Moulton returns AIPAC donations over support for Netanyahu

Politics

“I’m a friend of Israel, but not of its current government, and AIPAC’s mission today is to back that government. I don’t support that direction.”

Off the heels of launching a Senate campaign, Rep. Seth Moulton of Salem is returning all AIPAC donations and refusing to accept further support or donations, he said Thursday.

Moulton, who announced Wednesday that he would challenge Sen. Ed Markey for the Democratic nomination in next year’s Senate race, said in an announcement on social media that he confirmed his decision to return donations in a filing made to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

The representative cited his opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the war in Gaza as the grounds for his decision to reject AIPAC support. While he supports “Israel’s right to exist,” he said, he is seeking “a political resolution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace.”

“In recent years, AIPAC has aligned itself too closely with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government,” Moulton said in the announcement. “I’m a friend of Israel, but not of its current government, and AIPAC’s mission today is to back that government. I don’t support that direction.”

Moulton further said that he was “cautiously optimistic” that last week’s ceasefire in Gaza would be a step towards “ending the horrific violence in the region.”

AIPAC was the top contributor to Moulton’s campaign committee in 2023 and 2024, donating a total of $42,850, data from OpenSecrets shows. The PAC itself donated $10,000, and the other $32,850 was donated by individuals.

Moulton’s campaign plans to return $35,000 in AIPAC donations by Jan. 31, 2026, his campaign told The Hill. An FEC filing from Wednesday shows that $15,650 in AIPAC donations are being returned that Moulton received during the third quarter of 2025.

Markey, on the other hand, did not receive any donations from AIPAC between 2019 and 2024, according to OpenSecrets.

The 46-year-old representative may already have some traction in his day-old campaign against Markey. In a recent poll released by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, Moulton led Markey both overall and among Democratic voters.

The main concern about Markey from both Moulton and voters is his age. A total of 63 percent of respondents in the new poll said that the senator, who will be 80 years old in 2026, should not seek re-election.