Leading neoconservative commentator and staunch defender of Israel, John Podhoretz, has turned the defeat of US Representative Thomas Massie into a warning to every candidate who challenges the pro-Israel lobby, declaring that “Jewish money” should be used openly to force such politicians through a political “buzzsaw”.
Speaking at a meeting, Podhoretz celebrated the role “Jewish money” played in the defeat of Massie and issued what is likely to be regarded as a direct threat to other candidates who challenge Israel’s influence in American politics.
John Podhoretz celebrates the role that “Jewish money” played in defeating Rep. Thomas Massie: “We have to use what means there are at our disposal, and…that is Jewish money!”
“This is an existential issue for Jews!”
“Anti-Semitic” candidates need to know “they are going to… pic.twitter.com/tWwDKQ4lrc
— Chris Menahan 🇺🇸 (@infolibnews) May 20, 2026
Massie, one of the most vocal Republican critics of US aid to Israel and Washington’s entanglement in Israel’s wars, lost the Kentucky Republican primary to Trump-backed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. Gallrein won 54.9 per cent of the vote to Massie’s 45.1 per cent, after a race dominated by Trump’s attacks, pro-Israel spending and outside pressure.
The race had become the most expensive House primary in US history, with ad spending topping $32 million. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), its super PAC United Democracy Project and the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund spent more than $9 million to defeat Massie, while other prominent pro-Israel Republican donors poured millions into a Trump-aligned super PAC backing Gallrein.
Speaking after Massie’s defeat, Podhoretz framed the result as proof that Jewish political donors would openly use their financial power against candidates he described as anti-Semitic. “We have to use what means there are at our disposal,” he said. “And in my view, I’m going to put it, that is Jewish money.”
Money in US elections: pro-Israel money corrupting the entire system
The pro-Israel commentator cited statistics to underline the disproportionate influence of Jewish donors in American public life. “Jews make up 2 per cent of the population,” he said. “According to some studies, Jews make up 20 per cent of the charitable contributions made in the United States annually. That is, a tenfold. Think about that. Think about the disproportion of that.”
According to Podhoretz the same pattern applied to politics, saying it was “pretty close also,” before arguing that donors give money because they “want to influence elections to get people elected who reflect their views.”
Podhoretz declared that candidates accused of anti-Semitism must understand that “they are going to have to go through a buzzsaw” before taking office. He also said pro-Israel donors would “expose who they are,” “find out what we can find out about them, that will harm them” and do “what we can to prevent them from taking office.”
The remarks are likely to be seen by many not only as a celebration of Massie’s defeat, but as a broader warning to critics of Israel in both parties. His framing relies on the increasingly common tactic of conflating opposition to Israeli state policy with anti-Semitism, a strategy many argue is used to delegitimise criticism of Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid system and genocide in Gaza.
The Kentucky race had already been framed openly by pro-Israel figures as a warning to lawmakers. Gabe Groisman, a former Republican Jewish Coalition board member and donor, told Politico that ousting Massie was “critical” and that it was “super important to build and keep a wall” so Israel-critical voices remain “outside voices and not inside voices on the floor making policy and impacting policy in Washington”.
Massie’s defeat follows a familiar pattern. In 2024, AIPAC’s spending arm helped defeat New York Representative Jamaal Bowman, who had accused Israel of genocide and criticised Washington’s support for Tel Aviv. That race, also described as the most expensive House primary in US history at the time, saw AIPAC and allied groups spend nearly $25 million to unseat Bowman.
