A field guide to the organizations, PACs, and coalitions whose endorsements and money show up across the roster — sorted along the same spectrum the roster runs on, from the pro-Israel pole (Tier 1) to the anti-Zionist pole (Tier 6). For each: what it is, where it sits on Zionism / BDS / the arms question, its endorsement criteria, and — the operational part — what a logo or a check from it actually tells you about a candidate.
How to read this — signal, not placement
Endorsements and money are signal, not placement. Nothing here sets a tier. A group's politics tell you what backing from it correlates with — never what the individual candidate has personally said or done. The roster's rule holds in both directions: a 5/6 (Palestinian-rights-pole) placement comes from the candidate's own record, and the money rule (a 2022-or-later AIPAC / DMFI / CUFI / J Street contribution holds a candidate below Tier 5) is an upper limit, not a verdict. Two NYC-DSA-slate winners (Kattan, Sairitupac) sit at NR for lack of an individual statement — in Kattan's case even after a primary win and a JVP Action endorsement layered on top of the DSA slate, none of which substitutes for a position she has personally stated. Use this to know what an affiliation is worth — then verify the person.
The bands and the tiers are two different rulers — and both are interpretive. The eight endorser bands here and the six-tier roster spectrum are separate orderings; they don't map one-to-one, and the tier ranges shown in each card and in the cheat-sheet are editorial estimates of what an affiliation is consistent with, not measured correlations. Several groups have few or no actual endorsees in the roster — IfNotNow, for one, has none — so a range often describes an org's politics rather than where its real-world endorsees land. The order of the bands themselves is a defensible judgment, not a fact: whether "broad progressive" sits nearer the pole than "Jewish-left anti-occupation," or exactly where any single group or candidate falls, is the kind of call reasonable people draw differently. Treat the whole spectrum as one considered reading of the field, not a measurement of it.
How this links to the roster. This is a standalone page meant to live on the same site as the roster, not be folded into it. Every card has a stable anchor id (e.g. #aipac, #jvp-action, #jstreet), so once both are deployed together, each org name and money tag in a candidate's card can deep-link straight here — ./endorser-reference.html#dmfi — and back. Wiring those links into the roster's data is a quick follow-up after the candidate-endorsement pass.
1
Pro-Israel PACs — contributions
strengthen US–Israel ties · oppose conditioning aid & BDS
The Tier 1–2 pole, and the groups that trigger the roster's money rule: a contribution from any of these in 2022 or later keeps a candidate below Tier 5 regardless of later rhetoric. Their criterion is the inverse of the anti-Zionist pole's — unconditional US support for Israel.
AIPAC + United Democracy Project
American Israel Public Affairs Committee · super PAC
The largest and most powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington, historically bipartisan. After decades of lobbying-only, it formed a PAC and the United Democracy Project (UDP) super PAC in 2022 to spend directly in elections.
Position
Unconditional US support for Israel. Opposes conditioning military aid; opposes BDS. AIPAC states it decides on a single criterion — a candidate's position on strengthening the US–Israel relationship — and backs both Democrats and Republicans (including many who voted to overturn the 2020 election).
Spending
UDP spent ~$26M in 2022 and bankrolled the two most expensive Democratic House primaries in history in 2024, defeating Squad members Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush. Increasingly routes money through less-obvious affiliated PACs.
Roster signalThe defining money-rule trigger. Recent AIPAC/UDP money holds a recipient at Tier 2 at most (Tier 1 absent any distinguishing critical record); only a public break with the lobby plus a real conditioning record lifts a former recipient to the 3/4 edge. Being targeted by UDP is the opposite signal — it tends to mark a critic.
Sources: ABC News · Common Dreams · OpenSecrets · JTA
DMFI
Democratic Majority for Israel · PAC
The Democratic-side pro-Israel PAC (founded 2019, led by Mark Mellman). Works inside Democratic primaries to back pro-Israel Democrats and blunt the party's Israel-critical wing. Has issued a broad slate of 2026 endorsements.
Position
Pro-Israel within the Democratic Party; supports the US–Israel alliance and security aid; opposes conditioning aid and BDS.
Roster signalA 2022-or-later DMFI contribution holds a recipient at Tier 2 at most unless a public break with the lobby distinguishes them. Its endorsement sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from a JVP or PAL PAC endorsement.
Sources: DMFI (dmfi.org) · Palestine Chronicle
CUFI Action Fund
Christians United for Israel · Christian Zionist
The political arm of CUFI, the largest pro-Israel organization in the US by membership and the flagship of Christian Zionism (it claims millions of evangelical members).
Position
Theology-driven, unconditional support for Israel; lobbies against any pressure on or conditions for Israel. Right end of the pro-Israel spectrum.
Roster signalThe Christian-Zionist ideology is a Tier 1 marker on the Republican side; CUFI money, like any Band 1 contribution, separately holds a recent recipient at Tier 2 at most under the money rule. Most relevant on the Republican side and for conservative Democrats.
Sources: CUFI Action Fund (cufiactionfund.org)
Republican Jewish Coalition
RJC · GOP-aligned
The GOP-aligned pro-Israel advocacy and political organization. Backs Republican pro-Israel candidates and frames support for Israel as a partisan dividing line.
