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Former House Speaker<\/span> Nancy Pelosi\u2019s preferred successor for her San Francisco congressional seat has gained the endorsement of the political arm of the pro-Palestine and anti-genocide advocacy group TrackAIPAC<\/a> after pledging to back an arms embargo on Israel if elected to Congress.\u00a0<\/p>\n Connie Chan, a progressive member of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, already has the backing of establishment Democratic figures such as Pelosi and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., along with influential local labor groups. But the endorsement from Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption, the political advocacy offshoot of TrackAIPAC, is a notable move to further differentiate Chan from her opponent, state Sen. Scott Wiener. Wiener came out 11 percentage points ahead of Chan in California\u2019s June primary election<\/a>, sending the two to a general election runoff that excluded Saikat Chakrabarti<\/a>, then TrackAIPAC\u2019s preferred candidate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn Congress, we will oppose any aid to Israel and do everything in our power to stop their government\u2019s genocidal actions against the Palestinian people,\u201d Chan said in a statement to The Intercept. \u201cWe are proud to stand with groups like End Citizens United and Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption to fight to fix our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel and Palestine have featured heavily in the race to replace Pelosi, who is retiring at the end of the current congressional term. Days after Chakrabarti\u2019s defeat, he dedicated his remaining campaign funds to form a PAC to support Chan, citing<\/a> her position on sending U.S. weapons to Israel and her vow to \u201cvote to end all military aid to Israel \u2013 offensive and defensive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe will oppose any aid to Israel and do everything in our power to stop their government\u2019s genocidal actions against the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n To earn TrackAIPAC\u2019s endorsement<\/a>, Chan filled out the group\u2019s questionnaire, in which politicians seeking the group\u2019s backing swear off money from pro-Israel lobby groups like the American Israel Political Affairs Committee, agree that Israel\u2019s war in Gaza amounts to a genocide, and promise to oppose all U.S. weapons transfers to Israel, consistent with positions Chan had taken earlier in the race.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Last week, the majority of House Democrats voted in favor of cutting military aid to Israel from the National Defense Authorization Act legislation, which sets the budget for Pentagon spending. The measure failed, but the vote marked a dramatic shift in a Congress that has long granted military aid<\/a> to Israel with scant opposition. With the recent endorsement and arms embargo pledge, Chan signaled her position among<\/a> the changing tides in the party. She also is against U.S. involvement in Israel\u2019s invasion of Lebanon<\/a> and said on her website that she would have voted in favor of the failed House resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. support for the war.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe heard from many of Connie\u2019s constituents in San Francisco, as well as supporters around the country, who wanted a clear statement of her positions on Gaza, Lebanon, and America\u2019s role in both,\u201d a TrackAIPAC spokesperson told The Intercept in a statement. \u201cWe were proud and pleased to offer her that opportunity through our endorsement questionnaire, an opportunity her opponent, state Sen. Scott Wiener, has not taken.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Wiener makes a distinction<\/a> between offensive and so-called defensive weapons to Israel. He says that he would vote in favor of the Block the Bombs Act in the House, which seeks to halt arms transfers of certain munitions to Israel, but that he backs providing U.S. support for Israel\u2019s missile interceptor systems Iron Dome and David\u2019s Sling. Earlier in the race, Chan had taken a similar position, telling Mission Local<\/a> in January that offensive weapons should be banned while U.S. support for defensive weapons should be paired with humanitarian aid to Gaza. In recent months, she has shifted toward an arms embargo on all U.S. weapons to Israel.<\/p>\n\n