AIPAC is trying to derail my House campaign because I’m a Jew who defies Israel

Illinois State Sen. Robert Peters speaks during a protest in Chicago to hold AT&T accountable for contracts with DHS, CBP, and ICE on Nov. 16, 2025. Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for People’s Action

In November 2023, I stood outside the Israeli Consulate in Chicago with hundreds of my fellow Jews to demand a ceasefire that would free the hostages and end Israel’s war in Gaza.

Almost two and a half years later, the hostages have been released, and the war in Gaza is supposedly over, thanks to a ceasefire agreement finally brokered in October — although the Israeli military continues to kill civilians in Gaza on a regular basis. I’m running for Congress in Illinois’ 2nd District. And the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is dumping millions of dollars into this race to try to beat me.

I’m not alone: AIPAC is pumping money into four congressional races in Illinois, with the goal of electing candidates who refuse to utter a single criticism of Israel. Two of the candidates they’re targeting between those races, myself and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, are Jews who are critical of Israel. Groups like AIPAC are concerned that if Jewish people like us can speak out against Israel and still win elections, then others who may have been nervously hanging back may feel like they can take bolder action as well.

Eventually, that could spell the end of the almost unlimited flow of United States tax dollars to pay for bombs and jets for the Israel Defense Forces.

They’re right that my candidacy poses a threat. I’ve pledged to sign on to support Rep. Delia Ramirez’s “Block the Bombs Act,” which would limit U.S. weapons sales to Israel. And I’ve said I believe the U.S. must enforce the Leahy Laws, which prohibit U.S. military assistance to foreign governments that are committing human rights violations — something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime is undeniably doing.

But AIPAC does not speak for all Jews. In fact, a recent poll showed 68% of American Jews view Netanyahu’s leadership of Israel negatively. And almost 40% of American Jews believe Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza, even as they feel a deep emotional connection to Israel. As AIPAC has started to target candidates who are broadly supportive of Israel but critical of U.S. military aid — like former Rep. Tom Malinowski, whose New Jersey House campaign they derailed — the gap between their agenda and the feelings of Jewish voters has become increasingly clear.

As in the Malinowski race, AIPAC has taken aim at my campaign in underhanded ways, by funding ads that focus on issues unrelated to Israel and obscure their own involvement.

In New Jersey, AIPAC took aim at Malinowski over a 2019 immigration vote. In my case, they’ve created a shell PAC through which they’re paying for ads in favor of their preferred candidate, Donna Miller, cunningly called “Affordable Chicago Now.” They are trying to win voters who are focused on the issue of top concern for 2nd Congressional District voters — the high cost of living — without actually trying to represent those voters’ concerns.

Black Americans make up about 47% of the population in the 2nd District. In this district, which includes parts of the South Side of Chicago and much of the Southland suburbs, all the way down to Kankakee, folks are struggling. We have the highest number of Medicaid recipients in the state. Our safety net hospitals are in danger of closing. The median household income is under $64,000. More than 62,000 households in this district rely on SNAP benefits, which have been imperiled by the Republican budget bill.

As voters see the programs on which they rely dry up, all to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, AIPAC’s agenda isn’t on the list of urgent priorities.

AIPAC knows this. That’s why the ads their affiliated PAC has funded in support of Miller don’t mention Israel.

They know, as well, that voters are deeply skeptical of their ties to President Donald Trump and his allies. They endorsed 109 members of Congress who voted to overturn the 2020 election results to make Trump president. Illinois’ Jewish governor, JB Pritzker, has endorsed the view that AIPAC is a “pro-Trump organization.”

By using corrupt campaign finance laws to hide behind a shell PAC, AIPAC can work to persuade voters while making it difficult for them to understand who is trying to persuade them. It knows it can’t win any other way.

If the voters were informed of the group’s true goal — to elect a congressperson who will vote for a blank check for Israel’s war machine at the expense of her own constituents — they’d reject the whole endeavor out of hand.

Anyone who claims to care about protecting our democracy and fighting Trump should reject AIPAC’s role in this historic election and others like it. The group is trying to subvert the will of the electorate in a plurality Black district. And anyone who cares about preserving effective representation for our community without interference from an outside super PAC should do the same.

With four competitive elections for open congressional seats on the ballot in Illinois on March 17, I urge voters to pay close attention. Make sure you don’t cast your ballot for someone who would sell out your community in exchange for AIPAC cash.