Position
Unconditional pro-Israel, fused with Republican politics; opposes the party's Israel-skeptical (and the Democrats') Israel-critical wings.
Roster signalMarks the Republican pro-Israel pole (Tier 1, R-side). Rarely appears on a Democrat's card.
Sources: RJC (rjchq.org)
Pro-Israel America & NORPAC
bundling PACs · bipartisan
Two of the bundling PACs that channel pro-Israel contributions to candidates of both parties — Pro-Israel America (a national online-bundling PAC in the AIPAC lane) and NORPAC (a New Jersey-based bipartisan pro-Israel PAC).
Position
Pro-Israel, pro-security-aid, bipartisan; same lane as AIPAC/DMFI with smaller footprints.
Roster signalSame money-rule trigger as AIPAC/DMFI — a recent contribution holds a recipient at Tier 2 at most.
Sources: Pro-Israel America · NORPAC (org sites)
2
Liberal Zionist
pro-Israel · anti-occupation · inside the Zionist frame
Pro-Israel but critical of the occupation and the current government. Both affirm a Jewish state and oppose a blanket BDS — which is exactly why this band limits rather than lifts: their red lines are the very positions a Tier 5/6 candidate crosses.
J Street
liberal-Zionist · "pro-Israel, pro-peace" · PAC
The major liberal-Zionist PAC; endorses and funds Democrats. The single most consequential endorsement limit in the roster scheme.
Position
Opposes BDS. Affirms Israel as a Jewish and democratic homeland. Backs a two-state solution and full US security assistance ($3.8B MOU). In April 2026 it endorsed phasing out financial subsidies after FY2028 — while still selling Iron Dome (Israel should buy it). Security assistance is "first on the list" of its endorsement criteria.
Roster signalA mainstream liberal Zionist group. Its endorsement does not set a tier. Across the 74 J Street endorsees on this roster the tiers run from 1 to 4/5 — clustering at Tier 2 (20) and Tier 3/4 (20), with only 9 (12%) at a flat 3 — and it endorses Khanna and Chuy García at 4/5. Its PAC money now flows to the conditioning wing (Casten, Ossoff, Bonamici, Hoyle, Escobar): dollars correlate positively with a more critical tier. What the endorsement marks is only the outer edge: no J Street endorsee on this roster reaches Tier 5 or 6. They stop short of a firm full embargo and of questioning Israel's legitimacy — which is how a 4/5 like Khanna or García carries it — but it does not tell you an endorsee backs the $3.8B MOU, opposes BDS, or even affirms the Jewish state: García cosponsored the right-of-return resolution. It says nothing about whether they will block offensive arms. Conduct sets the tier.
Sources: J Street FAQ (jstreet.org) · Al Jazeera
3
Progressive, not Palestine-specific
broad agenda · Palestine is one axis
These groups endorse on a wide progressive platform — affordability, labor, climate, anti-militarism, democracy — where Palestine is a real but partial input. Their endorsees skew Israel-critical because the same coalition opposes AIPAC, but the endorsement certifies "progressive," not a Palestine position.
Justice Democrats
progressive PAC
A national PAC that recruits and backs insurgent primary challengers. It has become strongly supportive of Palestinian rights and anti-AIPAC, but its endorsement bar is broad-progressive.
Position
Frames Gaza as ethnic cleansing/genocide and opposes "bottomless budgets" for Israel — but endorses on a full platform (no corporate PAC money, Medicare for All, abolish ICE). Palestine is a major axis, not the sole litmus.
2026
Kat Abughazaleh (IL-09), Nida Allam (NC-4), Rev. Frederick Haynes (TX), among others.
Roster signalSignals strong-progressive + Palestine-critical (≈ Tier 4–6), not on its own a rejection of Israel as a Jewish state. Verify where the candidate’s own record lands.
Sources: The Hill · The Intercept · Al Jazeera · American Prospect
Peace Action
anti-war / disarmament
A legacy anti-war and disarmament organization; its "Peace Voter" endorsements run on conditioning aid, cutting Pentagon waste, and opposing "the genocide in Gaza" through an anti-militarism lens.
Position
Conditioning/ending military aid and an anti-war foreign policy — broad, not a BDS/embargo or Jewish-state stance.
2026 (sample)
Abdul El-Sayed 5/6, Chris Rabb T6, Summer Lee, Ro Khanna 3/4, Mai Vang, and others.
Roster signalAn anti-war credential (≈ "conditions aid" lens). Its slate spans Tier 3 to Tier 6 — which is exactly why the endorsement alone doesn't fix a tier.
Reject-AIPAC member groups whose core missions sit elsewhere: the Working Families Party (a progressive ballot-line party that cross-endorses Democrats), Our Revolution (Bernie-founded; pushed "Uncommitted" in 2024), Sunrise (youth climate), NIAC Action (Iranian-American, anti-war), MPower Change (Muslim-American advocacy). Indivisible — the national pro-democracy grassroots network — sits in the same broad-progressive lane: it cross-endorses Democrats and has leaned pro-ceasefire, but its mission is democracy and anti-authoritarianism, not Palestine.
