Aipac Affiliate Has Funded Israel Trips for Dozens of Congress Members Since October 2023, Filings Show

A Guardian analysis found that dozens of members of Congress and Capitol Hill staff have taken gifted trips to Israel funded by the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF) since 7 October 2023. The analysis was based on congressional ethics filings and other public records. The Guardian describes the trips as lavish and says they took place amid Israel’s expanding wars with its neighbors and falling American support for the country’s policies.

According to the filings, the trips centered on briefings on Middle East politics and on Israeli domestic and foreign policy, which the Guardian describes as one-sided. Participants from both parties met Israeli officials, military contractors and civil society figures, including Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as advocates for annexing the West Bank and for displacing Palestinians from Jerusalem. The filings show that members and staff stayed at luxury hotels, dined at top-tier restaurants, and received briefings in at least one West Bank settlement.

AIEF is a charitable affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), which the Guardian notes has sponsored such trips for years. The Guardian reports that AIEF’s non-profit status allows Aipac to get around federal prohibitions on lobbying organizations funding overseas travel for US officials. Although the two organizations are legally distinct, AIEF relies on Aipac infrastructure, including office space. The Guardian also cites a 2019 report by the Intercept that AIEF sponsored 129 trips that year totaling $2.32m, funded by a small number of Jewish philanthropic foundations, including those of Paul Singer, a Republican mega-donor.

The Guardian’s analysis found that at least 26 Democratic and 52 Republican representatives attended AIEF trips in at least 15 delegations since 7 October 2023, and that the group paid more than $4.2m for those delegations, an average of over $26,600 per member. Democrats Steny Hoyer, Greg Landsman and Brad Schneider each took multiple AIEF-funded trips in this period. Travel costs varied because members could bring family members; the filings show that the attendance of Schneider’s wife brought his costs to over $44,200.

Stephen Walt, a professor of international relations at Harvard’s Kennedy School who has written widely about the pro-Israel lobby, told the Guardian that such trips have been “a standard tool for building support for Israel on Capitol Hill.” He said that agreeing to go on one “is also a litmus test for politicians who want to signal a pro-Israel position to Aipac and to important donors.” The Guardian notes that the continued participation of Democrats on recent trips stands out given declining sympathy for Israel among Democratic voters and efforts by some Democratic politicians to distance themselves from the lobby.

AIEF-funded travel paused for several months after the 7 October attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza, then resumed in March 2024, when eight Democratic members and one staff member traveled on an itinerary that included military installations on the Lebanese border and an Israeli military cemetery. The Guardian reports that the pace of trips has largely held steady since 2024. AIEF spokesperson Deryn Sousa said in an email that the missions are “designed to educate participants about the US-Israel relationship.” She added that participants visit historical and religious sites and meet Israeli officials and civilians “from across the political spectrum,” which she said offers “full transparency” into the region’s politics. No members of Congress or their staff responded to the Guardian’s requests for comment.

The filings show that an AIEF trip from 6 to 14 August 2025 brought at least 15 Democrats to Israel, including Wesley Bell, George Latimer, Eugene Vindman and Gil Cisneros. Earlier that month, 20 Republican House members, including Randy Fine, enjoyed an AIEF-sponsored trip with a similar itinerary. The Guardian also reports that Aipac’s super PAC spent millions to help elect Bell and Latimer, defeating incumbents Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman.

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