The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC launched a $500,000 ad campaign this weekend targeting former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who is running in a special election for the seat formerly held by Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill.

The ads highlight Malinowski’s vote in favor of additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement years ago, while he was in office representing the neighboring district. The vote also received support from a majority of Democrats.

“There are several candidates in this race that are far more supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than Tom Malinowski,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Jewish Insider. Dorton also confirmed the size of the ad buy.

Its decision to aggressively single out Malinowski is unexpected given that he has not expressed the same sort of caustic anti-Israel views that many of the candidates the super PAC traditionally targets have espoused. Malinowski, a former State Department official, was a prominent voice on foreign policy matters during his time in Congress and maintained a pro-Israel record.

“The ad itself is obviously — and unforgivably — cynical and dishonest. The strategy behind it is inexplicable. If AIPAC’s definition of pro-Israel now excludes even someone like me, who passionately supports Israel but won’t commit to a blank check for anything [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] might want, there won’t be enough pro-Israel people left in America to sustain the relationship,” Malinowski said in a statement to JI. “I’m confident people will see through this. But if they were to get away with it here, they will do the same to many other Democrats who at some point voted for border funding.”

Various lawmakers — Democrats and Republicans — who AIPAC supports also voted for the border funding package.

In a recent interview with JI, Malinowski described himself as pro-Israel and expressed support for the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan and strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. But he also said he’s open to policies conditioning or restricting aid, and said the U.S. should act as “counterweight” to the Israeli far right. He added that U.S. aid shouldn’t be used to facilitate Israeli actions that the U.S. itself doesn’t support.

Multiple other candidates in the Democratic primary for the 11th Congressional District have expressed more critical views of Israel, including Analilia Mejia, who leads a progressive advocacy group. Mejia suggested in a candidate forum last week that Arab Israelis do not enjoy the same level of citizenship as Jewish Israelis and indicated she would not support sending offensive weapons to Israel as a member of Congress.

She’s endorsed by a series of progressives critical of Israel including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Greg Casar (D-TX), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Chuy Garcia (D-IL), as well as the Working Families Party and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.

Other candidates in the race include Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who expressed support for continued and unrestricted U.S. aid to Israel in a recent interview with JI; Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who voiced her support for the U.S.-Israel relationship in a recent candidate forum; and Jeff Grayzel, the deputy mayor of Morris Township whose path to victory relies upon the support of Jewish voters in the district.

Gill, backed by Gov. Phil Murphy, and Malinowski have generally been seen as the front-runners.