The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is launching a new series of ads on Tuesday targeting the Senate Democrats who voted in favor of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) motions last week to withhold military aid to Israel.
The six-figure ad buy targets 11 states on television and on social media with senators who backed the measures, which overwhelmingly failed in the Senate. Sanders has previously introduced similar unsuccessful measures to block aid to Israel amid the country’s war with Hamas and criticism of its handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Politico first reported the ad buy.
The two measures were intended to block a total of $8.8 billion in heavy bombs and other munitions to Israel.
Along with Sanders, the senators who voted in favor of the measures were Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Maizie Hirono (Hawaii), Tim Kaine (Va.), Andy Kim (N.J.), Ben Ray Lujan (N.M.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Chris Murphy (Conn.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Tina Smith (Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Peter Welch (Vt.).
The vote followed the end of a two-month-long ceasefire last month with Israel resuming its offensive in Gaza, arguing that Hamas has refused to release the remaining hostages that have been held there since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the country.
“Bernie Sanders is jeopardizing the safety and security of the Jewish state as it fights a seven-front war against Iran and Iranian-backed terrorists,” said AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittman. “These ads will educate constituents of the senators who voted with Bernie Sanders to undermine America’s partnership with our democratic ally.”
Sanders specifically referenced AIPAC during his remarks on the Senate floor ahead of introducing the vote on his measures last week. He said the current campaign finance system causes Democrats to have to worry about “billionaires who fund AIPAC.”
“If you vote against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his horrific war in Gaza, AIPAC will punish you with millions of dollars in advertisements to see that you’re defeated,” he said.
“And I must confess that AIPAC has been successful. Last year, they defeated two members of the U.S. House who opposed providing military aide to Netanyahu’s extremist government,” he continued, referencing the primary losses by former Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) last year to challengers supported by AIPAC, among other pro-Israel groups.
Support for Israel has become an increasingly divisive issue since the Oct. 7 attacks.
A Gallup poll released last month showed sympathy for Israel continuing a decline over the past few years, with 46 percent saying they’re more sympathetic to Israelis than Palestinians. But that’s still more than the 33 percent who said they’re more sympathetic to the Palestinians.
The decline was largely a result of declining sympathies among Democrats for Israelis, with just 21 percent saying they sympathize more with them and 59 percent saying they sympathize more with the Palestinians.
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