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As a Zionist, I want Congress to have more Ritchie Torreses and fewer Rashida Tlaibs. Doesn’t AIPAC?

14 1
12.02.2026

In New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, AIPAC just put a strident anti-Israel voice on the path to Congress. But hey, at least it alienated one of America’s two major political parties in the process.

Heckuva job, guys.

This hurts me to say. I’m a fervent Zionist. I’ve been writing in support of Israel for over 20 years. I started my career interning at AIPAC. I’d thought the organization was hated precisely because it was so effective. Yet after its performance in New Jersey’s 11th district — coming after years of making it harder for Democrats like me to keep the party on board with Israel — I have to wonder if AIPAC is still the right standard-bearer for pro-Israel Americans. At a minimum, it must dramatically rethink its strategy.

For those who don’t know, AIPAC decided it wanted to take down former Congressman and Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski (full disclosure: I’ve worked with Malinowski and consider him a friend). The rationale for doing so was that he’d said he would consider conditioning aid to Israel based on whether the Jewish state was following through on commitments to the United States So AIPAC spent $2 million through a subsidiary to release a torrent of grossly........

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