Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is avoiding questions about his past financial support for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as he joins other potential Democratic presidential candidates distancing themselves from the influential lobbying group. Pritzker's team has declined to specify how much he personally donated to AIPAC, though they acknowledge he previously supported the organization.
The Pritzker Family Foundation, where the governor served as president and director, made substantial contributions to AIPAC-affiliated organizations over multiple years. Tax filings show the foundation donated $82,000 to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces between 2005 and 2010, and approximately $1.7 million to the American Israel Education Foundation from 2008 to 2016. The foundation continued giving to AIPAC-affiliated groups until at least 2020, though Pritzker stepped away from foundation leadership in 2017.
Pritzker now positions himself as an AIPAC critic, telling media outlets he abandoned the group over a decade ago when it "began to lean much more to the right and much more pro-Trump." He described AIPAC as having "lost its way," particularly after the group's allied organizations spent more than $21 million on recent Illinois primary elections.
The governor's stance reflects broader Democratic tensions over Israel policy, with Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also distancing themselves from AIPAC. Pritzker appears to be threading a political needle by criticizing AIPAC's Trump affiliations rather than Israeli actions directly, while focusing his criticism on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than Israel itself.