Position
None carries a BDS/embargo/Jewish-state org position; each has criticized AIPAC and leaned pro-ceasefire, but endorses on its home issue.
Roster signalWeak-to-moderate Palestine signal on their own. A WFP, Sunrise, or Indivisible logo certifies a progressive coalition credential; it says little specific about where a candidate sits on this scale.
Sources: Reject AIPAC coalition listings · ABC · In These Times
4
Jewish left / progressive — anti-occupation (big tent)
left of J Street · no Zionism litmus
Jewish-led, to the left of J Street/T'ruah, and unambiguous about ending the occupation — but, unlike JVP, they don't make a position on Zionism a membership or endorsement test.
IfNotNow
big-tent anti-occupation · Jewish movement
A progressive Jewish anti-occupation movement (founded 2014) built on protest and direct action more than candidate endorsements. A Reject AIPAC member.
Position
Big-tent by design. It deliberately declined to make BDS, one-state/two-state, or Zionism itself a litmus, in order to hold liberal Zionists and anti-Zionists together. In practice it has moved left — it uses apartheid/genocide language, runs a 2026 "stop the weapons" arms-embargo campaign, and is now described by some as an anti-Zionist Jewish space — but it doesn't impose that as a test the way JVP does.
Focus
Ending the occupation; conditioning and halting US weapons; confronting the Jewish establishment and AIPAC.
Roster signalStronger than J Street, looser than JVP. INN backing reads as anti-occupation + anti-AIPAC + (now) arms-embargo energy — real criticism, but on its own not a rejection of Israel as a Jewish state. Verify the individual.
Sources: Wikipedia · Jewish Currents · IfNotNow (ifnotnowmovement.org)
JFREJ
Jews for Racial & Economic Justice · NYC
A long-running progressive Jewish organization in New York, racial- and economic-justice first, with a broad-left rather than Palestine-single-issue identity. A Reject AIPAC member; Julia Salazar got her organizing start here.
Position
Progressive-Jewish and anti-occupation; coalition-oriented across housing, immigration, policing, and Palestine. Not framed as an explicit anti-Zionist or BDS org, but well to the left of the Jewish establishment.
Tool
Publishes the NYC voter guide the roster already cites (the source behind several NYC-DSA candidate entries, including the Kattan/Sairitupac NRs).
Roster signalA progressive-Jewish + anti-occupation credential. Its voter guide is a cross-reference data tool (like AJP's scorecards), not an anti-Zionist endorsement — useful for sourcing, not for setting a tier.
Sources: JFREJ (jfrej.org) NYC voter guide
5
Palestinian-rights PACs & lobbies
genuine · human-rights / aid-conditioning framing
Genuinely aligned with Palestine and built as AIPAC counterweights — but framed around Palestinian human rights, conditioning or ending military aid, and accountability, rather than an explicit BDS-by-name or total-embargo litmus. Their endorsees cluster near the Palestinian-rights pole, but the minimum they guarantee is "conditions aid," not a rejection of Israel as a Jewish state.
PAL PAC
Peace, Accountability & Leadership PAC
A Palestinian-rights federal PAC founded February 2026 by Margaret DeReus (executive director of the IMEU Policy Project). Self-described as the only PAC "exclusively committed" to Palestinian justice; built as a direct AIPAC counterweight. ~9 congressional endorsees by March 2026.
Position
Mission: end Israel's human-rights abuses and US complicity in "apartheid… and genocide." Criteria center on Palestinian human rights, conditioning/restricting military aid, accountability, and international law — a range from strong criticism to outright anti-Zionism, not an explicit BDS litmus.
2026
Rashida Tlaib T6, Ilhan Omar 5/6, Summer Lee, Delia Ramirez, Kat Abughazaleh (IL-09, jointly w/ Justice Democrats), and others.
Roster signalStrong Palestinian-rights signal — its first four endorsees are total-arms-embargo backers. But because the public criteria are human-rights/aid-conditioning framed, treat a PAL PAC endorsement as ≥ Tier 4, often nearer the anti-Zionist pole; check whether the individual takes a position that rejects Israel as a Jewish state, which 5/6 requires.
Sources: PAL PAC (pal.vote) · Zeteo · TRT World · The Intercept
AJP Action
Americans for Justice in Palestine Action · 501(c)(4)
The 501(c)(4) lobbying arm (launched 2021) of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), the grassroots org founded in 2006 and chaired by Hatem Bazian, a co-founder of Students for Justice in Palestine. The parent is explicitly anti-Zionist and pro-BDS; AJP Action runs the annual Palestine Advocacy Days and publishes the Palestine Congressional Scorecards. Both AMP and its educational foundation came under DOJ and IRS pressure in early 2026 — a repression backdrop, not a rating.
Position
Genuinely Palestine-aligned and anti-Zionist at the parent level ( BDS, right of return, "the Nakba never ended"); lobbies to end the US weapons and diplomatic support enabling Israeli oppression, and endorses candidates supporting Palestinian rights.
