AIPAC gives lawmakers a green light to criticize Israel over annexation

Does AIPAC support Israel’s leadership at all costs, or does it draw a line on actions it believes endangers the Jewish state’s future?

WASHINGTON — The leading pro-Israel lobby in the United States is telling lawmakers that they are free to criticize Israel’s looming annexation plans — just as long as the criticism stops there.

Two sources — a congressional aide and a donor — say the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, is delivering that guidance in Zoom meetings and phone calls with lawmakers. The message is unusual because the group assiduously discourages public criticism of Israel.

But these are unusual times: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set a July 1 deadline to annex parts of the West Bank, over the criticism of people at home and abroad who say the move would set back any efforts to bring peace to the region.

With anxiety pervading the US Jewish community ahead of that deadline, AIPAC faces a thorny question: Does it support Israel’s leadership at all costs, or does it draw a line on actions it believes endangers the Jewish state’s future?

So far, the group has remained publicly silent. But in private, AIPAC is telling lawmakers that as long as they don’t push to limit the United States’ aid to Israel, they can criticize the annexation plan without risking future support from the lobby group.

How far AIPAC is urging lawmakers to go is unclear. A spokesman would not comment except to point to a May 11 statement warning against proposals to reduce ties with Israel should annexation take place. “Doing anything to weaken this vital relationship would be a mistake,” AIPAC said then.

Buried in the same statement, however, is explicit support for a two-state solution, which annexation would inhibit, and a suggestion that criticizing Israel is valid. “It is inevitable that there will be areas of political or policy disagreement between leaders on both sides — as there are between America and all our allies,” the statement said.

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/aipac-gives-lawmakers-a-green-light-to-criticize-israel-over-annexation-631026