The liberal advocacy group MoveOn is urging 2020 presidential candidates to skip the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference in Washington next week.
The organizationmade the call in a news release Wednesday, citing a survey of members who said they believed candidates should not attend the pro-Israel lobbying group’s conference.
“We are formally asking 2020 presidential candidates to not attend the conference,” Iram Ali, MoveOn’s campaign director, told CNN on Wednesday.
The call comes shortly after freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar came under fire for criticism of AIPAC that was perceived to be anti-Semitic. Ali said MoveOn did not consider the Minnesota Democrat’s comments or the reaction to them. Instead, concerns such as the partisan nature of AIPAC and the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the conference guided the decision, she said.
“We have four main points as to why we think 2020 candidates should skip the AIPAC conference,” Ali said. “First and foremost is that AIPAC has become more and more partisan over the years.”
Ali cited the organization’s opposition to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015 and said AIPAC has “become slightly an arm of the Republican Party” by refusing to condemn anti-Semitic statements by Republicans.
“AIPAC has been known to peddle anti-Muslim and anti-Arab rhetoric while giving platforms to islamaphobes,” Ali said.
After being presented with those arguments in a poll, 74.3% of MoveOn members said candidates should skip AIPAC, according to the release.
AIPAC did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. CNN is reaching out to the Democratic campaigns to ask if they plan on attending the conference.
Netanyahu, Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are scheduled to speak at the conference, which runs from Sunday through Tuesday.
The prime minister, who is being hosted by President Donald Trumpduring his visit, is facing bribery and breach of trust charges at home.Israel’s attorney general announced in February that he would indict Netanyahu pending a hearing. That isn’t expected to occur until well after next month’s election.
Netanyahu has dismissed the allegations and investigations against him as a “witch hunt.” The prime minister would be required to leave office only if he is convicted of the crimes.
On the heels of a firestorm sparked by Omar’s comments, Pelosi recently led the House of Representatives in passinga broad resolution to condemn intolerance and hate, including anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim discrimination.
