14 Democrats and 24 Republicans Traveled to Israel on AIPAC-Affiliated American Israel Education Foundation-Funded Trips During August Recess
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/13/25) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned members of Congress from both major parties who spent the August congressional recess on trips to Israel funded by the anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic lobby group AIPAC’s American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF) affiliate instead of meeting with their constituents, speaking out against the Gaza genocide, and addressing urgent issues at home.
During the recess, Republican and Democratic delegations separately traveled to Israel under the sponsorship of AIEF to meet with top officials of a government engaged in genocide, mass starvation, and the illegal annexation of Palestinian land. House Democrats met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has openly framed the entire Palestinian population as a legitimate target, declaring, “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible.” House Republicans conferred with far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who is sought by the International Criminal Court as a wanted war criminal.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert S. McCaw said:
“It is disgraceful that Democratic and Republican members of Congress spent their August recess on an AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation-funded propaganda junket to a foreign country instead of serving the American people they were elected to represent.
“While these lawmakers were taking in the sights and shaking hands with war criminals, just miles away Israel’s genocide and campaign of forced mass starvation deepened: over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed, hundreds of thousands injured, and tens of thousands remain missing. More than 200 Palestinians – mostly children – have starved to death, victims of Israel’s deliberate blockade and destruction of food supplies. The United States continues to arm, fund, and shield Israel’s government from accountability even as its genocide and system of apartheid grind on.
“Speaker Johnson’s declaration of Israel’s supposed ‘right’ to the West Bank from the grounds of an illegal settlement is an insult to international law, U.S. policy, and basic human decency. The American people deserve representatives – from both parties – who will stand up for human rights, uphold the rule of law, and spend their recess listening to their constituents, not currying favor with a foreign government engaged in genocide.”
Which Members of Congress Went on AIPAC’s Junket to Israel?
The 14 House Democrats on the trip meeting with Herzog include Steny Hoyer (MD), Pete Aguilar (CA), Brad Schneider (IL), Tim Kennedy (NY), Gil Cisneros (CA), Josh Riley (NY), Nellie Pou (NJ), Wesley Bell (MO), Laura Gillen (NY), Johnny Olszewski (MD), Eugene Vindman (VA), Luz Rivas (CA), Herb Conaway (NJ), and George Latimer (NY).
The 20 House Republicans identified on the trip with Netanyahu include House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN), Harriet Hageman (WY), Michael Baumgartner (WA), Julie Fedorchak (ND), Jeff Hurd (CO), Craig Goldman (TX), Josh Brecheen (OK), Randy Fine (FL), Marlin Stutzman (IN), Brandon Gill (TX), Abe Hamadeh (AZ), Derek Schmidt (KS), John McGuire (VA), Mark Harris (NC), Brian Jack (GA), Guy Reschenthaler (PA), Troy Downing (MT), Tony Wied (WI), Bob Onder (MO), and Jefferson Shreve (IN). Johnson was joined by Reps. Michael McCaul (TX), Nathaniel Moran (TX), Michael Cloud (TX), and Claudia Tenney (NY).
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) went even further, visiting the settlement of Ariel and declaring that Israel has a biblical “right” to the West Bank – directly endorsing land theft in violation of international law and longstanding bipartisan U.S. policy. These trips occurred just days after Israel’s parliament passed a resolution declaring the West Bank “an inseparable part of Israel,” signaling its intent to permanently seize the entire territory.
What is AIPAC? The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a powerful pro-Israel lobbying organization that exploits the U.S. political system to promote anti-Palestinian racism, whitewash Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and secure U.S. government support for Israel’s decades-long regime of occupation and apartheid. Through its tax-deductible affiliate, the American Israel Education Foundation (AIEF), it sponsors luxury propaganda trips for members of Congress that are effectively subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, because donations to AIEF can be written off on donors’ tax returns. These trips present only Israel’s narrative, erasing its violations of international law and denying the ongoing genocide in Gaza. At the same time, AIPAC funds Islamophobic smear campaigns against lawmakers who defend Palestinian rights, pushes unconstitutional anti-boycott laws to punish dissent, and promotes bad-faith definitions of antisemitism designed to silence criticism of Israel’s human rights record.
CAIR is calling on members of Congress with a shred of moral decency who reject U.S. complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians to:
- Publicly reject AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation–funded trips that whitewash Israel’s human rights abuses, war crimes, genocide, illegal occupation, and apartheid system.
- Condemn Israel’s announced re-occupation of Gaza and its vote to annex the West Bank.
- End all U.S. military aid and arms transfers to Israel until it complies with international law.
- Demand immediate humanitarian access to Gaza and an end to policies of starvation and collective punishment.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com