Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) announced that he will no longer accept donations from the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC — and will return all previous contributions — a move that immediately reverberated through both parties and underscored the widening fault line within the Democratic Party over U.S.-Israel relations.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that the recent breakthrough in Gaza will move us closer to ending the horrific violence in the region,” Moulton said in a statement, referring to the U.S.-brokered cease-fire signed this week by Israel, Hamas, and regional powers. “I support Israel’s right to exist, but I’ve also never been afraid to disagree openly with AIPAC when I believe they’re wrong.”

The Massachusetts congressman, who launched a primary challenge to Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) just one day earlier, said AIPAC had grown too close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, arguing the group’s mission now amounts to “backing that government rather than supporting Israel’s long-term security and peace.”

Moulton’s decision — a sharp break from his generally centrist reputation — drew swift backlash from AIPAC, Republicans, and even some pro-Israel Democrats.

“He’s abandoning his friends to grab a headline,” AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann said. “Moulton has been repeatedly asking for our endorsement for years. Now he’s sending a clear message to AIPAC members in Massachusetts and millions of pro-Israel Democrats nationwide that he rejects their support and will not stand with them.”

According to OpenSecrets, AIPAC’s political arm and affiliated donors have contributed about $35,000 to Moulton’s campaigns since 2023 — including $15,560 in the latest quarter — making the group his top single source of support. His campaign confirmed that it is in the process of returning those funds.

Republicans quickly seized on Moulton’s announcement as evidence of Democratic drift on Israel.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) accused Moulton of “placating an antisemitic mob” and said the congressman “has no problem accepting support from the pro-Hamas wing of his party.”

Meanwhile, veteran Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby, a longtime pro-Israel commentator, said Moulton’s reversal reflected the broader pressure facing pro-Israel Democrats.

“Hostility toward the world’s lone Jewish state is now so overwhelming among Democrats that even mostly sensible members of the party cannot resist it,” Jacoby wrote, adding that Moulton “hasn’t announced a similar ban on Americans who support any other country.”

The announcement comes as Moulton positions himself as a pragmatic alternative to Markey, a progressive incumbent who has himself grown more critical of Israel in recent years and has not received AIPAC support since 2019. Markey responded by framing Moulton’s pivot as politically opportunistic.

“Moulton is a well-funded challenger with a record of walking back on progressive values to appease extremists in the Republican Party,” Markey said.

But Moulton’s statement aligns him with a new cohort of House Democrats distancing themselves from AIPAC amid the shifting political climate over Gaza. Reps. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), and Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.) have each recently rejected AIPAC contributions after years of accepting them.

The move also reflects the growing political tension following the Trump-brokered Gaza peace deal, which has forced lawmakers to rearticulate their positions on Israel’s security and the future of the U.S.-Israel alliance.

For Moulton, the decision could reshape his profile in Massachusetts politics — and test whether distancing from AIPAC can energize younger, more progressive voters without alienating the state’s traditional Democratic base.

“I’m a friend of Israel but not of its current government,” Moulton said. “A political resolution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace is exactly the kind of framework I’ve been calling for from the beginning.”

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