On August 8th, Axios congressional reporter Andrew Solender posted a picture on X of 14 House Democrats participating in a trip to Israel led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
The photo included Torrance native Gil Cisneros, who represents District 31, covering most of the San Gabriel Valley (SGV). Additionally, Pete Aguilar, born in Fontana and representing District 31 in San Bernardino, was featured, along with Luz Rivas from Los Angeles, now representing District 38—San Fernando Valley (SFV).
According to the online AIPAC Tracker, a grassroots effort to expose the influence AIPAC and the Israeli lobby have on U.S. politicians by documenting their financial contributions, states that Gil Cisneros has received $93,038 from AIPAC, Pete Aguilar has received $913,199, and Luz Rivas has accepted $55,450.
AIPAC organized this delegation to “witness firsthand the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7th attacks, assess the threat to Israel’s northern border, meet with Israeli families, see Israel’s ongoing efforts to provide aid into Gaza, and engage with top government leaders.”
The trip was preceded by a GOP delegation to Israel led by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer. In addition, their Israeli vacation began just one day after Israel announced the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to militarily occupy Gaza City, which human rights experts say would cause thousands more to be displaced.
House Democrats' AIPAC trip coincided with that of social media influencers invited by Israel’s government to tour the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) “aid” site in Gaza to post on social media. This is at a time when the United Nations (UN) has declared stage five famine.