AIPAC Policy Conference: Many voices, one mission (column)
Allison Siegelman
Last weekend I attended the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual public policy convention in Washington, D.C. This year, over 18,000 participants attended, 4,000 of whom were students from high schools through colleges throughout the nation. This was a record number of participants, and they included Jews, Christians and Muslims. Americans, Hispanics, African-American, native African, European, Canadian, Mexican and other nationalities were present, making this conference a global summit of sorts that had the one mission: to support the U.S.-Israel relationship.
The slogan of the convention this year was "Many Voices, One Mission." I thought this brilliantly communicated loud and clear that AIPAC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that embraces all those who support Israel's right to exist and its alliance with the United States, regardless of party, ethnicity, religion or other identities.
It is important to note that AIPAC is not a PAC (despite its acronym, which is commonly mistaken to stand for political action committee rather than public affairs committee). The staff of AIPAC, many of whom have legal, foreign policymaking and international affairs degrees, convene with its volunteer national board to set the legislative agenda of the organization. In turn, it is conveyed to AIPAC members at the conference. The agenda is set with one thing in mind: to uphold Israel as a legal nation state, and the safety of its citizens, and to keep the U.S.-Israel relationship unbreakably strong. (The alliance began in 1947 with the passage of UN Resolution 181, the termination of the British Mandate, and the withdrawal of the British army from the region since defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in WWI.) It is up to members of AIPAC to reach out to our nation's leaders and discuss concerns about the U.S. relationship with Israel and culminate in U.S. legislation that supports the alliance.
Opening session of the conference began on Sunday morning when this year's legislative agenda was communicated. There are three focus issues:
(1) Enaction of legislation that will counter Iran's expanding ballistic missile development program and the proliferation of missile placement throughout the Middle East. Right now there are almost 200,000 ballistic missiles aimed at Israel. Furthermore, nuclear arms loaded on these missiles would pose total destruction to Israel and her people. Thus, Israel has armed herself with the most advanced defense technologies. The existential threats to her people are more dangerous than ever. Israel possesses the well known Iron Dome (an atmospheric defense shield that is designed to detect and precision strike oncoming missiles), and David's Sling, an even higher level of missile and rocket interception system that was developed in a collaborative between Israel's Rafael and the US' Raytheon Corporation. It is important to note that this collaborative has employed a couple of thousand Arizonans. Hence, the US-Israel relationship not only fosters a sharing of intelligence and technologies between the US and Israel, it also puts people to work.
(2) Legislation that upholds US military aid to Israel which involves the honoring of the ten year memorandum of understanding (signed by both nations under the Obama administration). Note that US foreign aid only constitutes 1 percent of our nation's budget. The $3.1 billion in aid the MOU extends to Israel will be used exclusively to purchase advanced weaponry, defense, and reconnaissance equipment, including the new state-of-the-art F-35 fighter plane (at a cost of over $100 million per plane (the price has come down from $160 million a year ago, but it still stands at 3 times the cost of the now employed F-15). Clearly the might of the airforce and weaponry technology are necessary for today's nations to have in their arsenals to fend off the threat of invasion.
(3) Legislation condemning the delegitimization of Israel. The United States must insist that the United Nations end its anti-Israel bias, and it must continue its efforts to outlaw U.S. companies from cooperating with efforts to boycott Israel. (BDS or boycott, divestiture and sanction of Israel is designed to economically choke Israel and spread anti-Israel bias around the world.)
Legislation that is in the process include S.722 (co-sponsored by Sens. Robert Casey Jr. and Patrick Toomey) which strengthens sanctions against Iran's malign regional behavior (exemplified by its growth of its ballistic missile program), and S. 720 urging an end to the U.N.'s anti-Israel bias. H.R. 1698 calls upon the House to also strengthen Iran sanctions and target Iran's ballistic missile and illicit arms activities. H.R. 1697 targets the UN and demands it cease its anti-Israel bias.
The three-day conference culminated with thousands of participants meeting with their House and Senate members throughout the day on Tuesday to discuss these issues and the pending legislation that addresses them. Lectures and presentations help participants understand the region's complexities. There were over 200 speakers engaged, and those of more "celebrity status" included Professor Alan Dershowitz (of Harvard Law School), Vice President Mike Pence, UN Ambassador Nicki Hayley (who got a 10 minute standing ovation for her recent public condemnation of the gross anti-Israel bias within the United Nations Security Council), Sens. Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Reps. Steny Hoyer and Bob Menendez.
The education, discussions, stories, exhibits and lobbying of legislators makes for an intoxicating conference experience. One gets an insider's view of how Israel, despite it being a nation of only 4 million people and the size of Rhode Island, is the top producer of cutting edge innovations in biotechnology, space, communications, defense, medicine and the environment. The exhibits give attendees an astounding inside look at the products and services that are changing our world for the better due to Israel's place on the global map. It is important to highlight that Israel has gained alliances among nations that have traditionally condemned or shunned its existence for political reasons. This includes Arab and African nations.
Furthermore, the threat of Iran and its terrorist alliance with Hezbollah, ISIS, the Syrian crisis and other terrorist expeditions has these threatened nations recognizing that Israel's stable democratic government and economy is of value to their "neighborhood." The insiders' viewpoints at conference reveals that behind the scenes there is a substantial paradigm shift in foreign relations occurring: Egypt, Jordan, the U.A.E., and Saudi Arabia are working with Israel and the United States to defeat the above named forces. You will not see this reported on traditional or social media since African and Arab nations need to not embolden and enable Islamic extremists to capitalize on a theme of that leaders are traitors to the Islamic peoples.
The Yorkers who attended the conference had a very satisfying meeting with Rep. Scott Perry, who stands very strongly on the side of U.S.-Israel relations remaining strong, and Israel's right to exist. I am pleased to report that Sens. Casey and Toomey do as well. I encourage readers to reach out to all three (and also our state representatives) to let them know that you support the effort to combat the threats to Israel's existence. Allow me to conclude by saying that the formation of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine problem cannot be achieved if bullying, terror and destruction of peoples is the mission. The crisis in Syria serves as a good example of what that looks like, and certainly the players who have caused and perpetuated that travesty cannot be allowed to threaten democracy and the U.S.-Israel bond that keeps democracy present in the Middle East.
Allison Siegelman is a member of the York AIPAC group.