Augusta, Maine - Maine candidate Graham Platner embraced criticism of him from pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, hitting back at claims that he is "undermining" Israeli-US relations.

"Proud to appear in this AIPAC fundraising email, and many AIPAC fundraising emails to come," Platner wrote on X in response to an email sent out by the lobbyist group accusing him of being an extremist.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a US-based lobbyist organization that enjoys support from members of both the GOP and the Democrats.

It steadfastly supports the Israeli government, denying genocide in Gaza and human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.

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In the fundraising email, shared on X by reporter Jacob Kornbluh, AIPAC accused Platner and fellow Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed of "running campaigns built on undermining" Israel.

"They've embraced extreme rhetoric, pushed false accusations of genocide, and openly support cutting off aid to one of America's closest democratic allies," the email read.

AIPAC went on to endorse Platner's prospective GOP opponent, incumbent Senator Susan Collins, and pushed for its members to support her campaign financially.

Platner has railed against Israel's genocide in Gaza and the influence of Israeli lobby groups like AIPAC on many establishment members of the Democratic Party. He has positioned himself as an antiwar candidate, despite his decision to join the US military amid President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq.

Speaking to Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan in April, Platner described the US' relationship with Israel as "shameful," and said that the genocide in Gaza is "the moral question of our time."

"And we failed it, miserably, we continue to fail," he said. "There's a genocide that's being committed in Gaza, and we continue to not only not stand up against it, but allow it to happen."