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

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount