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The following was a sermon delivered on April 16th ,2010:
“AIPAC Conference; May 22-24, 2011”
I have committed myself to something in May…. 2011!
I am going to something despite the fact that I don’t know when my daughters will be finishing up their semesters that year and when I will have to pick them up. I have committed myself to this event even though I will be out of town for 3 days before a Bat Mitzvah, something I would normally never dream of doing. I am simply going to have to make sure my student is prepared well in advance and make arrangements for my daughters just in case because I must be somewhere else May 22 thru 24, 2011.
I will be attending the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference
in Washington, D.C.
The event is over a year away and yet, as I did this year for the first time ever, I am already committed to attending. Not only am I going, but my goal is to double our West Virginia delegation to Washington, an already impressive number for our State.
This past March, after years of being urged to attend and informed of the importance of this policy conference, I finally went to Washington. Returning home, I realized I had made one of the best decisions of my life. Let me share with you why going to the AIPAC Policy Conference is of critical importance to those of us who care deeply about Israel and the United States/Israel relationship.
Just before the conference, I was afraid I made a serious error in judgment in saying I would go. You may recall, a major “spat” had developed and was widely reported between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Obama Administration. Vice President Joe Biden was in Israel praising that country as a great ally and friend; he was there ready to declare the start of indirect talks between Israeli and the Palestinian leadership. Without oversimplifying matters, the Israeli government announced on that same day the approval of 1600 apartments in a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem. This was regarded as a terrible embarrassment to the Administration. The Prime Minister immediately apologized, saying he was blindsided by the bureaucratic timing of the government announcement. Yet, the damage had been done and a rift between these two allies had opened. Personally, I was not totally pleased with the way Israel responded to our government either and I was having great difficulties defending her actions.
But I am not here to offer you my opinion on the Middle East; I am here to tell you about AIPAC. I tell you this as background because as a result of what was happening, I was not in the proper frame of mind going to Washington. I didn’t exactly want to be in a place where I thought all I would hear was justifications of actions that I didn’t necessarily approve of or be forced to listen to a mantra that would amount to nothing more than “we support Israel’s actions, no matter what.”
But then I got to the AIPAC Policy Conference.
That was not at all what I experienced.
The AIPAC Policy Conference is two and a half days of simply hearing the story of the modern State of Israel. The event is two and a half days of re-discovering the unique American/Israeli relationship and how even when there are differences, there is very little daylight that separates these two countries. It is two and a half days of realizing that there is an unbreakable friendship between these two countries, that Israel has friends from all walks of life and that we can make a difference in keeping that relationship strong.
For me, in particular, it was two and a half days of discovering that while there can be honest differences when it comes to American foreign policy and Israel, there must always remain an unshakeable love and an unbreakable commitment to the Jewish State. AIPAC works to preserve that relationship each day through education and through the political arena.
The Conference consists of five plenary sessions, three each morning and two evening events. Here, over 7500 delegates gather to listen to the keynote speakers of the annual event. This year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Prime Minister Tony Blair of England, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Professor Alan Dershowitz, Senators Lindsay Graham and Chuck Schumer were just some of our featured speakers. We heard some of the best and most powerful speeches you will ever hear on Israel, from the dangers she faces to the promise of a peaceful tomorrow with America as her closest friend.
At each plenary, we learned from experts on the Middle East, were inspired by an Israeli military doctor who went on humanitarian missions to Haiti and touched by an Ethiopian immigrant who now serves in the Knesset. We heard from ministers, government officials, historians and authors who understand the unique relationship between Israel and America and speak with passion and knowledge on how the political process works in both countries. Sprinkled throughout each plenary are inspiring and informative videos on what is really happening in Israel: the humanitarian efforts, the scientific breakthroughs, the educational advancements and the cooperative peace efforts, all too often drowned out by other headlines.
These sessions remind you of the miracle of this Jewish State and how that dream has been realized not only due to the indomitable spirit of a unique people but with the friendship of America, a country that has and always will stand by her side. The Conference reminds you of the close cooperation these two countries have, the military technology and intelligence they share, the values they both uphold, and the future they each look forward to and together.
