Poll: Right-Wing Pro-Israel Lobbying Group AIPAC Losing Influence

Avaaz released the poll as AIPAC finished its annual conference, attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State John Kerry. In a press release, Ian Bassin, Avaaz Campaign Director, says: From the outside, AIPACs annual conference had all the trappings of its bipartisan, kingmaker status in Washington: hundreds of members of Congress, rousing multimedia presentations and even a gospel choir. But after losing high profile battles … this poll shows a growing number of the Washington establishment see a damaging, partisan lobby on the decline. The poll, which was conducted in late February, came on the heels of AIPAC’s failed attempts to drive foreign policy with Iran. On January 20, an interim agreement forged by Iran and six major powers, including the United States, came into effect. The agreement requires the U.S. and other nations to ease some sanctions, while Iran halts some of its nuclear activities. However, AIPAC leaders have claimed that diplomacy with Iran during the interim period is insufficient and pushed for greater sanctions, a move that many warn could escalate the situation into a war. Despite President Obama and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s warnings to Congress that additional sanctions would derail diplomacy, AIPAC threw its support behind the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act, a law that included harsh sanctions and a stipulation that the United States would provide military support to Israel if it acted in self-defense. The law eventually stalled in Congress, the first time since the Reagan-era that AIPAC lost a major battle with the White House. Additional responses to Avaaz’s poll indicate that respondents see AIPAC and its involvement in foreign affairs negatively. Forty percent of respondents expressing an opinion felt that AIPAC’s influence decreases the chance for a resolution in the Israel/​Palestinian conflict, only 27 percent felt that AIPAC increases the chance of a resolution. Seventy-four percent of the respondents who expressed an opinion said they had seen members of Congress vote contrary to the U.S. national interest at least once as a result of AIPAC’s influence. Respondents also saw AIPAC as a partisan organization, with those viewing it as Republican-leaning outnumbering those seeing it as Democratic-leaning by more than 2 to 1. Avaaz’s press release cites numerous other recent sources questioning AIPAC’s power, such as the New York Times and the Jerusalem Post. Moreover, Americans are speaking out against AIPAC and politicians’ willingness to dance to its tune. Following the discovery of a secret meeting between AIPAC and the newly elected mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, Jewish New Yorkers issued an open letter, asserting, “AIPAC does not speak for us.”