Scorecard '26
Third edition (May 2026), and the first to grade both parties. Scores 17 bills + 18 letters on a simple point sum — cosponsorship ±3, floor vote ±2, letter ±1 — across measures like Block the Bombs (H.R.3565), the H.Res.876 genocide-recognition resolution, the S.J.Res arms-sale disapprovals, and the §502B human-rights review. Two scales per chamber (118th+119th vs. freshman) so new members aren't structurally locked out. House: 30 A / 26 B / 89 C / 73 D / 215 F; Senate: 4 A / 13 B / 22 C / 7 D / 54 F. It does not grade members sworn in during 2026 (Menefee, Mejía, Fuller Clay).
Roster signalThe scorecard is a cross-reference data tool, not a tier — and its "Palestinian-rights" axis is humanitarian access + arms-disapproval + genocide-recognition, not the positions that reject Israel as a Jewish state. So an A grade corroborates a strong-criticism record (roughly Tier 3–5 here) but never certifies Tier 6 on its own: AOC, Balint, Carson, Pressley, and McGovern all earn AJP A's yet sit at Tier 3–4/5 because a J Street endorsement signals Tier 3 (absent overriding arms-conditioning conduct), or because of an Iron Dome record. Use a grade to confirm direction; the candidate's own words set the tier.
American Priorities & Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption
Palestinian-rights super PACs
Outside-spending vehicles built to counter AIPAC's UDP. American Priorities pledged $10M+ across ~12 races (e.g., ~$1M for Nida Allam, NC-4). CAAC is small (≈$14k vs. Wasserman Schultz in 2024; ~$35k for Mejía).
Position
They spend for Palestinian-rights candidates; like UDP, their ads avoid the Israel topic. No published criteria — they pick races.
Roster signalSpending in a candidate's favor places them in the Palestinian-rights lane, but dollars are not a position. Context column, never a tier.
Sources: American Prospect · INDY Week
6
Anti-Zionist pole
anti-Zionist · BDS · full embargo · right of return
The Palestinian-rights pole: these groups hold, by name, the positions the roster treats as Tier 5/6 markers. An endorsement here is the strongest single correlate of a Palestinian-rights-pole candidate — but the org endorses people who already hold these views, so it confirms a likely lean, not the record itself.
JVP Action
Jewish Voice for Peace Action · 501(c)(4)
The electoral/lobbying arm of JVP, the largest Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the US (32,000+ members). Now operates publicly as "JVP"; JVP Lab holds the 501(c)(3) educational work.
Position
Explicitly anti-Zionist (declared 2019). Endorses BDS (full boycott, since 2015), a comprehensive two-way arms embargo, and the Palestinian right of return. Frames Gaza as genocide, Israel as apartheid. The entire anti-Zionist set.
2026 (partial)
Chris Rabb T6, Aber Kawas T6, David Orkin 5/6, Ruwa Romman (GA), Robert Jackson (NY), Dr. Hamawy, Rev. Frederick Haynes III (TX).
Roster signalThe strongest single correlate on this list — JVP Action endorses for the explicit anti-Zionist package (BDS, embargo, right of return). Still verify the person's own words; the endorsement confirms the lean, the statements set the tier.
Sources: JVP Action 2026 endorsements page · Wikipedia
DSA / NYC-DSA
Democratic Socialists of America
Largest US socialist organization (~78,000 members; 250+ elected officials). Endorses and field-organizes for candidates — mostly on the Democratic line — prioritizing "cadre" and "labor" candidates with deep ties to the org.
Position
Formally anti-Zionist since August 2025 (Resolution 22, passed 56%). Affirms the Thawābit — the PLO red lines including right of return and Jerusalem. BDS support is now an endorsement litmus test; material support for Israel, ties to AIPAC or J Street, or saying "Israel has a right to defend itself" are designated expellable offenses. Also passed "Labor for an Arms Embargo" (80%). Endorsed BDS back in 2017.
Caveat
It stopped short of formally aligning with the BDS National Committee (that amendment failed) and voted down a one-state resolution. It conditionally endorsed then revoked AOC (2024) and censured her (2025) for being too soft.
2026
NYC-DSA slate: Mamdani (mayor) + Valdez T6, Avila Chevalier T6, Aber Kawas T6, Moreno T6, Kattan NR, Sairitupac NR, and more.
Roster signalPost-2025, a DSA endorsement implies at least nominal BDS support — a stronger anti-Zionist signal than almost any other. But individual variance is real and documented (AOC revoked/censured; Kattan & Sairitupac at NR for lack of an individual statement). Slate alignment ≠ a position.
Sources: 2025 DSA Convention results · Left Voice · Jacobin · Wikipedia
USCPR Action
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action · 501(c)(4)
The advocacy and electoral arm of USCPR, a national coalition rooted in hundreds of Palestinian-rights groups and a backbone of the US BDS movement; a founding member of the Reject AIPAC coalition. It is a 501(c)(4) housed at Tides Advocacy — not a PAC, and by its own account it won't try to match AIPAC dollar-for-dollar. Its leverage is mobilization plus two concrete instruments: a candidate slate and a congressional scorecard. Led by Ahmad Abuznaid (executive director) and Iman Abid-Thompson (advocacy/political director).
