![](\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2019.03\/thumbnail\/5c92f726dda4c8b9518b45b3.jpeg\")
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Influential progressive activist group MoveOn.org has a favor to ask 2020\u2019s army of Democratic presidential candidates: steer clear of the AIPAC conference. Do not pass Go; do not collect hefty campaign checks.<\/p>\n
The activist organization with ties to controversial billionaire George Soros called on the growing swarm of Democratic candidates to boycott the pro-Israeli lobbyist conference, long considered a rite of passage for American politicians. While AIPAC itself only spent about $3.5 million lobbying last year, its influence lies in matching wealthy donors with favored candidates, \u201cbundling<\/em>\u201d enormous sums to those it believes will do the most to advance Israel\u2019s aims stateside.<\/p>\n #2 Source: https:\/\/t.co\/Jt7uah6leC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MoveOn (@MoveOn) March 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/div>\n MoveOn listed four reasons to stay away from AIPAC, including its efforts to defeat the Iran deal \u2013 which have found a sympathetic ear in President Donald Trump \u2013 plus its Islamophobia, its refusal to condemn Republican anti-Semitism, and its tacit acceptance of Israel\u2019s long history of alleged war crimes, as well as the increasingly overt racism of the Jewish state.<\/p>\n The group specifically attacked Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for forging an alliance between his right-wing Likud Party and the even-further-right Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power Party. Citing the faction\u2019s links to the Kach party, which the State Department has declared a terrorist organization and Israel has banned entirely, MoveOn slammed Netanyahu for cozying up to the \u201cIsraeli KKK<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n While mostly symbolic, MoveOn\u2019s boycott request points to a seismic shift in American politics, with the issue once considered the \u201cthird rail<\/em>\u201d of American politics \u2013 criticizing or\u00a0even acknowledging the Israeli lobby \u2013 now becoming an asset.<\/p>\n Responses to the gesture were largely positive,<\/p>\n AIPAC is toxic. Thank you!<\/p>\n \u2014 Egalitarian ❄ (@LoveEachother14) March 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/div>\n As an Israeli-Jew, I applaud @MoveOn<\/a>‘s call on 2020 candidates to boycott AIPAC’s conference. AIPAC cynically uses the real threat of anti-semitism to silence criticism of Israeli’s atrocities against Palestinians. It is a shameful organization that doesn’t represent me. https:\/\/t.co\/NJWReIpLuf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Abraham Gutman (@abgutman) March 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/div>\n Though\u00a0some felt the candidates would choose AIPAC\u2019s cash over MoveOn\u2019s endorsement.<\/p>\n List of Dem candidates who will probably thumb their noses at MoveOn and attend anyway: Biden, Booker, Klobuchar, Harris, O’Rourke, Inslee, Gillibrand, Hickenlooper, Castro. Quislings on parade.<\/p>\n \u2014 William Blake (@_William_Blake) March 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/div>\n Others accused the Democratic party, MoveOn, or both of anti-Semitism<\/p>\n Anti-semitism is and has always been a Democrat thing. Ask Ilhan her feelings.<\/p>\n \u2014 The Comical Conservative (@joke_is_you) March 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/div>\n Such anti-semitism, you\u2019d almost think moveon was a Soros puppet organisation<\/p>\n \u2014 Stitch Jone\u2019s Surplus Helmet (@Thisismyrailgun) March 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/center><\/div>\n …and one clever Tweeter thought to check the roster<\/a> for AIPAC\u2019s \u2018Connected for Good<\/em>\u2019 conference, which lists none of the 2020 candidates \u2013 though it does include some of the loudest voices to condemn anti-Semitism, real or imagined, in the Democratic Party, including Reps. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Elizabeth Cheney (R-WY).\u00a0<\/p>\n While AIPAC has always boasted of its bipartisan influence, Democratic support for Israel is at historic lows even as Republicans remain staunchly pro-Zionist. With Netanyahu clinging closer than ever to Trump in the face of bribery scandal probes and looming elections, Democrats are finding themselves more alienated than ever from the Israeli government. A recent UN resolution condemning the Israeli sniping of unarmed Palestinian protesters has only strained the relationship further, and the willingness of freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to criticize the lobby\u2019s influence in US politics has emboldened others in the party to speak up.<\/p>\n Even if they don\u2019t keep the candidates away from the financial feeding frenzy, MoveOn\u2019s demands will \u201cgive a clear insight to 2020 candidates on where their base stands instead of prioritizing lobbying groups and policy people<\/em>,\u201d said<\/a> MoveOn campaign director Iram Ali.<\/p>\n Like this story? Share it with a friend!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
AIPAC has been known to peddle anti-Muslim and anti-Arab rhetoric while giving platforms to those involved in human rights abuses. <\/p>\n
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