The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, the nation's most powerful pro-Israel advocacy organization, has been misleading its membership about the group's effort to build support for legislation that would prevent U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority from being used to pay salaries to terrorists and their families, according to multiple congressional sources and pro-Israel leaders working on the matter.
For the past several months, AIPAC has claimed in statements both public and private that the group is actively engaged in building support for the legislation, titled the Taylor Force Act, on Capitol Hill. However, multiple congressional offices in both the House and Senate confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon this week that they have not been contacted by AIPAC.
The conflicting narrative has renewed long-mounting concerns about AIPAC's waning level of engagement on key pro-Israel initiatives, as well as speculation that the decades-old lobbying juggernaut has lost its influence on Capitol Hill, particularly among leading Republican offices that now view the group as insufficiently supportive of their pro-Israel efforts.
Multiple congressional offices in both the House and Senate engaged in the effort confirmed to the Free Beacon this week that AIPAC "never lobbied" in favor of the Taylor Force Act or even sought to discuss it.
"I've heard nothing from them on it, and we've met with their reps a number of times since the Taylor Force Act was introduced," said one senior congressional source, who would only discuss the matter on background.
Multiple other sources in the House and Senate further confirmed that AIPAC has largely been absent from the debate, telling the Free Beacon the lobbying group appears "neutral" and "unenthused" about the bill, despite public declarations otherwise.
In a March 3 newsletter, AIPAC told members that it is working with Congress to advance the Taylor Force Act, the only active piece of legislation focused on this issue.
"This week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) introduced the Taylor Force Act, a bill that would terminate U.S. economic assistance (but not security assistance) to the Palestinian Authority if it continues to provide monetary support to terrorists in Israeli jails or to the families of terrorists who died while committing acts of terror against Israelis and others," AIPAC wrote in the newsletter. "We are working with both Republican and Democratic senators to advance efforts on this issue, including addressing policy concerns and building the bipartisan support necessary to pass the bill."
A month later, in early April, an AIPAC spokesman told the Free Beacon that the organization "strongly support[s] the legislation's goal to end these abhorrent payments, and we are committed to work with Congress to build the bipartisan support necessary for a bill to pass."
Asked this week by the Free Beacon if AIPAC remains engaged on the issue, an official maintained, "We continue to work with Congress to bring an end to these abhorrent payments."
AIPAC's leadership has maintained in recent communications with donors that the group is actively working to build bipartisan support for efforts to end Palestinian payments to terrorists, according to Free Beacon sources.
"In recent communications with high-level AIPAC donors, the group's leadership continued to claim that AIPAC is working to build bipartisan support on the Hill for ending the [Palestinian Authority's] practice of paying terrorists, although AIPAC leaders cautioned that the Trump administration's peace process push could complicate the effort," according to one veteran pro-Israel foreign policy consultant who requested anonymity to freely discuss these talks.
Support for the legislation has remained strong since it was first announced in February.
"The Palestinian Authority's use of its resources to provide material support for terrorism—indiscriminately targeted at American and Israeli civilians—is a grotesque example of how well-intentioned U.S. generosity can be turned against us," a senior White House official told the Free Beacon at the time.
"This legislation highlights practical steps the PA can take to demonstrate a real commitment to ending the vicious cycle of hatred and violence that has prevented the Palestinian people from the prosperity and security they could otherwise be enjoying," the official said.
Senior Israeli officials, including those in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have expressed support for the bill, although the statements have been careful to avoid explicitly calling on Congress to pass specific legislation.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completely supports efforts to hold the Palestinian Authority accountable for the outrage of paying murderers hundreds of millions of dollars every year," David Keyes, a spokesman for Netanyahu's office, told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, speaking in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, also expressed support for the legislation.
"In Israel we have tried many times to block this transferring [of payments to terrorists and their families] but I think that we definitely need your help," Shaked said. "I think that President Trump and the Congress, if they will put pressure on it, the Palestinian Authority maybe will not have a choice and they will have to stop it, because it's totally absurd that murderers are getting funded, and it's a lot of money. It's a lot of money and it's every month. So I think here definitely the United States can help us and if this step [the Taylor Force Act] will succeed we will of course be very grateful."