Aipac Affiliate Funded $4.2 Million in Israel Trips for 78 Congress Members Since Oct. 7
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 2
Aipac Affiliate Funded $4.2 Million in Israel Trips for 78 Congress Members Since Oct. 7
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 2
Guardian records analysis found the American Israel Education Foundation financed at least 15 Israel delegations for 78 lawmakers and staffers since Oct. 7, 2023, with declared costs averaging more than $26,600 per member.
26 Democrats and 52 Republicans joined trips featuring luxury hotels, top restaurants and briefings with Benjamin Netanyahu, military contractors and settlement-linked figures, including at least one session in an occupied West Bank settlement.
Travel resumed in March 2024 after a post-attack pause and continued through 2026, with some members taking multiple trips and family travel pushing individual costs above $44,200.
AIEF says the missions provide balanced education on the US-Israel relationship, but critics say the nonprofit affiliate lets Aipac build Capitol Hill support while skirting rules barring lobbying groups from funding overseas travel.
The trips persisted even as US support for Israel weakened sharply—recent polling found 8 in 10 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents hold unfavorable views of Israel.