Correction: I received an email on May 3 from former Congressman Jeff Miller who retired from the House in 2017, saying: “You quoted a story that apparently was in Ha’aretz. That story was incorrect. I have not been able to access it because it is behind a paywall. I have sent an email to them as well.
On April 29, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) tweeted that it was proud to support Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) because “we deeply appreciate her strong and unwavering support for the US-Israel relationship during her entire career in public service.” The tweet was a 180-degree reversal of the group’s previous stance that effectively shunned the congresswoman despite her fervent support for the Jewish State.
AIPAC PAC is proud to support @Liz_Cheney. We deeply appreciate her strong and unwavering support for the U.S.-Israel relationship during her entire career in public service. pic.twitter.com/SVIaauJDXm
— AIPAC PAC (@aipacpac) April 29, 2022
The dispute between AIPAC and Cheney began after the Congresswoman, one of the most poignant critics of former President Donald Trump’s denial of the legitimacy of the November 2020 presidential elections, attacked the pro-Israel lobby for supporting 37 Republicans who share Trump’s assertions that the election was stolen. Things between Cheney and AIPAC got even worse after the lobby decided to support 109 out of 147 Republicans who voted against accepting the election results.
On March 19, Cheney tweeted: “America’s relationship with Israel has never been more important. Those of us who have never wavered in our support for Israel or our fight against antisemitism in the US and around the world want AIPAC members to know your leadership is playing a dangerous game of politics.”
The following two paragraphs have been strongly disputed (see correction above). I chose to keep them in the story only to give former Congressman Miller the opportunity to correct the record. The facts in these two paragraphs are entirely false, in my opinion. I apologize for the error.
According to Ha’aretz, AIPAC’s anti-Cheney stance was directed by former Florida congressman Jeff Miller, a close supporter of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and a senior member of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Miller reportedly has been using rude expletives in describing the Wyoming Representative who also happens to be the daughter of a former Republican vice president.
Miller told an audience how he had given an ultimatum to vendors working with Republican candidates not to help Cheney’s re-election campaign. He also recently hosted a fundraising event for Harriet Hageman, Cheney’s main rival in the Wyoming primaries, who is backed by Trump.
Incidentally, in 2016, Hageman worked with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas to force a vote on the convention floor between Trump and Cruz, ignoring the primary results, because Trump was “the weakest candidate,” who was going to be easily defeated by the Democrats and drag the party down to defeat with him. She said Trump was a bigot and urged convention delegates to stay away from “somebody who is racist and xenophobic.”
What a difference six years make…
AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann sent out an email to members denying the whole allegation about Miller, insisting that “we deeply appreciate Rep. Cheney’s strong and unwavering support for the US-Israel relationship during her entire career in public service.”
Good to know.
In 2015, Cheney and her father expressed their opposition to the Iran deal, suggesting it would “lead to a nuclear-armed Iran.” In 2019, Cheney urged the United States to consider a “proportional military response” against Iran for attacking oil bases in Saudi Arabia. In 2020, Cheney expressed support for Israeli plans to annex parts of Judea and Samaria and signed a letter addressed to then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirming “the unshakeable alliance between the United States and Israel.” On June 21, 2019, after Trump had called off military strikes against Iran for downing an American drone, Cheney compared Trump not attacking Iran to Barack Obama not attacking Syria in 2013.