Position
The parent USCPR stands against Zionism by name — "a political system and racist ideology" — and backs the Palestinian right of return, total liberation, and an end to all US military funding to Israel. The full anti-Zionist set.
Criteria
Its endorsement is an explicit litmus, not a vibe: candidates must commit to block all US weapons transfers and military funding to Israel and to support the BDS movement (refusing AIPAC money is the recurring third plank). BDS-by-name as an endorsement test puts it alongside JVP Action, not in the softer human-rights lane.
2026 slate
First round (May 14, 2026), nine candidates: Cori Bush 5, Rashida Tlaib T6, Delia Ramirez, Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, Donavan McKinney 5, Saikat Chakrabarti, Adam Hamawy, Chris Rabb T6.
Scorecard
Also publishes a 2026 Congressional Scorecard (arms embargo, votes, Dear Colleague letters) — a cross-reference data tool. Highest-rated as of May 2026: Tlaib, Omar, Ramirez, Al Green, Summer Lee.
Roster signalA clean anti-Zionist correlate, as strong as any here — the endorsement criteria require BDS support and a full funding cutoff by name. Still verify the person: the slate spans roster tiers, so it confirms the lean while the candidate's own words and conduct set the tier. Delia Ramirez is the case in point: she carries a J Street endorsement yet sits at a clean Tier 4 because she lead-sponsored Block the Bombs, named the genocide, and cosponsored the genocide-recognition resolution — conduct that overrides the J Street signal.
A communist party (founded 2004) that runs its own independent candidates rather than endorsing Democrats. Explicitly anti-Zionist and anti-imperialist.
Position
Anti-Zionist; calls to end all US aid and "all occupations, military interventions" immediately; backs Palestinian liberation. Anti-Zionist by ideology.
Form
Not a Democratic endorser — it fields its own line (e.g., Andre Easton, NY-15 5/6; a 2024 presidential ticket).
Roster signalA PSL candidacy is explicit anti-Zionist-party alignment — in the roster scheme that guarantees a candidate at least 5/6 (see Easton). It rarely appears as an "endorser" because it runs against Democrats.
Sources: PSL National · Easton (NY-15) coverage
7
Anti-AIPAC accountability
cross-cutting · a criticism signal, not a stance
Cross-cutting tools for opposing AIPAC's money — not positions on Zionism or BDS. Refusing AIPAC now spans the spectrum (even centrists like Seth Moulton and Mallory McMorrow have done it), so reading "rejects AIPAC" as proof a candidate rejects Israel as a Jewish state is the classic error this band exists to prevent.
Reject AIPAC
2024 coalition · 20+ groups
A coalition launched in 2024 spanning Justice Democrats, WFP, JVP Action, IfNotNow, Sunrise, DSA, Our Revolution, USCPR Action, Peace Action, NIAC Action, MPower, Gen-Z for Change, JFREJ and more. Its instrument is a pledge — modeled on the anti-NRA pledge — for candidates to refuse AIPAC money and "support Palestinian rights."
Position
An anti-AIPAC vehicle, not a Zionism/BDS stance. The "support Palestinian rights" plank is deliberately broad.
Note
rejectaipac.org has lapsed; the formal coalition may be dormant in 2026, but the no-AIPAC-money pledge concept persists across the party.
Roster signal"Rejects AIPAC" is a moderate criticism data point — necessary-not-sufficient for a Palestinian-rights-pole placement. Plenty of Tier 2–3 candidates now refuse AIPAC money. Do not read it as a rejection of Israel as a Jewish state.
Sources: Common Dreams · The Hill · Al Jazeera · American Prospect · IfNotNow
Track AIPAC
grassroots tracker / scorecard
A volunteer-run accountability project that documents officeholders' and candidates' ties to AIPAC and the wider pro-Israel lobby — per-member contribution totals, voting records, and Palestine positions — from an explicitly anti-AIPAC, Palestine-accountability vantage. Its per-state pages tally the lobby money flowing to each member of a state's congressional delegation (e.g., it tallied ~$3M in Israel-lobby money to Valerie Foushee).
Position
A transparency/data project — it tracks and scores; it does not endorse. Its lens is critical of AIPAC, but the underlying figures are contribution and voting data.
Roster signalUsed here as the standing counter-reference for sitting federal pro-Israel members who otherwise carry only neutral or pro-Israel sourcing — it documents the lobby money behind a Tier 1–2 placement from a critical vantage. It covers sitting members of Congress, not state-level officials or non-incumbents, and its money lens fits Democrats (AIPAC dollars) better than Republicans (whose pro-Israel stance is ideological more than transactional). A corroborating data source on the "money" axis, never a tier-setter on its own.
Sources: Track AIPAC (trackaipac.com) · The Intercept · American Prospect · INDY Week
8
Advocacy — not endorsers
shape the climate · don't hand out endorsements
Influential organizations that shape the political climate around Palestine and Israel but don't issue electoral endorsements — listed so they're documented and not mistaken for PACs whose "backing" sets a signal. They are grouped here by what they do (advocacy, no endorsements), not by where they stand: this band spans the spectrum, from right-wing Zionist climate-setters, through liberal-Zionist human-rights advocacy, to Palestinian-led groups that reject US electoral politics on principle — the two ends of the force question, both outside the endorsement game.
