Protesters outside an AIPAC dinner in Jefferson City, Missouri, on Feb. 6. Image by screenshot from X/@projostl

By Louis Keene February 7, 2024

The biggest Jewish lobbying organization in the United States — antisemitic?

Protesters identifying themselves as “Progressive Jews of St. Louis” seemingly made that accusation Tuesday while picketing an AIPAC dinner in Jefferson City, Missouri, holding up a banner calling AIPAC “white supremacist antisemites.”

Another sign held by some protesters said, “Jews reject AIPAC.”

According to a post on X by the group, the protesters — several dozen, judging by videos from the scene — were a “multi-racial, multi-faith collective” of Missouri residents calling for a ceasefire.

The dinner, hosted at a restaurant a few blocks away from the state capitol, was reportedly an AIPAC fundraiser whose attendees included Missouri secretary of state Jay Aschroft and Jefferson City Mayor Ron Fitzwater, according to KWOS, a local conservative radio station whose host attended the event. Ashcroft and Fitzwater told KWOS they were accosted by protesters on their way in.

On X, the group posted, “AIPAC is a hawkish, warmongering bully that takes a scorched earth approach toward ensuring unconditional U.S. support for Israel,” adding, “AIPAC prioritizes the Israeli regime at any cost, and that means supporting apartheid and genocide against Palestinians abroad, and funding the campaigns of white nationalists at home.”

In a statement Wednesday responding to the protest, AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said, “We are Americans who are proud to engage in the democratic process to strengthen the US-Israel relationship – and we won’t be deterred in our efforts by an extremist fringe.”

Progressive Jews of St. Louis, whose Instagram page says it dates back to 2018, did not respond to a request for comment.

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