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AIPAC's "Stand With Israel" Campaign, June 2025

On June 13, 2025, Israel attacked Iran. On June 22, the United States joined, bombing Iran's nuclear sites. In the nine days between, two things were happening in Congress at once. A bipartisan group led by Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna was trying to pass a war powers resolution to keep the United States out. And AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, was pressing members of Congress to publicly declare that they "stand with Israel" in its war. This page reconstructs that week from the reporting that broke it.

The reporting​

On June 18, 2025, reporters David Dayen, Ryan Grim, Nicolae Butler, and Pablo Manríquez of Drop Site News and The American Prospect published "AIPAC Demands Democrats 'Stand With Israel' on Iran":

"The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has been furiously urging House Democrats to release messages of steadfast support for Israel in its war with Iran, the Prospect and Drop Site News have learned, even as bipartisan lawmakers come together on a War Powers Act resolution to prevent U.S. troops or funds being used in yet another Middle East conflagration."

"One member relayed that a colleague had received literally 100 phone calls from members of AIPAC and its allied pressure groups. AIPAC wants House Democratic members to state explicitly that they 'stand with Israel' in its actions against Iran aimed at destroying the Islamic Republic's nuclear capability, and add that Iran 'must never have a nuclear weapon.'"

(Drop Site News, June 18, 2025; repost at Israel-Palestine News). A Reddit summary of the story described "a flurry of communications to members of Congress, citing specific language for them to parrot in support of Israel's strikes on Iran" (Reddit r/uspolitics, June 20, 2025). An aide's explanation, as quoted there: "They're worried their members in Congress may start to shift toward J Street and they're trying to head that off."

The count​

The reporters reviewed Democratic statements and counted:

  • 28 House Democrats who used the exact words "stand with Israel" or a close variation;
  • 35 more who gave unequivocal support without those exact words;
  • 16 who gave "soft" support.

Three statements were held up as models. Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio): "I stand with Israel and the rest of the West as we confront this threat together." Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.): "we must stand with our ally Israel." Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) was the third. Analyst Stephen Semler described House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries's statement that week as an "AI(PAC)-generated press release," summarizing it: "Israel steers US foreign policy, we just fund it"; "Trump can attack Iran, so long as he calls it 'defensive'"; "We want diplomacy, but we support the war Israel started specifically to undermine diplomacy" (Semler on X, June 20, 2025).

Going after J Street​

AIPAC also went after J Street, a smaller, liberal pro-Israel group that had urged diplomacy. J Street's line: "We urge the Trump Administration to meaningfully pursue a diplomatic resolution to this conflict as quickly as possible while making clear the US will do what is necessary to defend Israel and US troops from retaliation." AIPAC's public template in response: "Consistent pattern: J Street endorsees issue anti-Israel statements. @jstreetdotorg is many things, but it's not pro-Israel." Rep. Pramila Jayapal: "I did see that AIPAC took issue with my statement. They were taking on J Street for endorsing me, which was ridiculous." (Drop Site News). The message to members was plain: even a pro-Israel call for diplomacy would be labeled anti-Israel.

The members who said no​

The same reporting recorded who held out:

  • Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, called Israel's strikes "a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence."
  • Reps. Seth Moulton and Jason Crow, both veterans, were skeptical.
  • Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the No War With Iran Act with seven Democratic co-sponsors.
  • Sen. Tim Kaine filed a Senate war powers resolution; Rep. Thomas Massie's House resolution drew about 15 Democratic supporters.
  • Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.): "The Constitution is very clear that no president can bomb another country or begin a war with the country without the permission of Congress."
  • Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.): "The president can't undertake military action without a vote of Congress."
  • Rep. Ro Khanna: "Donald Trump took the anti-war lane from us in 2016 and 2024. We have a chance to take it back by clearly opposing Netanyahu's strikes and being a bold voice for diplomacy."

On the other side, Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.): "I trust President Trump. He's the commander in chief. He'll decide what role we play."

What AIPAC said in public that week​

AIPAC's own posts that week did not ask for American bombs; they made the case that Israel's war was America's. June 16, 2025: "Israel's actions make America safer!" (AIPAC on X). On June 22, hours after the U.S. strikes: "President Trump has taken historic and decisive action against the Iranian nuclear program... This justified action was taken as Iran was on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon" (AIPAC press release; AIPAC on X). "On the verge" contradicted the Director of National Intelligence's March testimony that "Iran is not building a nuclear weapon" (see Gabbard's assessments).

Why this week matters​

The war powers resolution never got a House vote before the June 22 strikes. The lobby's method, as this week shows, is not to order a vote but to make it costly for a member to stay silent, to give members the words to say, and to label even pro-Israel dissent as disloyalty. That is how a foreign government's war becomes a bipartisan American commitment in nine days (see how America joined the June 2025 war).

Status: David Dayen, Ryan Grim, Pramila Jayapal, Greg Landsman, George Whitesides, Mike Levin, Hakeem Jeffries, Stephen Semler, Jack Reed, Seth Moulton, Jason Crow, Bernie Sanders, Tim Kaine, Thomas Massie, Rand Paul, Chris Murphy, Ro Khanna, and Jim Banks are alive.

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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