ADL · AJC · ZOA · StandWithUs
pro-Israel / Jewish communal advocacy
Pro-Israel advocacy organizations that shape the climate but don't issue endorsements. Three of them are close kin on the right — the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), ZOA (Zionist Organization of America), and StandWithUs — right-wing Zionist groups that brand criticism of Israel and anti-Zionist organizing as antisemitism; the ADL and StandWithUs are widely criticized for smear campaigns against Palestinian-rights, progressive, and even mainstream-liberal groups and individuals. The AJC (American Jewish Committee) sits closer to the mainstream pro-Israel establishment, focused on diplomacy and advocacy.
Role
Lobbying, education, climate-setting, and reputational attacks on critics — not candidate endorsements.
Roster signalNone directly — these aren't endorsers, and an ADL or AJC mention is not a money-rule trigger. They matter as the right-wing-Zionist and establishment backdrop the anti-Zionist pole defines itself against; an ADL "antisemitism" designation of a candidate or group is a political attack, not a neutral rating.
The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights · liberal-Zionist advocacy, not an endorser
A network of ~2,300 rabbis and cantors that frames its advocacy in the language of human rights. Zionist, but firmly opposed to the occupation, annexation, settlement expansion, and settler violence. An advocacy and rabbinic-organizing body, not a candidate PAC — it issues no electoral endorsements, and no candidate on this roster carries one. Politically it is the opposite number of the ADL/ZOA cluster above, not its kin; it sits here because of what it does, not where it stands.
Position
Calls on the US to stop the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel (Nov 2024), grounded in US law (NSM-20) and international humanitarian law — while holding that "the U.S. can and should continue to provide support for Iron Dome and other defensive military aid." Does not use "genocide." Opposes a blanket boycott while defending the right to boycott. Does not call for a full embargo, and keeps a two-state, Jewish-state frame.
Roster signalNone — it endorses no one. Its own position is still worth reading against J Street's, because on the axis this roster measures the two are not equivalent: J Street backs full US security assistance, while T'ruah asks the US to halt offensive transfers and keep Iron Dome. That is precisely the Block-the-Bombs profile, which for a sitting member points to 3/4. So T'ruah's organizational position sits at the 3/4 conditioning line — above J Street's — and stays short of 4/5 by the Iron Dome carve-out and the absence of genocide, embargo, or legitimacy-line language. Checked July 2026: no later statement moves them past offensive-only.
Sources: T'ruah — "Rabbis Call on U.S. to Stop Transfer of Offensive Weapons to Israel" (Nov 15, 2024, truah.org) · Religion News Service (Nov 18, 2024)
Within Our Lifetime
Palestinian-led · rejects electoralism · not an endorser
A Palestinian-led NYC organization (formerly NY4Palestine), led by Nerdeen Kiswani. It appears nowhere on this roster — no endorsement, no candidate tie — and that is deliberate: it rejects candidate endorsements and US electoral politics on principle. Listed here because its position marks one far end of the force question, and its absence from every tier is itself a statement about the electoral field this roster measures.
Position
Its Points of Unity defend "the right of Palestinians as colonized people to resist the zionist occupation by any means necessary," naming armed struggle a legitimate form — while saying nothing about the targeting of civilians. That is further on force than anything this roster measures.
On elections
Rejects electoralism by name: progressive endorsements "siphon the rage, energy, and resources of disaffected young people… into the Democratic Party and nonprofit industrial complex," a "demobilizing and disillusioning force"; "fascism is a bipartisan affair"; the goal is "to take power, not just elect people." It has criticized Mamdani, not backed him.
Roster signalNone — it endorses no one, and won't. Its non-participation is a reasoned verdict that the two-party system cannot deliver on Palestine, not apathy. It also rejects the frame this roster is built on, arguing that to "essentialize the role of AIPAC is to fundamentally misapprehend our enemy." Its position on force can't reach a tier because it never touches a candidate.
Sources: wolpalestine.com — Points of Unity · "Genocide is Not the Lesser of Two Evils" (June 29, 2024)
Palestinian Youth Movement
Palestinian diaspora · rejects electoralism · not an endorser
A transnational Palestinian diaspora organization. Like WOL, it appears nowhere on this roster and endorses no candidate — by conviction, not omission. Listed for the same reason: to document where the force question runs past the edge of electoral politics, and why these voices sit outside it.
Position
Affirms Palestinians "will continue to forcefully reclaim [freedom] by any means necessary" and calls resistance "just and true" — but, unlike WOL, keeps Palestinian defense at "popular resistance" and "steadfastness," naming no armed means. Silent on the targeting of civilians.
On elections
"The people will bring an end to this genocide… not through moral appeals to imperialist politicians, but through mass mobilization… a people's arms embargo." Change comes from recognizing "the futility of traditional vehicles for alleged change." Its instruments are boycott and mobilization — e.g., its campaign against Maersk for shipping military cargo "to the Zionist entity."
Roster signalNone — it endorses no one. As with WOL, the non-endorsement is the point: a considered judgment that the US electoral system fails the issue. It transmits no signal to any candidate.
