Panetta Receives AIPAC Windfall
Image: screenshot of FEC.gov, Feb 2024
After showing strong support for Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza, Panetta received $143,000 last quarter from American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel lobby.
On January 23rd Panetta signed onto an open letter to Secretary Blinken that attacked South Africa’s genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The letter called the case “unfounded,” “defamatory,” and “an act of hostility.” Three days later, the ICJ’s preliminary ruling found South Africa’s accusations of genocide plausible and ordered Israel to take several immediate measures to ensure the safety of Palestinians.
Why did Panetta defy the wishes of his many constituents who have been repeatedly calling for a ceasefire? Today we received a potential answer when the federal election filings from the fourth quarter of 2023 were made public. The receipts show that Panetta received an unprecedented $143,055.23 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). To put this in perspective, from when he first ran for office in 2016 until September 2023 Panetta had received a total of just $7,900 from AIPAC. In fact, $143,000 is the largest single donation that Panetta has ever received and the largest single recorded donation that the AIPAC Political Action Committee has made to a member of Congress since it started in 2022. The outsized donation to Panetta coincides with a broader push by AIPAC to unseat progressive members of Congress who have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and thus strengthen Congress’ commitment to Israel.
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Note: As of June 21st, 2024 the FEC.gov data no longer shows a single large donation received on December 31, 2023, but multiple small donations for third quarter of 2023 that total over $275,000.