On October 16, 2025, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) released a new advertisement, declaring itself an organization “funded by Americans, directed by Americans,” and intent on strengthening an alliance that “benefits America.” The ad, which posed the question, “You may have heard our name, but how much do you really know about AIPAC?,” marked a notable shift in tone for the influential pro-Israel lobbying group. Long accustomed to projecting power, AIPAC now finds itself on the defensive, facing mounting skepticism from both sides of the American political spectrum.
According to reporting by The Nation, this defensive posture is driven in large part by a dramatic shift in public opinion, especially among younger Republicans. A March 2025 Pew Poll found that 50% of GOP voters under age 50 now hold a negative view of Israel—a sharp rise from 35% in 2022. This change, the poll suggests, is partly a response to what a growing number of international bodies, human rights organizations, and genocide scholars have labeled as genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), more than a year ago, deemed South Africa’s case against Israel for genocide “plausible.” Since then, over 60,000 Palestinians have died and 1.9 million have been displaced, with more than 600,000 experiencing famine by the end of September 2025, according to international food-aid organizations and corroborated by The Nation.
Such harrowing statistics have not gone unnoticed. In early September, the International Association of Genocide Scholars voted overwhelmingly—86%—to declare that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide. The United Nations’ own Commission of Inquiry, along with groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have echoed these conclusions. Yet, as the humanitarian crisis deepens, the political response in Washington remains fraught and divided.
On the right, the relationship between the GOP and Israel—once seemingly unshakeable—has begun to fracture. Conservative commentators, including Tucker Carlson, have openly questioned the U.S.-Israel alliance. Carlson’s viral summer interview with Senator Ted Cruz saw him pressing the Texas lawmaker on why AIPAC lobbyists are not required to register as foreign agents. Meanwhile, figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have publicly condemned their party’s unwavering support for Israel, referring to the Gaza situation as genocide. In August, AIPAC targeted Greene in a fundraising email, accusing her of “betraying American values.” Greene was quick to fire back on social media, asserting, “AIPAC 1,000,000% serves and lobbies for a foreign country, Israel!!”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has taken these developments seriously. In September 2025, he convened a private meeting with pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC, to discuss the growing “isolationist sentiment” within the GOP. As Phil Weiss wrote for The Nation, “The right-wing awakening is a big problem for the Israel lobby. It has lost traction in the Democratic Party because the base despises Israel, and candidates such as Zohran Mamdani are running against Israeli genocide, and a growing faction of politicians seeks to end military aid to the apartheid country.”
Yet, if the right is fracturing, the left is embroiled in its own crisis of conscience. Nowhere is this more evident than within the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), often lauded as the “conscience of Congress.” Despite its historic advocacy for civil rights and outspoken opposition to other genocides, the CBC has remained largely silent on the Gaza crisis. As of October 2025, the caucus has not issued a formal condemnation or called for a ceasefire regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza. This silence is striking, given the chorus of international voices labeling Israel’s campaign as genocide.
Part of the explanation, as The Nation details, lies in AIPAC’s deep financial ties to the CBC. In the 2023–24 election cycle alone, AIPAC endorsed 26 CBC members, raising $4.6 million for them and an additional $3.5 million for Black Democratic candidates. More than half of the CBC’s 61 members have been endorsed or funded by AIPAC. The lobbying group spent nearly $4 billion in the 2024 congressional cycle, with over 80% of Congress receiving money from them. This financial muscle has real political consequences, especially for lawmakers who dare to dissent.
Consider the case of Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat. In May 2023, Bowman cosponsored a resolution to ensure U.S. funds to Israel would not be used to harm Palestinian children. For this, he faced a $15 million AIPAC-backed primary challenge in the 2023–24 cycle and ultimately lost his seat. Bowman told The Nation, “As people who come from [a history of oppression], we have the moral authority to push back on AIPAC’s agenda. We are against genocide. We are against the starvation of children. We are against harming innocent people in any context.” He described the relentless pressure from AIPAC: “When you go against one of their pieces of legislation, depending on what it is, they will e-mail you, relentlessly call you, relentlessly protest outside of your office, and stop you from even being able to do your job.”
Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri faced a similar fate. After sponsoring a ceasefire resolution in October 2023, AIPAC spent $8.6 million to replace her in 2024. According to OpenSecrets, this was a nearly 5,000 percent increase in spending against Bush compared to 2022. Such campaigns have sent a chilling message to other lawmakers: criticizing Israel can cost your career.
Progressive organizations have urged CBC leadership, including House Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, to intervene. However, Jeffries—himself endorsed by AIPAC—and the CBC’s leadership have largely remained silent as pro-Israel interests have targeted their own members. This silence is particularly glaring when contrasted with the CBC’s activism against South African apartheid, the Darfur genocide, and the Armenian genocide, where caucus members were vocal and united.
Meanwhile, public opinion among Black Americans diverges sharply from the political status quo. A December 2023 Carnegie poll found that 95% of Black Americans “rejected the idea of showing ‘unwavering support’ for Israel.” Nearly half believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, and 68% support an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Yet, as The Nation observes, “A ceasefire resolution that does not name genocide does not reflect a politics grounded in conscience—it is an expedient political cover of the lowest order.”
In an effort to shape the narrative, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) has promoted the October 7th Remembrance Education Act, backed by 16 Democrats and 4 Republicans. The bill, supported by the Anti-Defamation League, would create a curriculum about the October 7 attacks and antisemitism, explicitly linking it to anti-BDS efforts and the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. Critics argue that such measures aim to suppress criticism of Israel in classrooms, rather than foster open dialogue about the root causes of the conflict.
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues, the political landscape in the U.S. is being reshaped by both grassroots activism and the formidable power of lobbying groups like AIPAC. The Congressional Black Caucus, once a beacon of moral clarity, now finds itself at a crossroads—caught between its legacy of civil rights advocacy and the realities of contemporary political fundraising. The question remains: will its leaders heed the call for justice, or remain silent in the face of one of the 21st century’s gravest humanitarian crises?