Sources: palestinianyouthmovement.com — Statement on the 2024 election (Nov 6, 2024) · "On Sharpening Contradictions" (Nov 13, 2023) · About
Non-endorsement as a verdict. The organizations that go furthest on the force question — WOL and PYM — are precisely the ones that endorse no one and reject electoral politics on principle. That is not a coincidence to route around; it is a finding. The positions the US two-party system can absorb stop well short of these groups, and these groups say so in as many words. Their absence from every tier reflects a limit of the electoral field this roster measures, not a gap in the roster — and it is the mirror image of the far pro-Israel pole, whose maximal-force voices (see the tier rules) do hold office and vote the weapons through. The endorsement game runs between those two silences.
Not on this list: crypto PACs. Fairshake and its affiliated crypto super PACs funded several AIPAC-preferred candidates this cycle (e.g., Christian Menefee in TX-18), so their money co-occurs with the pro-Israel lane — but they are not pro-Israel organizations. Their throughline is crypto regulation, not Israel. Keep the two money trails distinct: crypto-PAC money is not a money-rule trigger on its own.
§
Individual endorsers
a different object — what their backing signals × how far it reaches
Individuals aren't a spectrum band — they're a different object. An organization endorses by published criteria; a person's backing blends two things: where they sit on the spectrum, and how far their name actually moves a race. So each entry carries a type — Type A (Palestine-signal): Palestine is central to their identity, so their backing carries position information (Tlaib, Sanders, AOC, Mamdani); Type B (power/partisan): the endorsement signals factional or machine alignment, and their Israel stance is incidental to why they endorse (Trump). Listed for reach or power, not for completeness. Where a person is also a roster candidate, the tier is the roster's call (shown here and kept in sync); otherwise it's an editorial estimate. Endorsee lists appear only where a published, finite slate exists — see the celebrity/influencer note at the end for why most individuals get a signal read but no list.
Donald Trump
Type B · own position T1
President and the dominant force in Republican primaries. By record the pro-Israel pole — moved the embassy to Jerusalem, recognized the Golan, brokered the Abraham Accords, the 2025 Gaza “ownership” plan, UNRWA cuts — but his posture is transactional and idiosyncratic, not AIPAC-money or Christian-Zionist-theology driven.
2026
300+ Republican endorsements this cycle — Ballotpedia counts 312 as of June 2026 (~98% primary success rate). Roster candidates he has backed include Lindsey Graham, Ken Paxton, Tom Cotton, Bill Hagerty, Mike Collins, Julia Letlow, Michael Whatley, and Kevin Hern — plus nearly every GOP Senate incumbent.
What backing signalsMAGA / GOP loyalty, not an Israel position. A Trump endorsement marks a candidate as Trump-aligned; their Palestine tier is incidental and set by their own record. The cleanest illustration of a Type B power endorsement — enormous reach, near-zero Palestine signal.
The most popular figure on the American left and its largest small-dollar network. Has fought for years to block US arms sales to Israel, yet still affirms Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state and backs a two-state solution — the record the roster reads as Tier 4 (4/5), short of the anti-Zionist line. (Not a 2026 candidate, so he has no roster row of his own.)
Slate
Largely flows through Our Revolution (Band 3), already profiled above.
What backing signalsStrong-progressive, arms-conditioning — a Type A signal with huge reach. But by the roster's own rule his nod can't certify a Tier 5: he sits at 4 himself, so the endorsement confirms a left lean, not an anti-Zionist record.
Sources: Our Revolution · roster methodology note
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Type A · roster Tier 4
Among the highest-reach progressive endorsers in the country. Reached 4/5 only after reversing a long pro–Iron Dome record in 2026; backs conditioning arms, but stops short of the anti-Zionist markers.
Endorses through her Courage to Change PAC, which posts a slate.
What backing signalsStrong-progressive + arms-conditioning, big reach — but, like Sanders, she sits at 4 herself, so her endorsement confirms the lean without certifying Tier 5.
Sources: Courage to Change · roster (NY-14)
Rashida Tlaib
Type A · roster Tier 6
The only Palestinian-American woman in Congress and the strongest individual Palestine-signal endorser on this list. Backs a full arms embargo, names the genocide, supports BDS — a clean roster Tier 6.
Ad hoc; no single canonical slate, though her backings are well reported.
What backing signalsThe gold-standard Palestinian-rights-pole correlate among individuals — a Tlaib endorsement is the closest a person's nod comes to the JVP Action / USCPR signal. Still verify the candidate's own words: the endorsement confirms the lean, the record sets the tier.
Sources: roster (MI-12) · widely reported
Zohran Mamdani
Type A · est. Tier 5
Mayor of New York City since January 2026 — the highest-profile Muslim and Palestinian-rights elected official in the country, with a national small-dollar and youth following. Lifelong BDS record: co-founded an SJP chapter at Bowdoin, backed academic BDS, called the Palestinian cause “central to my identity,” and on his first day as mayor revoked the city's IHRA antisemitism definition and its anti-BDS restrictions. (Citywide office, so not a House/Senate roster row.)
