AIPAC-linked trips pour millions into Congress as US support for Israel shifts

Guardian analysis shows that since October 7, 2023, an AIPAC-affiliated charity, the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), funded at least 26 Democratic and 52 Republican lawmakers and dozens of aides to Israel in 15 delegations, spending over $4.2 million—about $26,600 per person—on luxury travel, top-tier dining, and briefings with Israeli officials, military contractors and settlement-adjacent sites. The trips, framed as educational but centered on one-sided Middle East briefings, illustrate the lobby’s long-running strategy of signaling support on Capitol Hill, aided by Aipac infrastructure despite legal separation. Amid waning Democratic public support for Israel, the report emphasizes these trips as a continuity of pro-Israel outreach rather than a new shift, highlighting the enduring influence of AIPAC and allied groups in U.S. politics.