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Saturday, May. 22, 2021

Did pro-Israel groups donate $28 million to Congressional candidates in 2020?

Austin Tannenbaum, Gigafact

yes

In the 2020 campaign pro-Israel groups donated $28 million to Congressional candidates. The largest individual Senate recipient, with more than $1 million in donations, was incumbent Republican David Purdue, who lost to the no. 2 recipient, Democrat Jon Ossoff. The other defeated Georgia Republican, Kelly Loeffler, was the no. 3 recipient; her challenger, Raphael Warnock, ranked no. 5.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who ran unopposed, ranked 20th, raising $145,877. About 60% of the total went to Democrats, according to tabulations of federal data by Open Secrets.

Barred from directly contributing to campaigns, foreign governments instead court influence through U.S. allies and supporters. Pro-Israel donors include the Republican Jewish Coalition, JStreetPAC and Pro-Israel America PAC, as well as individuals. Pro-Israel donors have given $167 million to 4,989 Congressional candidates since 1990.

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