US Jewish groups spent a lot more on lobbying in 2025 than in prior years

With U.S. President Donald Trump back in the White House and pushing for peace in the Middle East following a ceasefire in Gaza, Jewish organizations boosted their lobbying in Washington, D.C., in 2025, according to new disclosures filed with the U.S. Congress.

The heavyweight continues to be the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent 13% more last year than in 2024. Republican Jewish Coalition expenditures rose 50% even before filing its report for the last three months of its fourth-quarter filings.

Even the Orthodox Union, which hadn’t spent any money on lobbying since 2018, retained a firm with close ties to the president.

The Hamas war remained atop the concerns of several organizations, according to Guy Ziv, associate professor of foreign policy and global security at American University and associate director of its Israeli studies center.

“Big questions remain on what exactly the post-Gaza situation is going to look like,” Ziv told JNS. “The key decisions are in Trump’s hands.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will follow what Trump says,” according to Ziv. “What these organizations are trying to do is influence lawmakers and the White House. They want their message to be heard clearly.”

AIPAC continued to spend more on lobbying than any other Jewish or pro-Israel group. It reported almost $3.8 million in expenditures in 2025, up from $3.3 million a year earlier. J Street boosted its lobbying spending by 26%—nearly double AIPAC’s percentage increase—to $750,000 last year, from $595,000 in 2024.

“AIPAC has long engaged with Congress to support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and today represents six million grassroots Americans,” Deryn Sousa, AIPAC spokeswoman, told JNS.

“That bipartisan work continues amid serious challenges facing the United States and Israel, when shared democratic values and security interests matter most,” Sousa said.

JNS sought comment from J Street, which self-identifies as “pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy.”

The Republican Jewish Coalition spent more money to lobby—$300,000–in the first nine months of 2025 than in all of 2024, when it spent $200,000.

Sam Markstein, RJC political director, told JNS that the higher spending was “due to the expansion of our government affairs department,” which “increased lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill and the White House.”

And the Zionist Organization of America boosted its lobbying expenses from $180,000 in 2024 to $200,000 last year.

Another issue driving lobbying spending is the continued increase in antisemitism. Last year saw violent antisemitic attacks in Colorado, where firebombs were thrown at a rally in Boulder calling for the release of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas on Oct. 7; in Washington, D.C., where two Israeli embassy staffers were shot to death; and at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence in Harrisburg which was set on fire after a Passover seder.

“The dramatic rise in incidents of antisemitism in the U.S. is fueling the concerns of the community,” Ziv said. “We’re seeing incidents on the far right and on the far left.”

The Anti-Defamation League increased its spending on lobbying to $1.5 million in 2025, up from $1.4 million in 2024.

“ADL’s lobbying expenditures increased in 2025 due to our broad and deliberate expansion into fighting antisemitism at the state and local level, which has brought changes in personnel, realignment and reassignments,” ADL spokesman Todd Gutnick told JNS.

One of those hired by the ADL to lobby on antisemitism was Brian Ballard, who has parlayed his ties to Trump into what the research group OpenSecrets says is the biggest lobbying firm in Washington by revenue. The ADL ended its relationship with Ballard in October.

Another group that hired Ballard last year was the Orthodox Union, which spent $350,000 in 2025—its first lobbying expenditures since 2018.

The OU lobbied on taxes, education and charitable contributions, as Trump and Republicans passed a $3.4 billion tax and spending bill that among other things increased taxpayer funding for private and religious schools.

And the Jewish Federations of North America spent at least $689,360 last year—an increase over the $455,350 it spent in 2024. (JNS sought comment from the Federation.)

© JNS