Zeteo’s latest investigative documentary is here! You can watch it in full above, if you are, or become, a paid subscriber.
‘Night Flower: Inside AIPAC’s Fight for Influence’ examines evidence that raises questions about whether AIPAC’s relationship with the Israeli government should require the organization to register as a foreign agent under U.S. law.
Watch the groundbreaking film above, which follows the powerful and polarizing pro-Israel lobby from its roots as a one-man advocacy operation to the present day, where it’s playing a key role in the U.S. midterm elections. It features interviews with multiple former AIPAC officials and insiders, members of Congress such as Reps. Thomas Massie and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and leading activists as it examines America’s most influential pro-Israel lobbying group.
“Always remember, a lobby is a night flower,” former AIPAC staffer M.J. Rosenberg recalls being told on his first day. “It blossoms in the dark and withers in the sun.”
AIPAC has long fought efforts to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), stating that it operates as an American organization with no direction from the Israeli government. But interviews by the ‘Night Flower’ team question that assertion by tracing evidence in cases over the past four decades.
In a startling disclosure, a longtime AIPAC employee granted anonymity to speak candidly about his decision to break with the group, says that AIPAC operates as a foreign agent for Israel in spirit, if not the letter of the law. “There are times when it seems pretty clear that AIPAC is just doing Israel’s bidding. Without question, without comment.”
And in one revealing interview, correspondent Dion Nissenbaum questions former AIPAC employee Keith Weissman about his role in a high-profile espionage case and if he passed on confidential information from a Pentagon source to Israeli officials. “Yes, absolutely. I admit that freely,” Weissman says in the film. “I did pass it on to the Embassy of Israel.”
The film, from 1st and Orchard Films, is the work of Dion Nissenbaum, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and the filmmaker behind Zeteo’s ‘Who Killed Shireen,’ and Zach Goldbaum, the Emmy Award-winning director behind the 2024 New York Times Opinion film ‘Meet the World’s Most Honorable Bank Robbers of Lebanon.’
The film premiered last night in Chicago, with future screenings planned in the coming weeks.
Please support independent journalism and costly investigative long-form projects like this one by becoming a paid subscriber and also considering donating to Zeteo.
AIPAC’s Response
In response to the questions posed in this film, AIPAC Spokeswoman Deryn Sousa denied any wrongdoing and said:
“AIPAC is an American organization. Our members and board leadership are all Americans, and our funding comes exclusively from Americans. We advocate for the U.S.-Israel relationship because we believe it is good for America. We make our own decisions, set our own policies, and take direction from one place: the AIPAC Board.”
“Suggesting that pro-Israel Americans should register with the government as foreign agents because of their views on American foreign policy is an attack on our most basic American freedom. We reject that premise entirely.”
AIPAC also said the confidential 1984 US trade report handed to the lobbying group by an Israeli Embassy official was “an unsolicited document that AIPAC returned.”
The organization also disputed allegations of what was said by Howard Kohr after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, saying, “Those quotations do not accurately reflect what was said.”
And on the Israeli Foreign Minister tweet describing a meeting with AIPAC about opposing the ICC arrest warrants: “AIPAC’s longstanding opposition to the ICC’s hostility toward Israel is a policy position that predates this tweet by years and does not reflect what was discussed in this meeting.
Rafi Barak did not respond to our request for comment.
Paid subscribers can watch the full film above. Free subscribers can watch a 9-minute preview. If you would like to watch the full documentary, and support this type of journalism and the work we’re doing at Zeteo, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
Should you want to help fund other expensive, ambitious, and important journalistic projects like this investigative documentary, you can always donate to us here.
“I’ve decided to speak out on what’s going on with AIPAC because I’m disappointed. Something has to change.” - Former AIPAC official
