I fought for Israel. AIPAC doesn’t speak for me.
I was born in Argentina. My parents immigrated to Israel when I was eight. I grew up there, lived on a kibbutz, and fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. I became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985. That’s why I speak up about AIPAC.
AIPAC claims to speak for Americans who support Israel. It doesn’t speak for me. It substitutes the voice and the wish of ordinary people, in both countries, with money from a narrow set of donors. Last cycle, AIPAC and its super PAC spent nearly $127 million in U.S. races, including $20 million to defeat two sitting members of Congress. AIPAC doesn’t buy Israeli elections — but it keeps U.S. aid unconditional, insulating Israeli leaders from their own voters.
I didn’t fight in that war, or become an American, so a lobbying group could decide what “pro-Israel” means for me. Democracy means the voter has the power, not the biggest check.
That question belongs on every ballot this year — not just for sitting members of Congress, but for every candidate now asking for our vote in an open race: constituents or donors?