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The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has been spending tens of millions of dollars on political races during the current election cycle, aiming to defeat progressive candidates who are critical of Israel and who express support for Palestinians. Many voters might not even be aware of this, because AIPAC-funded ads and mailers often omit any mention of Israel, even though fostering U.S. support for Israel and electing pro-Israel candidates are among the group’s driving aims.

AIPAC’s lobbying and electoral network has so far spent $67.2 million during the current election cycle, up from $29.3 million during the 2021-2022 cycle. These huge amounts of spending have been dedicated to trying to defeat candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Aisha Wahab in California, Melat Kiros in Colorado, and many others.

AIPAC has a range of affiliated and aligned Super PACs and other entities. Some of the most significant ones are AIPAC PAC, the group’s political action committee, which raises money to contribute directly to candidates; United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, which raises and spends much more money on elections independently; and Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) PAC, which is aligned with AIPAC and specifically focuses on Democratic races.

While there are many donors to AIPAC’s electoral influence operation, a small handful of billionaire megadonors — Wall Street tycoons, international moguls, oil and gas barons, sports franchise owners, and others — provide a hugely disproportionate amount of the donations to the key AIPAC and AIPAC-aligned super PACs to intervene in primary and general elections.

AIPAC’s massive electoral spending comes at a time when support for Israel is plummeting in the U.S., especially among Democrats, amid the genocide in Gaza, intensifying settler attacks in the West Bank, and decades of illegal occupation.

AIPAC Poured Over $1M Into House Race for Term That Will Last Just 3 Months

Wall Street Billionaires

One of the top donors to AIPAC’s efforts is Paul Singer, a hedge fund tycoon currently worth around $7 billion. From 2022 to 2026, Singer has given a whopping $5.6 million to the United Democracy Project super PAC, including $2.6 million during the current election cycle.

Singer is the founder and co-CEO of Elliott Management, an infamous “vulture investor” that targets distressed companies and indebted nations to aggressively extract profits. Elliott Management’s portfolio includes stakes in major companies such as Phillips 66, Suncor Energy, Southwest Airlines, and Etsy.

Singer is also a longtime big donor to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, an influential conservative think tank, where he is currently chairman emeritus after serving many years as chairman. (Right-wing billionaire donor and former Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos is now the Manhattan Institute’s chairman.)

AIPAC’s huge amounts of spending have been dedicated to trying to defeat candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Aisha Wahab in California, Melat Kiros in Colorado, and many others.

AIPAC’s huge amounts of spending have been dedicated to trying to defeat candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Aisha Wahab in California, Melat Kiros in Colorado, and many others.

Singer is a huge GOP donor, having splurged tens of millions of dollars backing Republicans in federal elections, including millions to President Donald Trump. All told, Singer has spent at least $52.5 million so far on the current midterm elections.

Through his philanthropic arm, Singer also donates enormous sums to police groups like the New York City Police Foundation, a nonprofit that subsidizes the New York City Police Department,........

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