Aipac affiliate has funded lavish trips to Israel for dozens of Congress members since 7 October, filings reveal

Revealed: AIEF, a charitable affiliate of pro-Israel lobby Aipac, has spent millions on travel for lawmakers from both parties, even as voters’ support for Israel plummets

Dozens of members of https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-congress">Congress and Capitol Hill staffers have enjoyed lavish gifted travel to https://www.theguardian.com/world/israel">Israel funded by an Aipac affiliate since 7 October 2023, amid Israel’s expanding wars on its neighbors and despite plummeting levels of support among Americans for the country’s policies, a Guardian analysis has found.

Congressional ethics filings and other public records show the trips, led by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), revolved around one-sided briefings on Middle East politics and Israeli domestic and foreign policy.

Lawmakers and their staffers from both parties met Israeli officials, military contractors and civil society figures, including https://www.theguardian.com/world/benjamin-netanyahu">Benjamin Netanyahu and advocates for the annexation of the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem.