Follow the money.
Know the names.

What this data means — the three legal channels.

1 · FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act). When a lobbying firm, PR agency, or consultant works on behalf of the government or a state-linked entity of Israel, US law (22 U.S.C. §611 et seq.) requires them to register with the DOJ and publicly disclose the relationship, their activities, and money flows. The table above is every active registration naming an Israeli foreign principal — including Israeli ministries (Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Finance), government ad agencies, and Israeli companies. What it does not mean: registration is a legal compliance act, not an accusation. Why it matters: it shows the paid, disclosed pipeline through which a foreign government's interests reach US policymakers — firms like Mercury, K&L Gates, and Weber Shandwick are professionally paid to shape US policy in Israel's favor.

2 · Privately sponsored congressional travel. House rules (and 22 U.S.C. §1754) require quarterly public disclosure of official foreign travel funded by private sponsors. Trips to Israel — historically many organized by AIEF (AIPAC's educational foundation) — are disclosed with sponsor, destination, dates, and cost. What it does not mean: this is not campaign money and not a FARA event. Why it matters: these all-expenses-paid delegations are widely recognized as among the most effective influence tools for shaping lawmakers' views on Israel — the Guardian reported AIEF spent $4.2M+ on such trips at roughly $26,600 per member.

3 · LDA lobbying (Lobbying Disclosure Act). Separate from FARA, quarterly LD-2 reports disclose which lobbying firms are paid by which clients (including Israeli or Israel-linked entities) and which US officials they contacted. What it does not mean: lobbying is legal; disclosure ≠ wrongdoing. Why it matters: it documents ongoing, paid attempts to steer US policy toward Israeli positions, with client names on the record.

4 · Section 117 foreign gifts to universities. The Higher Education Act requires US universities to report foreign gifts and contracts of $250,000+ per source per year. Israeli government bodies, foundations, and companies appear as sources in these public records. What it does not mean: a gift or research contract is not lobbying and not a campaign contribution. Why it matters: foreign money to universities shapes research agendas, academic programs, and campus politics — and §117 is the only public window into its scale. Note the data is self-reported by institutions and widely believed to understate actual foreign funding.

What is deliberately NOT here. AIPAC itself is a domestic American organization — its PAC contributions and UDP independent expenditures are tracked in the main tabs, not here, because that money is American, not foreign. Mixing domestic foreign-policy advocacy with foreign-state influence would be factually wrong. This tab is strictly for channels where a foreign (Israeli) principal is on the record. Missing / in progress: the LDA scan is incremental (quarterly pages, rate-limited) — counts will rise as more 2024–25 quarters are captured. Not yet included: Section 117 foreign gifts to universities, State Dept foreign-military-financing flows (a government-to-government channel, not lobbying), and pre-2024 travel PDFs (being added).