As AIPAC kicks off its 2019 conference in Washington, D.C., it is worth reviewing some basic statistics about this pro-Israel lobbying group.
According to Open Secrets, AIPAC spent $3.5 million on lobbying in 2018, slightly more than the $3.4 million it spent in 2017. This is a relatively small number compared to the anti-Israel Open Society Foundation (OSF) which spent $31.5 million in 2018 – NINE TIMES what AIPAC spent. That figure is also almost four times the $16 million that OSF spent on US lobbying in 2017. This huge jump in lobbying dollars may coincide with George Soros’s transfer of $18 BILLION into OSF, making it the second largest “charity”/ largest lobbying group in the United States. (By calling itself a charity instead of a lobbying group, Soros was able to avoid paying any capital gains on the billions of investment dollars in his hedge fund.)
In addition to its work lobbying the US government, the OSF directly funds many anti-Israel organizations according to NGO Monitor, including Adalah, Breaking the Silence, Ir Amim and Al-Haq.
That’s just one giant far left-wing lobbying group countering most of AIPAC’s agenda.
The left-wing J Street has likewise repeatedly fought the current Israeli administration and lobbied aggressively against it, and spent more money lobbying Congress in 2018 than AIPAC, a total of $4 million. Not one dollar of J Street went to Republican candidates, which is not surprising as it is really an alternative to the Republic Jewish Coalition, not a broad-based bipartisan group like AIPAC.
When it comes to foreign countries lobbying the US government, the number one country was South Korea, spending $82.5 million in 2018. I do not recall hearing any of the Democratic candidates for president who ran to the defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s remarks about AIPAC talking about South Korea.
Perhaps that is because foreign governments and their companies are mostly lobbying about trade deals which are critical for their economies. The top governments lobbying the US are:
South Korea
Bermuda
Japan
Ireland
Israel
Marshall Islands
Bahamas
Saudi Arabia
Qatar
China
That’s Israel at number five- behind Bermuda and Ireland.
But the liberal media will print articles about the pro-Israel lobby as if it’s a right-wing money machine – even though AIPAC doesn’t give money to candidates while J Street and the OSF do. It will try to defend Ilhan Omar’s AIPAC lobbying comments, while refusing to actually point out that it’s the left-wing groups like OSF and J Street that are really powerful and spending the money to trash Israel.
Perhaps the New York Times is getting money from J Street and George Soros too?
The bipartisan group AIPAC spends less on lobbying than the far left-wing J Street, and a small fraction of what George Soros’s Open Society spends on US lobbyists. The Democratic machine has taken notice what the money spigot is demanding and is taking their anti-Israel talking points to line their pockets. Not that the media will tell you what’s actually going on. #AlternativeFacts
Related First.One.Through articles:
J Street is a Partisan Left-Wing Group, NOT an Alternative to AIPAC
Ilhan Omar Isn’t Debating Israeli Policy, She is Attacking Americans
J Street’s Select Appreciation of Transparency
J Street: Going Bigger and Bolder than BDS
Enduring Peace versus Peace Now
The Anger from the Zionist Center
The Democratic Party is Tacking to the Far Left-Wing Anti-Semitic Fringe
The Evil Architects at J Street Take a Bow
A Basic Lesson of How to be Supportive
The Impossible Liberal Standard
Liberals’ Biggest Enemies of 2015
The Real “Symbol of the Conflict” is Neta Sorek
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“According to Open Secrets, AIPAC spent $3.5 million on lobbying in 2018, slightly more than the $3.4 million it spent in 2017. This is a relatively small number compared to the anti-Israel Open Society Foundation (OSF) which spent $31.5 million in 2018 – almost twice what AIPAC spent. ”
Either the math is wrong or the numbers are.
$31.5 is far more than “double” $3.5, it’s nine times as much. Is the wrote in the $31.5 or in double?
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corrected- reads NINE TIMES
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Fantastic. I can see in my own post it says “wrote” instead of “error”. Autocorrect, sigh.
Supporters and apologists for Ilhan Omar claim tat she is opening a dialogue about AIPAC maybe having “too much” influence, but I think that the real dialogue needs to about why any Jewish influence is apparently seen as a problem. Even saying “too much” implies that there should be a limit, and that it has been violated.
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