Research report current through July 21, 2026 Executive findings AIPAC began in the early 1950s as a small Washington lobbying operation focused principally on obtaining diplomatic and financial support for the newly established State of Israel. It gradually became one of the most organized foreign-policy advocacy groups in the United States, building influence through congressional lobbying...
Who was Isaiah Kenen? Isaiah Leo “Si” Kenen was a Canadian-born American journalist, lawyer, Zionist activist and political lobbyist. He is best known for establishing the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs, the organization that was renamed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee—AIPAC—in 1959. He directed the organization until retiring in 1974. Kenen’s significance extends...
