Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, announced he would not speak at next week’s annual conference hosted by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The vigor of the rejection invoked criticism by the lobby and its allies. If elected, Sanders would be the first Jewish president in U.S. history.

“The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security. So do the Palestinian people. I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights. For that reason I will not attend their conference,” tweeted Sanders, who lived on an Israeli Kibbutz for several months in 1963. “As president, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and do everything possible to bring peace and security to the region.”

The committee’s response was immediate. “Senator Sanders has never attended our conference and that is evident from his outrageous comment,” they said, describing their coalition as intersectional and diverse with different political, racial, and religious backgrounds. “By engaging in such an odious attack on the mainstream, bipartisan American political event, Senator Sanders is insulting his very own colleagues and the millions of Americans who stand with Israel. Truly shameful.”

AIPAC’s predecessor was the American Zionist Council, of which the committee was an unincorporated lobbying arm. In November 1962, the Department of Justice ordered the AZC to register itself under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938. Two months later, in January 1963, AIPAC officially incorporated itself and took over the duties of the AZC. It has never been requested to register itself as an agent of a foreign power.

An increasing number of Democratic activists and politicians have rebuked the influence that AIPAC has over members of Congress and U.S. policy in the Middle East. In February 2019, freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) came under a firestorm of criticism for saying that AIPAC was using money to buy politician’s support for Israel. In actuality, AIPAC acts as a middleman, recommending pro-Israel donors to approved political action committees, without handling the money itself.

Omar was condemned by both Republican and Democratic members of congress for “antisemitism,” and in August 2019 was told she would not be permitted to visit Israel. Omar endorsed Bernie Sanders for president in October 2019.

Sanders has been open in his complaints about Israeli policy, especially the behavior of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party. Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in 2017, Netanyahu has seen multiple political goals fulfilled, including the movement of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, U.S. recognition of the Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights from Israel, and U.S. recognition of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Under international law, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the West Bank are recognized as under illegal military occupation by a foreign power.

For criticizing Israeli policies and being connected to Omar and other figures such as activist Linda Sarsour, Sanders has been tarred by some in the media as antisemitic himself, despite his own Jewish heritage.

Hunter DeRensis is senior reporter for the National Interest. Follow him on Twitter @HunterDeRensis.

Image: Reuters.