itself’ in response to undeniable atrocities on a marginalized population, I can’t help but think of how the west has always justified indiscriminate and disproportionate force and power on weakened and marginalized people,” she tweeted during Israel’s 2021 bombing of Gaza. “The US has never shown leadership in safeguarding human rights of folks its othered But as we fight against injustice here in the movement for black lives we must stand against injustice everywhere. Inhumanities against the Palestinian people cannot be tolerated or justified.”
Steve Irwin, a local lawyer and one of Lee’s primary opponents, has criticized her over the tweet. “Israel is not perfect, but Israel is a democracy,” he said recently. AIPAC’s new Super PAC has jumped into the race, airing an ad that paints Lee as divisive. The ad does not mention Israel.
Greenblatt is so full of shit! “Singling out Israel”? Jayapal mentioned one pro-Israel PAC AND all crypto billionaires! That’s not exactly “singling out Israel”. His only problem is that a single-issue donor representing ONLY Israel was mentioned in the first place.
He and ilk love to wield their power and influence in DC and State Legislatures like a sword, yet lose their collective shit when someone actually mentions it or points out their overt foreign influence.
While I am very suspicious of anyone who has made billions off crypto- as opposed to using it to make donations to entities that the enemy has banned from their banking system- it’s ridiculous to compare rich crypto speculators to literal supporters of genocide like the DMFI.
I am guessing that to avoid negative publicity if such a rule is created it will be with a wide brush. Which will mean candidates will be at a funding disadvantage in a primary against an opponent who doesn’t go for the CPC nod.
Because of that my super principled position is as follows. PAC money is dirty and comes with strings attached. What America needs is politicians who are not indebted to corporations and special interests. I, for one, support the CPC not endorsing candidates who accept PAC money.