At a rally in February, standing atop a stage decorated with a banner that read “ICE OUT OF SD,” Democratic Rep. Juan Vargas thought he was among friends.
Vargas, who represents the 52nd District in San Diego’s South Bay, joined the crowd in chants of, “ICE Out! ICE Out!” But then he grew noticeably silent when the chants shifted to, “Stop Funding Israel! Stop Funding Israel!”
That’s when the crowd turned on Vargas. Booing the seven-term congressman and shouting, “Get off the stage!”
As Vargas was leaving, a small group of activists and organizers asked him about his relationship with the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He gave them a clear and definitive answer.
“AIPAC has never given me a penny,” Vargas said.
However, campaign finance records from the Federal Elections Commission show AIPAC has been Vargas’ biggest donor in the last two election cycles.
During the 2024 cycle, AIPAC contributed $162,052 to Vargas’ campaign, the records show. That accounted for 16% of Vargas’ overall contributions and was by far the highest amount by a single funder. The second was the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund with $19,500 in contributions.
Similarly, AIPAC has been Vargas’ top donor during the current campaign cycle — contributing $63,500 as of April 14, records show. Again, more than any other donor.
Vargas is running in the June primary against Republican Jeff Belle and Democrat Deborah Calhoun Rhodes.
He did not respond to multiple questions from KPBS regarding the AIPAC donations.
To the activists who confronted the congressman at the rally in February, his denial was upsetting and confusing.
“He’s a liar,” said Grace Victoria Rojas Jimenez, one of the activists who started the “Stop Funding Israel” chant.
This criticism comes amid shifting views on Israel throughout the United States.
Since 2001, Gallup has asked Americans whether their sympathies lie more with Israel or Palestinians in, “the Middle East situation.” The answer has overwhelmingly been in favor of Israel, with Americans showing consistent double-digit leads in support for decades — with the gap averaging 43 points between 2001 and 2018.
But support for Israel has eroded significantly over the last few years — with Americans now saying their sympathies lie more with Palestinians than Israel by a narrow margin.
However, the gap widens among Democrats — with 65% of Democrats saying their sympathies lie with Palestinians compared with 17% who favor Israelis.
Rojas Jimenez, who lives in Vargas’ district, believes her congressman is out of touch with his constituents on this issue. She does not believe U.S. tax dollars should be going to fuel Israel’s attack on Gaza or the unpopular war in Iran.
“What our tax dollars are being funded is for war and genocide, but these are not our needs and we didn’t ask for them,” she said.
Several organizations that investigated the Israeli military’s tactics in its response to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack — including a United Nations Special Committee, Amnesty International, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars — have concluded that Israel committed acts of genocide in Palestine.
Israel has denied those findings.
Activists specifically point to a controversial March 5 House of Representatives vote in which Vargas voted with Republicans to reject a war powers resolution that could have limited President Donald Trump’s military action in Iran.
Vargas was one of only four Democrats to vote against the resolution.
In a previous statement, Vargas’ office told KPBS he supported some of Trump’s goals in Iran – specifically preventing the regime from developing nuclear weapons and diminishing their missile and drone program.
More recently, on April 16, Vargas voted with Democrats in favor of a similar war powers resolution. The resolution failed by one vote.
