The outlet recounts New York Times columnist Eric Alterman’s argument that AIPAC’s support for Israel and closer alignment with Republicans have become a liability with some Democrats.
An Al Jazeera analysis argues that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, long one of Washington’s most influential pro-Israel lobbying groups, is losing ground among Democrats. The report draws on a New York Times column by Eric Alterman, who links the shift to AIPAC’s unconditional support for Israel and its closer alignment with the Republican Party.
Alterman argues that the Gaza war has changed U.S. views of Israel and intensified divisions within the Democratic Party. He points to a 2026 NBC News poll in which 32% of American voters and 13% of Democrats viewed Israel positively. A 2025 Washington Post poll found that 61% of American Jewish respondents said Israel had committed war crimes in Gaza, while about 40% said it had committed genocide. These figures describe respondents’ views and are not judicial findings.
Alterman also traces AIPAC’s political history. The group was founded in 1953 to strengthen U.S. support for Israel. In his view, a gradual move to the right and a closer relationship with Republicans narrowed its bipartisan base. AIPAC created a political action committee in 2021 which, the analysis says, supported more than 100 Republican candidates.
Al Jazeera says AIPAC-linked spending in Democratic primaries has angered progressive voters and some American Jews. Several Democrats have publicly rejected the group’s support, concerned that the association could become an electoral liability.
The claim that AIPAC is losing influence is Alterman’s assessment, presented by Al Jazeera as political analysis. The polls document changing public attitudes, but do not by themselves establish that those shifts caused the group’s political setbacks.