Reposted from DAWN
Unlike comparable organizations of its size and influence, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) does not maintain a public leadership page identifying the individuals who govern and direct its operations.
We seek to provide the transparency AIPAC refuses to offer—the missing “Who We Are” page they won’t create. Click on the names below to read all about the people whose job it is to keep Israeli interests above Americans’ in every possible way.
Putting Faces To The Names
AIPAC is not an abstraction. It is run by 50 people who make decisions: 41 board members who govern the organization and 9 executives who implement its strategies. Under U.S. nonprofit law, board members and officers have legal duties to ensure their organizations comply with applicable standards, implement oversight systems, and respond to credible evidence of wrongdoing.
AIPAC Directors and Officers Responsibilities Under U.S. and International Law
AIPAC’s board members and executive officers bear personal legal responsibility for the organization’s conduct under state, federal and international laws. Under the Washington D.C. Nonprofit Corporation Act, nonprofit officers and directors owe fiduciary duties of care, loyalty, and obedience to the organizations they govern. The duty of care requires them to exercise the diligence that a reasonable person in a similar position would apply, including implementing adequate reporting and oversight systems. The duty of loyalty demands that directors act in good faith and in the organization’s best interests, not for personal benefit or the benefit of third parties.
In addition, D.C. Code § 29-406.42 explicitly requires officers with discretionary authority to act in good faith, with ordinary prudent-person care, and in the organization’s best interests. Officers also bear an affirmative duty to report material information and any actual or probable violations of law to the board. Critically, while the DC statute provides automatic liability protection for directors of charitable corporations, it extends no such protection to officers—meaning executive officers face potential personal liability for negligence that would be shielded if committed by a director.
Bernie Kaminetsky, AIPAC President, Board of Directors, and officer.
Arne Christenson, Managing Director of Policy & Politics, Officer.
Betsy Berns Korn, AIPAC Board of Directors Chair and Officer.
Elliot Brandt, Chief Executive Officer
Howard Kohr, AIPAC Former CEO, Board of Directors, and Officer.
Suzanne M Kinzer, Chief Financial Officer.
Mark Rubin, AIPAC Secretary/Treasurer, Board of Directors, and Officer
Philip S Friedman, General Counsel & Director of Political Operations
Michael Tuchin, AIPAC Former President, Board of Directors.
Samantha C Margolis, Chief Administrative Officer/Chief of Staff.
Alan Franco, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Brian T Shankman, Chief Strategic Director of National Affairs.
Alan Levow, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Jeremy Rider, Director of Events and Creative Services.
Amy Friedkin, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Michael Sachs, Atlantic States Director.
Anita Friedman, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Robert H Bassin, CEO of United Democracy Project.
Bernice Manocherian, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Bob Pincus, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Bonnie Siegel, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
David Sterling, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
David Victor, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Debbie Rudy, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Donna Bender, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Edward Levy Jr., Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Erika Neuberg, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Harriet Schleifer, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Hilary Smith Kapner, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Howard Friedman, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Jamie Sprayregen, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Jan Zakowski, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Kevin Pailet, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Lee Rosenberg, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Lillian Pinkus, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Matt Engel, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Michael Kassen, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Mort Fridman, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Phil Roberts, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Richard Bassuk, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Robert Cohen, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Ronald Bakalarz, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Sandy Perl, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Sarit Catz, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Steve Demby, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Steve Grossman, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Susie Bender, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Tim Wuliger, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Yana Lukeman, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Yehuda Neuberger, Member of AIPAC’s Board of Directors.
Network of Networks
AIPAC’s directors and officers function as a network of networks, simultaneously occupying leadership positions across virtually every major pro-Israel institution in America.
For example, Betsy Berns Korn serves as AIPAC’s Board Chair while also chairing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations since June 2025, the umbrella body coordinating over 50 Pro-Israel organizations.
Her predecessor in that role, Harriet Schleifer, also sits on AIPAC’s board alongside positions on the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s and past leadership of the American Jewish Committee, another major pro-Israel lobbying and foreign-policy organization.
Michael Kassen’s wife, Shelly Kassen, is Chairman Emeritus of the Washington Institute’s Board of Trustees, having served as its president from 2016–2020, while he serves on AIPAC’s board and as a trustee of the Hudson Institute, a right-wing, neoconservative think tank with links to former Republican administrations, defense contractors, and hawkish foreign policy circles.
Jamie Sprayregen, member of AIPAC’s board, sits on the Boards of Governors of both the Middle East Forum, a right-wing think tank that spreads misinformation, creates “watchlists” targeting academics, and advocates for an anti-Muslim foreign policy and the American Jewish Committee.
Alan Levow, an AIPAC Vice President, is also Vice President of the American Israel Education Foundation (IEF), which funds congressional trips to Israel. Howard Friedman, who served as President and Chairman of the Board of AIPAC (2006–2010) and is listed as a Vice-President, previously led the IEF as President (2010–2012).
Robert Cohen, a former AIPAC President, formerly served as Acting President of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and Alan Franco, another AIPAC Vice President, served on the International Board of Trustees of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv in 2016 and 2018.
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