Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the AIPAC Conference Image by Getty Images

A liberal organization is asking Democratic presidential candidates not to attend this year’s AIPAC policy conference, Politico reported.

MoveOn, a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee, said that AIPAC is too close to the Israeli government, run by Benjamin Netanyahu, and has a history of Islamophobia.

“It’s no secret that that AIPAC has worked to hinder diplomatic efforts like the Iran deal, is undermining Palestinian self-determination, and inviting figures actively involved in human rights violations to its stage,” Iram Ali, campaign director at MoveOn Political Action, wrote in a statement to Politico.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

It’s unknown if any candidates are planning to attend the annual conference, which is on Sunday.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a bipartisan lobbying group and one of the largest pro-Israel groups in Washington. It doesn’t donate money to candidates or have a political action committee.

Last month, Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota accused AIPAC of bribing politicians to support Israel, a comment that was called anti-Semitic.

MoveOn called for the boycott after most of its members approved of it in an online survey. Prior to the survey was comments noting AIPAC’s “anti-Muslim and anti-Arab rhetoric while giving platforms to Islamophobes.”

Alyssa Fisher is a writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount