AIPAC opens conference amid US-Israel tension

[oberliner]

WASHINGTON - The top pro-Israel lobby opens its annual policy conference here Sunday keeping up the pressure to defuse a US-Israeli row over the Middle East peace process and to divert attention to Iran.

Evan Bayh, a democatic Senator, and Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, will be the keynote speakers at a massive show of US-Israeli unity staged by the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Events are due to begin around 9:30 a.m. with more than 7,000 guests due at the convention center here in Washington.

They will set the tone for Monday when both US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who have recently exchanged bitter words on illegal Jewish settlements -- will deliver speeches.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=37942

[TomClash]

1. I'm sure it will be a barnburner

With Evan Bayh and Michael Oren headlining the show, it'll be a white riot today on K & 8th - how can I get in? :sarcasm:

[Jefferson23]

3. In case you can't get in, you can watch the trailer for now..hehe

WATCH THE POLICY CONFERENCE TRAILER BELOW

http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/2841.asp

Sunday, March 21, 2010

9:00am Opening Plenary Doors Open

9:30am-11:15am Opening Plenary

11:45am-1:00pm Breakout Sessions 1

1:30pm-2:45pm Breakout Sessions 2

3:15pm-4:30pm Breakout Sessions 3

5:00pm-7:00pm Late Afternoon Plenary

Monday, March 22, 2010

8:00am Morning Plenary Doors Open

8:30am-10:30am Morning Plenary

11:00am-12:30pm Regional Lobbying Meetings

2:15pm-3:30pm Breakout Sessions 4

4:00pm-5:15pm Breakout Sessions 5

6:30pm-10:00pm Gala Banquet

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

8:30 am Doors Open Morning Plenary

9:00 am-10:30am Closing Plenary

11:00am-3:00pm Lobbying Meetings
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PC 2009 Highlights

See the best of AIPAC's 2009 Policy Conference.



View video highlights

Watch full speeches
Quotable Quotes
"... the success of AIPAC. It is you, the committed members who contribute your time, your talent and your resources to educate your members of Congress."



—Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

[TomClash]

4. A Jon Kyl speech?

How will they keep the crowds away?

"Back Crippling Sanctions on Iran
Reaffirm the U.S.-Israel Alliance
Support Security Aid for Israel
Book Your Hotel Now!"

:rofl: :rofl:

[Jefferson23]

2. My Life With AIPAC

My Life With AIPAC: Plus Its Internal Strategy Document For This Week

And there is AIPAC's secret memo on its strategy with Congress this week. h/t American For Peace Now and Lara Friedman, its analyst extraordinaire.

I understand what is going on at AIPAC right now. I know it because I volunteered there for a year back in the 1970's and then had a senior job there in the 1980's. I left for a better job. But I left on great terms. My then-boss, Tom Dine, the Executive Director is a good friend and took me with him when he left AIPAC for the Clinton Administration.

But times and people change. So do institutions. Back then AIPAC was less rigid. Yes, it rarely, if ever, deviated from the Israeli line. But, one, the Israeli line was not as hard right as it is today. And both AIPAC and even rightwing Israeli prime ministers (like Menachem Begin) tried to avoid conflicts with American administrations.

When I worked at AIPAC the first time, its founder and executive director, I.L. Kenen, told me this: "My worst fear is that a President of the United States will get on television and say to the American people, 'I have made the following request to the Israeli government.' He then describes it and says that Israel's refusal to accept it would harm US interests. At that point, the Israeli government would fold and so would AIPAC."

I said, "But what if it was a life or death issue?"

He said, "But it never would be. America will never ask Israel to commit suicide. If it happens, it would be a demand to get out of the occupied territories or divide Jerusalem or something like that. Life or death it would never be. Still, it's my biggest fear."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/my-life-with-aipac-what-t_b_506933.html

[Jefferson23]

5. Why this AIPAC conference is different from all other years

snip* While declarations of support for the strong relations poured in from the administration and Congress in the days leading up to the conference, some of Israel?s strongest supporters chose to criticize the Netanyahu government over the settlement dispute.

Among those making their reservations public were Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland and California Democratic rep. Howard Berman, who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.



Public opinion polls still show that AIPAC is entering its conference with a comfortable level of support among Americans for the Jewish state. According to a new poll by Rasmussen Reports, conducted after Biden's visit to Israel, the number of Americans who view Israel as an ally of America remains steady.

Most Americans also support the idea of military aid to Israel from the United States. At the same time, the poll found that 49% of Americans believe Israel should be required to stop building settlements.



http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1157874.html

[ProgressiveMuslim]

6. Whew! So glad Hilary is going to pay homage... !

[ProgressiveMuslim]

7. Report from Planet AIPAC:

Planet AIPAC: Obama should declare ‘I’m a Zionist,’ Goldstone is ‘token court Jew,’ and please don’t boo Hillary

by Philip Weiss on March 21, 2010

I watched a few hours of AIPAC’s policy conference on streaming video today– they wouldn’t let me attend the conference, said there was no room at the inn–and had a few impressions.

AIPAC is more out of touch than ever. It’s glaring/weird. Look, even The New Yorker is giving props to J Street, which termed Obama’s response to Netanyahu "appropriate;" but AIPAC is in complete denial about the settlements and the Gaza war. The tenor of the first day was almost purely defensive, all about what a technological miracle Israel is, making a barren country bloom, with the occasional spiteful comment about Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinians being responsible for their serfdom. At the end they brought out Alan Dershowitz to denounce what is (truly) the greatest threat to Israel, the recent reports that Biden and Petraeus look on the special relationship as endangering American lives. Dershowitz said this was a lie, that it’s Islamic extremists who endanger American lives because they hate our freedom. That line felt like a time warp. He invoked the names Walt and Mearsheimer a half dozen times, along with Goldstone, Joe Klein, and Roger Cohen. The five horsemen of delegitimization. Dershowitz did not fail to be vicious towards Goldstone, calling him the U.N.’s "token court Jew," who when the report was challenged, issued the "ad hominem" argument, But I’m a Jew, my daughter lived in Israel. That is horse manure. I’ve never heard Goldstone say such a thing as an answer to factual/legal criticisms of his report.

Overall thrust of the conference is, let us put this ridiculous meaningless spat between the countries behind us so that we can get on to the joyous task of imposing "crippling" sanctions on Iran before we bomb them into submission. "Allies should work out their differences privately," reminded Lee Rosenberg, Obama friend and incoming AIPAC president.

Neocon Robert Kagan said all the Arab countries neighboring Iran want us to bomb Iran now. Neocon Robert Satloff said that the best thing Obama could do now is to declare that he’s a Zionist. "You don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist… It would pack an enormously powerful punch for President Barack Obama to say in capitals around the world, that I am a Zionist."

Thanks Bob, that will be on the president’s desk in the morning.

The strongest criticism of Israel came from Tal Becker. He acknowledged Israel’s crisis obliquely, spoke of a closing window, suggested some curb on colonization. But then Becker’s an Israeli. The lobby doesn’t live there, and it gets to be more Catholic than the Pope.

I found it humorous how many times the AIPAC leadership warned the members not to boo their guests– preparing them for clips of Obama during Rosenberg’s introduction, and for Hillary coming tomorrow morning. AIPAC showed a video of kids throwing pillows at a television and urged the conference-goers to be grownups with their guests. "We’re here to build relationships and make new friends. Be cordial.. to all our speakers..They’re guests in our house." Also: we’re not a protest group, we’re here to cultivate people....

read on:
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/planet-aipac-obama-should-declare-im-a-zionist-goldstone-is-token-court-jew-and-please-dont-boo-hillary.html

[oberliner]

8. Non-Philip Weiss version

On First Day of Conference, AIPAC Defends Bibi, Criticizes Abbas, and Preaches Civility

Washington — Lee Rosenberg, AIPAC’s incoming president, is also a close friend of President Obama. On Sunday, when he delivered the evening’s keynote speech at the lobby’s policy conference, he made clear that on the issue of resolving the latest dispute between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government, he is on Israel’s side.

In his candid remarks to the lobby’s delegates, Rosenberg stressed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that announcing the new housing project in Ramat Shlomo was a mistake and that he had apologized for it “four separate times.” The problem, according to AIPAC’s new president, is with the way this dispute was dealt with afterwards.

“How friends disagree, how they react when missteps occur, that can determine the nature of the relationship,” Rosenberg said. He added that both the U.S. and Israel have a responsibility to work together in order to achieve peace in the region because “that is what allies do.” Furthermore, AIPAC’s leader went on to dispel claims that the building spat exposed Israel as the rejectionist side in the conflict. “Let us be clear,” Rosenberg told the audience, “the reluctant partner in this peace process is not Israel’s elected leader PM Netanyahu. The reluctant partners are the Palestinians and their leader – President Mahmoud Abbas.”

Pointing to Abbas as responsible for stagnation in Middle East peace signals a slight shift in tone by the pro-Israel lobby. While Israel and its supporters have been openly critical of Abbas’s refusal to engage in direct talks with the Netanyhau government, their actions were directed toward isolating Hamas in Gaza and strengthening Abbas and Fatah’s rule of the Palestinian Authority. Abbas, and his prime minister Salam Fayyad, were widely perceived by the U.S. administration and even by Israel, as playing a positive role in promoting peace.

Rosenberg’s address to the conference, which outlined AIPAC’s goals and priorities, can also be seen as a final attempt to frame the U.S.-Israel dispute in a way that maintains a favorable approach toward Israel in the U.S. and demonstrates that when it comes to the Middle East conflict, Israel — not the Palestinians — is the key ally of America.

To guarantee the conflict is, indeed, winding down, AIPAC made a special effort to ensure Secretary of State Hillary Clinton receives a warm welcome from the pro-Israel crowd that has been critical of her conduct in managing the crisis with Israel. AIPAC’s outgoing president, David Victor, called for “discipline” during what he referred to as “difficult times in U.S.-Israel relations.”

Without mentioning Clinton by name, Victor urged delegates to treat all guests at the conference in a courteous manner. “We are not here to protest, we are here to win policy,” Victor said, adding, “we always need to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of our organization.”

http://www.forward.com/articles/126757/

[Jefferson23]

10. Maybe it was just a coincidence there was no mention of Dershowitz's

claims against Petraeus's report, but I doubt it. More likely that some at least, are aware his bullshit won't help them any longer.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

11. a.k.a. the version you'll get everywhere. Phil's is far more interesting!

[Jefferson23]

9. Dershowitz said the Petraeus report conclusions was a lie? If he worded it,

as a lie, he has officially moved himself into a tight corner. An appellate criminal defense lawyer who excuses torture, and who is professing
"that it’s Islamic extremists who endanger American lives because they hate our freedom."

Talk about the big lie, this is going to be well worth watching. Dershowitz aligns himself with the views of Pipes, fascinating.

Out of the 7000 members, I suspect there is a percent, although most likely a very small percent, that was either horrified by Dershowitz on principle or at the very least, realizes that someone at AIPAC better start reading the writing on the wall. An internal war within their group, will hopefully begin.