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Former AIPAC Staff Member Says It Should Register As A Foreign Agent

Allan C. Brownfeld, Editor
Special Interest Report
April 2020

The American Israel Public Affairs committee (AIPAC) should register as a  
foreign agent, argues former AIPAC Staff member M.J. Rosenberg in The  
Forward (March 2, 2018). He notes that, “Every foreign government  
represented in Washington by foreign agents must register under the Foreign  
Agents Registration Act. Under its terms, the country in question is  
absolutely banned from participating in or influencing American elections.  
every contact the agents have with Congress must be reported to the  
Department of Justice...But it does not apply to the Israel lobby as  
represented by AIPAC, which is heavily involved in our political system,  
funding candidates who are perceived to be ‘, good for Israel, ’ and  
defunding incumbents who fail to subscribe to the favored foreign state’s  
agenda.”  
 
WAIPAC gets away with this, Rosenberg points out, because it's founder, I.L.  
Kenen “came up with a legal loophole by which AIPAC is defined not as a  
lobby for a foreign state but for Americans who support that state...I  
worked for AIPAC directly for Kenen back in the 1970's...He told me that he  
came up with the AIPAC formula...so that AIPAC would be legally permitted to  
engage in politics...After Kenen retired, AIPAC took a right turn and he saw  
the mistake he made. Toward the end of his life, Kenen was outraged by the  
AIPAC leadership’s unquestioning support of the occupation of the West  
Bank...and other Israeli right-wing policies. He hated what he saw.”  
 
Over the years there have been frequent calls for AIPAC to register as a  
foreign agent. In the 1970's, Sen. J. William Fulbright (D-Ark), then  
chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, argued that this should  
be done, as have other U.S. foreign policy and intelligence analysts.  
 
Rosenberg writes that, “Now is the time to undo Kenen’s mistake. It is time  
to require AIPAC to register as what it is: a foreign agent. It will still  
be able to educate for Israel but as an Israeli lobby which admits to  
getting its marching orders from the Israeli government. What it would not  
be able to do is direct campaign money to politicians.  
 
Let’s see how many Vice Presidents, senators and representatives show up at  
its conferences then...”*



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