More than 1,000 of AIPAC’s top donors will gather in Washington this weekend for the pro-Israel group’s annual Congressional Summit, meeting at a moment of intense scrutiny surrounding the group’s political tactics.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid are slated to address the convening via video, along with senior congressional leaders and a representative from the Trump administration, according to an AIPAC source. U.S. Ambassador to the U. N. Mike Waltz will speak at the conference, as will House Speaker Mike Johnson (R‑LA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D‑NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D‑NY) and Sens. Tom Cotton (R‑AR) and Ted Cruz (R‑TX).

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) did not respond to a request for comment.

At the conference, AIPAC activists will work to “further accelerate the community’s political efforts this election cycle” and will meet with more than 400 members of Congress, according to the source with knowledge of AIPAC’s plans.

“Discussions will focus on the evolving threats facing Israel, the negotiations with Iran, solidarity with the Iranian people seeking freedom from a brutal regime, continued U.S. security assistance and expanding joint defense cooperation that will strengthen the security and strategic edge of both nations,” the source told Jewish Insider. Supporters and critics alike are closely watching the group’s next moves after a very public defeat earlier this month. AIPAC spent more than $2.3 million on attack ads against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) in a Democratic primary in New Jersey, only for Malinowski to lose in a close race to Analilia Mejia, a far-left activist who will almost certainly take a much more hostile approach to Israel than Malinowski. The former congressman, who was largely reliable on AIPAC’s core issues during his time in Congress but who supported conditioning aid to Israel after leaving office, called on Democratic leaders in an op-ed on Thursday to “collectively … refuse [AIPAC’s] support, instead of letting it pick off candidates one by one.”

That race, to represent a wealthy suburb just across the Hudson River from New York City, is one of several in which AIPAC’s heavy spending in Democratic primaries is drawing criticism. The group’s next major test will come in Illinois’ March 17 primaries. On Thursday, retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) pulled her endorsement of Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller in one Chicago-area district, claiming Miller had received support from AIPAC, though the group has not actually endorsed Miller.

Through all of this, AIPAC has largely stayed silent. A spokesperson for AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, told JI at the time that Malinowski’s loss to Mejia was “an anticipated possibility” but declined to comment further.

AIPAC’s decision to directly enter the political fundraising space in 2022 was a sharp pivot from the group’s previous tactics, which focused on lobbying members of Congress (which the group still does). It has been very successful in its involvement in primaries to date, winning most of the primaries it has engaged in and ousting in the 2024 election two sitting lawmakers hostile to Israel. But AIPAC has also made more than a few enemies from its aggressive spending tactics while failing to stunt the creeping animus towards Israel within the Democratic Party, especially on the left.

Its tactics have also come under scrutiny since its unsuccessful engagement in the New Jersey primary. The group had traditionally been disciplined, focusing on the most vulnerable targets rather than going after every critic of Israel. Their attack against Malinowski also jeopardized their frequent alliance with the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, which viewed Malinowski as an ally.

The question facing the group heading into the midterm elections is whether growing discontent with AIPAC among the party grassroots and a growing number of rank-and-file Democrats will impact its time-tested strategy of working with both parties’ leadership. But the decision by leading congressional lawmakers to attend the conference reveals that AIPAC’s bipartisan playbook is still effective, even as it shows signs of strain.