AIPAC denies pulling Randy Fine endorsement after derogatory comments on Gaza starvation

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) denied on Tuesday reports that it dropped its endorsement of a congressman who told Gazans to "starve away." The pro-Israel advocacy group called the reporting suggesting that it had distanced itself from the lawmaker “unsourced” and “speculative.” 

What happened: On July 22, in response to an ABC news article reporting that 15 people had died from malnutrition in Gaza in 24 hours, Representative  Fine (R-Fla.) wrote on X: “Release the hostages. Until then, starve away. (This is all a lie anyway. It amazes me that the media continues to regurgitate Muslim terror propaganda.).” 

Fine's post prompted immediate backlash, including from politicians and a prominent Jewish and Israel advocacy group, the American Jewish Committee, which said in an X post responding to Fine, “Implying that starvation is a legitimate tactic is unacceptable.” 

Even far-right Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Fla.) issued a statement calling Fine’s post “disgraceful.”  

“It the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” Greene wrote, notably referring to Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza as a genocide. She added that “a Jewish US Representative calling for the continued starvation of innocent people and children is disgraceful.” 

On Monday, the New Republic reported that AIPAC had removed Randy Fine from its list of endorsed candidates. Al-Monitor confirmed that Fine is not on AIPAC’s list of endorsed candidates but could not verify whether he had recently been listed.  

AIPAC pointed Al-Monitor to a tweet responding to the speculation over the organization’s change of heart about Randy Fine’s endorsement. “The reporting  is based on an unsourced speculative piece. We will be endorsing candidates for the 2026 election throughout the cycle. Current endorsees for 2026 so far are listed,” the organization wrote. AIPAC added that consideration of Fine’s endorsement “will take place later in the cycle.” 

Background: AIPAC endorsed the Florida congressman during his campaign for the House in a special election to fill Mike Waltz’ seat. According to election filings, AIPAC donated more than $120,000 to Fine’s campaign. President Donald Trump also endorsed Fine.  

Another post from Fine on July 27 doubled down on his statement on starvation: “There is no starvation [in Gaza]. Everything about the ‘Palestinian’ cause is a lie.” 

A post from Fine on Sunday, in response to a post memorializing a 22-year-old woman killed by Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, read, ”When you wonder why I don’t give a shit about Gazans, here is one reason.” Just a day earlier, Fine was appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

Fine has long been a vocal pro-Israel conservative firebrand. Screenshots of what appear to be now-deleted X posts from 2023 from an account named “VoteRandyFine” read: “There is no suffering adequate for these animals. May the streets of Gaza overflow with blood.” Another screenshotted from the same account read: “Kill. Them. All. #NoMercy #BombsAway.” Al-Monitor could not verify these posts. 

More recently, on Feb. 8, in response to a tweet describing how “Palestinians” killed the wife and family members of Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, Fine wrote, “Calling these people animals is unfair to animals. Israel has the MOAB. I hope they use it. #BombsAway.” Neither his post nor the post he responded to made reference to Hamas, only “Palestinians.” 

Know more: Gaza currently faces a hunger crisis that the World Food Program described as “astonishing” last Friday. According to the World Health Organization, there were 74 malnutrition-related deaths in 2025 alone — 63 of which occurred in July, including 24 children under the age of five. On Tuesday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that a “worst‑case famine scenario” is unfolding and said that without action there would be “widespread death” in the territory.