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An analysis conducted by the British newspaper The Guardian, of data related to election campaigns in the United States, revealed that members of Congress who showed stronger support for Israel at the beginning of its war on Gaza stripThey received an average of $100,000 from pro-Israel donors during the last elections, more than their competitors, most of whom supported Palestine.
She explained that those who received money were those who often called on the US government to provide military support to Israel and stand by its side in its war on Gaza, even in light of the high civilian death toll in the Palestinian Strip.
Experts in the field of election campaign finance who reviewed the data believe that donor spending contributed to the massive increase in Congress’ support for Israel.
The analysis compared the contributions made by pro-Israel groups and individuals to almost every member of the current Congress, with the statements issued by each of their legislators about the war in Gaza until mid-November.
Supporting the occupation massacres
The Guardian reported that about 82% of members of Congress were more supportive of Israel, while only 9% showed their support for Palestine during the same period, while the rest had “divergent” opinions.
The newspaper revealed that legislators classified as pro-Israel received $125,000 on average during their recent election campaigns, while those loyal to Palestine received about $18,000 on average.
The newspaper added that the volume and breadth of donor spending was large, as the current members of Congress received a total of $58 million, and all but 33 of them received donations.
The Guardian quoted University of Chicago political science professor John Mearsheimer – who co-authored the book “The Israeli Lobby and American Foreign Policy” – as saying that “the results of these data reflect the reality of American policy towards Israel.”
Mearsheimer added, “If there had not been a political pressure group (lobby) pushing Congress in a certain direction and in a really strong way, its position on the war in Gaza would have been radically different.”
Various contributions
According to the Guardian report, donor contributions have different goals depending on the member of Congress himself.
Sarah Bryner, spokeswoman for Open Secrets, which tracks spending on American election campaigns, says that donations may be of a “defensive” nature or aim to increase support for their allies in Congress who share their funders’ support for Israel.
However, campaign finance observers and political strategists who reviewed the data believe that donations could also be “offensive” in nature, or aimed at persuading a lawmaker to adopt a position supportive of Israel.
The donors fought their most prominent battles with a small group of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives, known as the “Squad,” among them Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who are among the most vocal critics of Israel.
According to The Guardian, the statements made by three MPs – Don Bacon, Dan Kildee and Andre Carson – following the Islamic Resistance Movement attack (agitation) on Israel on October 7, helps explain the varying degrees of donations and responses of representatives in Congress.
Loyal to Israel
The three representatives initially strongly condemned the perpetrators of the attack, and expressed their “deep” sympathy for the victims, but their messages quickly varied.
While Bacon, who received a donation worth $250,000, expressed his full support for Israel, Carlson (who received only $3,000) criticized it, while Kildee – who received $91,000 – chose to take a position between the positions of his two colleagues, as he stressed the Israel preserved its security and its right to respond, while expressing its “deep concern about the killing of thousands of Palestinians due to Israeli air strikes.”
The most prominent campaign funder among 33 pro-Israel groups is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Democratic Majority for Israel, and J Street.
The former US President addressed Barack Obama In his 2020 memoir, he detailed the threat AIPAC poses to Israel’s critics, who risk being labeled “anti-Israel” and perhaps anti-Semitic, pitting them against well-funded opponents in elections, he said.