Slate
Ad hoc; no canonical slate — his backing is a reach instrument more than a list.
Why 5, not 6
The BDS-by-name record and day-one anti-IHRA / anti-BDS actions read as Tier 6 — but the roster's no-hedging rule keeps him from a clean 6, and Mamdani has hedged under Zionist and establishment pressure: he walked back “globalize the intifada” to a closed-door room of 140+ business leaders, and in March 2026 publicly condemned Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa as “reprehensible” and distanced his wife, illustrator Rama Duwaji, after her work in Abulhawa's Gaza anthology drew fire — moves that Abulhawa, Nerdeen Kiswani, and Mohammed El-Kurd each called a capitulation to Zionist power. Strong markers, real hedging → Tier 5.
What backing signalsA high-reach Palestinian-rights credential, especially with young and Muslim voters. Reads as near the Palestinian-rights pole, but the hedging is the point: confirm the candidate's own record rather than treating a Mamdani nod as a Tier-6 stamp.
Sources: Al Jazeera · The Hill · JTA · Times of Israel
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Cross-reference cheat-sheet
Endorser
Band
What backing signals
Affected band
AIPAC / UDP
Pro-Israel $
Unconditional pro-Israel — money limited to T2
T1
DMFI
Pro-Israel $
Dem-side pro-Israel — limited to T2
T1–T2
CUFI Action Fund
Pro-Israel $
Christian Zionist — limited to T2
T1
RJC
Pro-Israel $
GOP pro-Israel pole
T1 (R)
Pro-Israel America · NORPAC
Pro-Israel $
Bundled pro-Israel money — limited to T2
T1–T2
J Street
Mainstream
Mainstream liberal Zionist. Endorsement sets no tier (endorsees span T1–T4/5); it marks only the outer edge — no endorsee reaches Tier 5 or 6, and does not certify MOU support, no BDS, or Jewish state
Anti-Zionist parent (AMP); scorecard = data tool, not a tier
T4–T6
American Priorities · CAAC
Pal-rights
Spends for the Palestinian-rights candidate ($ ≠ position)
T4–T6
JVP Action
Anti-Zionist
Explicit anti-Zionist / BDS / embargo / right of return
T5–T6
DSA / NYC-DSA
Anti-Zionist
≥ nominal BDS support (post-2025 litmus); verify person
T4–T6 (varies)
USCPR Action
Anti-Zionist
Explicit BDS + full funding-cutoff litmus; itemized slate
T5–T6
PSL
Anti-Zionist
Runs its own anti-Zionist candidates (not a Dem endorser)
5/6 (own line)
Reject AIPAC
Anti-AIPAC
Refuses AIPAC money — criticism, not a stance
T2–T6 (spans)
Track AIPAC
Anti-AIPAC
Documents AIPAC ties (data, not endorsement)
—
T'ruah
Advocacy
Not an endorser — endorses no candidates. Its own position: halt offensive arms, keep Iron Dome (the 3/4 line, above J Street)
—
Within Our Lifetime · PYM
Advocacy
Not endorsers — reject electoralism on principle; furthest on force ("by any means necessary"); zero roster reach by conviction
—
ADL · AJC · ZOA · StandWithUs
Advocacy
Climate-shapers — not endorsers
—
Reading the spectrum. The clean test for placing any endorser is the Jewish-state question. The pro-Israel bands (AIPAC, DMFI, CUFI, RJC) treat it as non-negotiable and oppose conditioning aid; J Street affirms it while backing two states — which is why a J Street endorsement now signals the mainstream (Tier 2) lane, not a critical one (conduct moves it either way), with T'ruah as the genuine liberal-Zionist-critical marker (T3); the anti-Zionist pole (JVP, DSA, USCPR, PSL) rejects it by name; and everything in between — IfNotNow's "end the occupation," JFREJ's racial-justice frame, Justice Democrats' "ethnic cleansing," PAL PAC's "human rights," Reject AIPAC's "no AIPAC money" — describes criticism of conduct or aid without necessarily rejecting Israel as a Jewish state. An affiliation narrows the range; it never fixes the point. The candidate's own words still do that.
Placing a pro-Israel candidate: Tier 1 vs 1/2 vs 2. Endorsements narrow the range; they never fix the tier. Among candidates with an unbroken pro-Israel record, the split turns on champion markers and daylight: (1) a champion marker — authored Israel legislation, marquee pro-Israel money-leadership, or a maximalist-rhetoric brand — anchors a clean Tier 1; (2) no marker but a proactive move (e.g. attacking a critic to strengthen one's Israel positioning) with no daylight is champion-adjacent — at least a soft 1; (3) no marker and zero daylight is a 1/2 (firmer than the mass of 2s); (4) no marker but some genuine humanitarian consideration inside a pro-Israel posture (concern for Gaza civilians, "aid must flow," a humanitarian ceasefire note) is a flat 2. Netanyahu criticism and two-state support are free — they are not daylight (even Trump does both); the hinge between 1/2 and flat 2 is humanitarian consideration. A policy defection (an Antisemitism-Awareness-Act no-vote, arms daylight, genocide language) is a separate, stronger question.