And then comes the breakout sessions!
Throughout the afternoons, there are dozens of programs, hundreds of experts from all over the world to listen to and question. In one conference room, you will discover the reason for Christian support in “Understanding Evangelical Support for Israel” or the one in next room learn about the upcoming elections in a program entitled “Campaign Countdown: An Insider’s Guide to the 2010 Election” with a panel of guests who have appeared on FOX and MSNBC, C-Span and Bill Maher’s Real Time. You could attend a session on “Gaza Dilemma: The State of Play in the Hamas-run Territory” or be a part of “Emerging Alliance: African Americans and the Pro-Israel Community”. You could learn what people are thinking about in “Behind the Headlines: Are Settlements an Obstacle to Peace?”, or simply start at the beginning with: “Foreign Policy 101”. At some point in the Conference, you will simply realize that the worst part of the sessions is you can not attend them all! If you skip lunch, you could maybe be at about 7 or 8 of them tops, but you leave wishing you could be at all of them.
And that is why you’ll be back next year.
Along with these incredibly informative general breakout sessions, I was invited to attend one with the Israeli Ambassador to America, Michael Oren, who wanted an intimate dialogue with just the rabbis in attendance. I also had the great privilege of having lunch and sitting at the same table with Tzipi Livni, head of the Kadima Party, the opposition party in Israel. AIPAC is not about Likud, Labor, or Kadima; it is about Israel.
But here is the real reason I left the conference with such a euphoric feeling: the diversity of opinion I heard throughout the Conference. In my rabbinical breakout sessions alone, there were rabbis respectfully questioning Ambassador Oren about Israeli policy on the settlements and the wisdom behind keeping them. With equal respect, there were others who expressed the fear that Israel was heading down the road of sacrificing Jerusalem. Some approved of the way the Obama administration reacted to the apartment construction; others felt that they were too heavy handed.
My friends, listen to me carefully. AIPAC is not an echo chamber. AIPAC is an organization designed to create the much needed cohesive and singular voice for people united in their love of Israel, cementing the relationship this country has with the Jewish state. The Conference is a time to awaken within all of us the importance of a Jewish state and the unique role she plays for us and the world. The AIPAC Policy Conference allows us to reaffirm our determination to make sure that the ties between our countries are unbreakable and teaches us how we can be a part of that relationship. When you come to Washington, D.C., you realize you are part of the narrative that makes that friendship possible.
There is so much more I can tell you and trust me, I will as I try to convince you in the months ahead to join our delegation next year. I could spend hours talking about how well AIPAC prepare us for our lobbying of Congress (which we did on Tuesday) and its vital importance. But I leave you with this. After the Conference, I cannot tell you how confident I am in Israel’s future and our country’s relationship with her. You would, too, if you were able to attend the highlight of the Conference, the banquet on Monday night …with over half of Congress in attendance! Democrats, Republicans Independents, White House officials, Governors, and diplomats from all over the world were there.
Israel has friends.
I got choked up when Senator Lindsay Graham (South Carolina) spoke that night and declared: “If you want to know how wide and deep support for Israel runs, I’m a Baptist Republican from South Carolina; the next speaker is a Jewish senator from New York, Chuck Schumer – that’s as wide as it gets. You can put the whole planet in the middle! But we’re here tonight to speak in one voice.” Seeing Democrat and Republican arm in arm, watching Administration spokesman after Congressman address us and offer support, you walk away feeling that as long as we continue to learn about the story of Israel, as long as we remind ourselves and others of the importance of that narrative, we will be all right.
If we would only stop confusing differences of approach in the pursuit of peace with being anti-Israel or anti-Palestinian and focus instead on the importance of the strong relationship our two countries have, as AIPAC does, then the State of Israel will continue to be a safe and secure place and be, in the words of the prophets, “a light unto the nations.”
AMEN
Shalom
Rabbi Victor Urecki
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