'AIPAC an existential threat to all democracies': US PA Rep.
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Known for her criticism of the current Israeli government, US Representative Summer Lee was targeted by AIPAC in the previous year's elections and remains a focus for the upcoming ones.
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U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) speaks in support of a Gaza ceasefire as Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) (left) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) (right) look on outside the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. on October 20, 2023. (Summer Lee/X)
Amid escalating tensions surrounding the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza, Representative Summer Lee (D-Pa.) accused the pro-Israeli group AIPAC of "textbook racism" and being "a significant threat to the Black community" in private Facebook posts last month, Politico reported.
Known for her criticism of the current Israeli government, Lee was targeted by AIPAC in the previous year's elections and remains a focus for the upcoming ones.
Narratives like this are intentionally spread to drive a wedge between marginalized communities and undermine authentic solidarity +allyship
— Summer Lee (@SummerForPA) December 18, 2023
But also, true solidarity isn't transactional. These attempts to shame the Blk community into unconditional support are problematic. Stop. https://t.co/Lw7O57J4pP
In the wake of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, she was among the first lawmakers to advocate for a ceasefire, drawing criticism from some Facebook followers who argued that AIPAC withdrew support due to her perceived pro-Palestinian stance.
In response to a comment, she expressed the following, “I understand that faces don’t always matter to you and the Black community’s needs definitely don’t matter to you ... but what AIPAC does to me is textbook anti blackness.”
Support for our Palestinian siblings currently under bombardment or under occupation and support for our Jewish siblings is not mutually exclusive, particularly when your objective is a just and lasting peace for all.
— Summer Lee (@SummerForPA) December 18, 2023
It's insulting to us all to imply otherwise.
In a separate post, she remarked, “AIPAC is not supporting those Black candidates to be supportive of their community’s needs if the only issue it cares about is their own. That’s textbook racism actually.”
In mid-November, she provided a status update on her personal Facebook, sharing an article indicating that AIPAC was targeting her and other members who share common beliefs. In her comment, she asserted, “Since no one else will say it, I will: AIPAC is an existential threat to the Black community and its right to self [determination].”
AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann labeled Lee's remarks as "slanderous" and a “transparent attempt to hide her strident anti-Israel record.” He claimed that AIPAC has consistently backed candidates from diverse racial backgrounds, including a majority of the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses in 2022.
“I stand by my assertion,” she said.
In a statement provided to Huddle, Lee referred to AIPAC as “an existential threat to all of democracy.”
“Any Republican-funded Super PAC that endorsed over 100 January 6-supporting Republicans who voted to overturn our election and shared a goal with a mob of armed white supremacists while spending $5 million in attack ads darkening my face and labeling me as a Trump/[Marjorie Taylor Greene] supporter in order to keep Black folks from showing up to vote … is racist,” she added.
IOF spox tells AIPAC: 'The scenes out of Gaza will be hard to stomach'
In a related development, the Israeli occupation army has lately requested that the AIPAC Zionist lobby in the US support its ongoing atrocities in Gaza when the "ugly" scenes from Gaza start to surface.
Referring to the ongoing aggression on Gaza and the Israeli plans of forced displacement, a spokesperson for the Israeli occupation military told the organization in a video conference call on October 14 that "the scenes out of Gaza will be hard to stomach," and once these scenes come out, that it is the time when "Tel Aviv" would need the support of parties that want to "stand up for what's right."
In the same context, AIPAC has lately argued openly with many congressional critics, including Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and affiliated groups that the organization is likely to spend more than $100 million on primary elections next year in a bid to unseat Democratic members they believe are too loud about Palestinian rights.
Former Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) told The New Yorker in 2014 that “any member of Congress knows that AIPAC is associated indirectly with significant amounts of campaign spending if you’re with them, and significant amounts against you if you’re not with them," explaining that many issues are not a question of US interest but rather "how is AIPAC going to score this?"
Himes also explained during his October meeting that he did not support a ceasefire because he was unconvinced that there was any other way Hamas would be held accountable but explained that his theme was to make sure "Israel's" response is "moderated, that they abide by the laws of armed conflict, that they come off of their rhetoric of leveling Gaza, of a siege, and that everything be done with an eye towards what is right from a humanitarian standpoint.”
Speaking about Netanyahu, the lawmaker stated that he "has been doing pretty much everything he can to make that an impossibility. And, of course, that’s a part of the reason why the rage and anger rose to the levels that it did."
Read next: Palestine vs Ukraine: How Pro-Israeli lobbies ensure a double standard
