New PAC Is Targeting Pro-Palestine Advocates In Washington Elections — This Time, Imraan Siddiqi

The political action committee that helped defeat an anti-Zionist Jewish candidate as its very first electoral interventions has now set its sights on another outspoken supporter of Palestine — prominent Muslim civil rights leader Imraan Siddiqi, who is seeking a seat in the State House in Olympia. The PAC also plans to defend a Jewish State Senator in the same district, a move more closely in line with the group’s state goal to “support the interests of the Jewish community” with no mention of Israel or Zionism. How the PAC ultimately divvies up their money could provide more evidence of the groups actual central mission: Electing Jewish candidates and allies or defeating candidates associated with the pro-Palestine movement like a statel-level version of AIPAC.

But Siddiqi’s already made up his mind about the kind of PAC he’s dealing with and it looks like he’ll wear their disapproval as a badge of honor.

"I'm glad to be opposed by any pro-genocide folks—there are tons of pro-Palestine challengers running—but you can see they're truly threatened by my candidacy," Siddiqi said in a statement to The Burner. "I'll never stop speaking up for the oppressed and disenfranchised, regardless of who attacks me.”

Earlier this week, a relatively new PAC known Washingtonians For A Brighter Future (WBF) sent an email newsletter to supporters announcing an “ambitious” independent expenditure campaign in the 32nd legislative district, which encompasses parts of Lynnwood, Woodway, Mountlake Terrace, some of Edmonds, Shoreline, and a sliver of Northwest Seattle. 

WBF’s co-chairs wrote that during a recent political strategy meeting (which included guest appearances from State Sen. Lisa Wellman and Seattle City Councilmember Maritza Rivera), the group came to the “clear consensus” to support incumbents Sen. Jesse Salomon and Rep. Lauren Davis — “both Democrats, face tough reelection races, and we need them to win.”

The email went on to explain their interest in these races. 

“[Salomon] co-chairs the Jewish Legislative Caucus in Olympia. He grew up in the Seattle area, attended the Jewish Day School, and lived in Israel as a child,” WBF co-chairs wrote in an email to supporters. “[Salomon] visited Israel after October 7 and has cousins who survived the Nova Festival massacre. He has led efforts in the state senate for safe worship zones, Holocaust education, anti-hate crime bills, and security grants.”

Salomon faces a challenge from his left and from a familiar face, State House Rep. Cindy Ryu, his district-mate and fellow Democrat. 

As for the other race, WBF framed the interest less as a reward for Davis’s allyship to the Jewish community and more as an effort to keep her challenger, Siddiqi, out of the halls of power. 

“[Davis] is being challenged by [Siddiqi,] executive director of the Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who has been endorsed by Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar,” the email read. “In 2024 he ran against U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, criticizing her ‘failure to call for a ceasefire’ in Gaza. He has ably raised significant campaign dollars.”

To the average reader of The Burner, that sounds like a glowing endorsement. Siddiqi has dedicated his career to civil rights advocacy for Muslim Americans, he’s gotten the stamp of approval from some of the most progressive congress members potentially in U.S. history, and he tried to take down a genocide enabler. It also does not sound automatically out of alignment with the “interests of the Jewish community”, which the PAC purports to represent. But not everyone takes WBF’s branding seriously, with critics complaining that the PAC seems more concerned with crushing pro-Palestine candidates. 

For example, WBF choseTacoma City Council candidate Zev Cook, an anti-Zionist Jewish person, as their first target in 2025 as a newly formed PAC.  While WBF claims to support candidates aligned with the interests of Jewish Washingtonians, Cook told The Burner at the time that WBF was retaliating against her pro-Palestine advocacy. And WBF co-chair Nevet Basker basically confirmed Cook’s suspicion, telling the Tacoma Tribune that the PAC opposed Cook because her “rhetoric against Zionism" “creates a permission structure for antisemitism.” 

“I think that their attacks against a Jewish candidate just go to show that the Zionist lobby has no real interest in supporting the Jewish community, only defending pro-genocide narratives,” said Cook in a phone interview last summer. 

Through a series of attack mailers associating Cook with the 2020 movement to defund the police, WBF helped propel her competition, Joe Bushnell, to a victory. It cost them about $30,000. 

WBF was not the only self-describe pro-Jewish PAC to emerge in Washington last year. A Seattle-focused PAC known as The Kids Table also dumped big bucks into a Seattle School Board race, seemingly to punish a Jewish candidate for her families anti-Zionist advocacy.

This year, WBF has raised a little more than $43,000. That’s certainly enough to sway a Tacoma City Council race where candidates raised about $60,000 each. But it’s not yet the kind of money WFB would need to make meaningful waves in two state legislative races, consultants told The Burner. 

There’s still time to raise more money, but if the PAC wants to play a decisive role in the 32nd District, it may have to choose where to concentrate its firepower.

That decision could prove more revealing than the group's mission statement. WBF has repeatedly described itself as an organization dedicated to advancing the interests of Jewish Washingtonians. But after spending to defeat an anti-Zionist Jewish candidate last year and now identifying one of Washington's most prominent pro-Palestine, Muslim advocates as a top target, critics argue its electoral priorities tell a different story.

Whether the PAC ultimately spends more defending Salomon or attacking Siddiqi, the 32nd LD will likely become WBF's clearest test yet — not just of its political influence, but of what kind of organization it intends to be.