Washington, DC – The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has accused Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of betraying “American values” by saying that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
In a fundraising email to supporters on Thursday, AIPAC – one of the most influential foreign policy lobby groups in the United States – likened Greene, a far-right legislator, to left-wing opponents of Israel.
“You expect anti-Israel smears from Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar,” the group said, referring to Muslim-American Democratic congressmembers.
“But now, Marjorie Taylor Greene has joined their ranks – spouting the same vile rhetoric and voting against the US-Israel alliance.”
Last week, Greene, an ally of US President Donald Trump, echoed the growing consensus of rights groups, academics and United Nations experts that Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza.
“It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” the congresswoman wrote in a social media post.
The United Nations defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
Over the past 22 months, Israel has destroyed nearly all of Gaza, repeatedly displaced the enclave’s population, killed more than 61,000 people and imposed a suffocating blockade that sparked deadly hunger in the territory.
On Thursday, AIPAC called Greene’s genocide accusation “disgusting”.
“Let’s call this what it is: Marjorie Taylor Greene is the newest member of the anti-Israel Squad,” the group said.
“She may think this earns her praise from the far-left or online radicals — but we see it for what it is: a betrayal of American values and a dangerous distortion of the truth.”
Greene’s recent stances on Gaza stand in stark contrast with her staunch early support for Israel. In 2023, she led efforts to formally rebuke Tlaib – the only Palestinian American in Congress – over condemning Israeli policies.
With criticism of Israel in the US mostly coming from the progressive left, AIPAC rarely denounces members of Trump’s Republican Party.
But the lobby group said on Thursday that it will challenge “lies” about Israel, whether they come from the “radical left or the radical right”.
Although Trump has been uncompromising in his backing for Israel, a segment of his Republican base has been increasingly critical of unconditional support for the US ally, viewing the relationship as incompatible with the president’s “America first” mantra.
AIPAC spending
For decades, AIPAC has encouraged its members to donate to candidates for public office, and in 2022, it started directly spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat critics of Israel.
Last year, AIPAC helped oust two incumbent progressive congressmembers, spending record amounts on election advertisements.
AIPAC has not announced plans to challenge Greene in next year’s midterm elections.
The congresswoman did not face a primary opponent in her Georgia district last year and won the general election by nearly 30 percentage points.
In recent weeks, AIPAC has been trying to mitigate the growing outrage at Israel’s starvation policy in Gaza, often repeating false Israeli statements denying hunger in the territory and accusing Hamas of stealing the humanitarian aid.
However, despite the group’s efforts, many congressmembers, including some legislators who have been backed by AIPAC, have begun condemning Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
On Wednesday, Democratic Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, whom AIPAC helped elect to Congress in 2022 with $2m in campaign spending, said she was co-sponsoring a bill to block offensive weapons to Israel.
“We simply cannot continue to provide the Israeli government with weapons when they are not being used in accordance with international law to maximize the protection of civilians in Gaza,” Foushee wrote in a social media post.