Washington Watch

Rallying Point

AIPAC meeting sees past divisiveness dissappear.

JAMES D. BESSER

Washington Correspondent

I r was just like old times at this week's policy
conference of the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat
was once again a blood enemy, not a peace partner,
anti-Israel sentiment was rampant on college campus-
es and suddenly all the ambiguity and dissension of
recent gatherings of the pro-Israel lobby was history
"This is an organization that has found its spirit
again, its raison de etre," said Abraham D. Foxman,
national director of the Anti-Defamation League,
who was attending his first AIPAC policy conference
in several years.
"Israel is once again facing a war of attrition, and
we are in the middle of a political transition period.
So it is important for our community to come
together and relate to Washington in as unified a
voice as possible."
The resumption of Palestinian violence and the
growing pressure on Israel from around the world "will
make AIPAC's work easier, because there aren't so many
different voices saying what Israel needs," he said.
The annual conference was keynoted by Israel's
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who brought the crowd
to its feet with his pledge that "Jerusalem will remain
,,
under the sovereignty of Israel — forever.
Anti-Israel demonstrators and student participants
in the AIPAC program, shouting "pro-Israel, pro-
peace," faced off - outside the hotel. At a Washington
news conference, American Muslim groups
announced that they would ask U.N. Secretary
General Kofi Annan to institute war crimes proced-
ings against the Israeli premier.
But inside the Washington Hilton, the Jewish
community solidified around the pro-Israel message
and around a politician some had once reviled.
"People are charged up," said an AIPAC board mem-
ber who, citing the group's press policies, refused to
speak on the record. "In recent years there have been all
these gray areas; today it looks pretty black and white.
It's easier for us to pull together because there aren't the
divisions we've had over the negotiations."
After the speech, Sharon met privately with several
members of Congress and Jewish activists described
as old supporters.
The back-to-the-future motif was apparent
throughout the conference.
In the opening session, AIPAC president Tim
Wuliger referred to the buildup of "sinister forces"
against Israel since the resumption of Palestinian vio-
lence in late September. He also referred to the dra-
matic changes in the region since the last policy con-
ference, when Israel and the Palestinians seemed on
track to reach a final-status agreement.

Related editorial.• page 31

3/23
2001

22

Secretary of State Colin Powell, right, shakes hands
with. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon prior to their
meeting in 1)ashington on March 19.

Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel reflected the view of
many of the 1,000-plus participants when he
expressed his disillusionment with that peace process.
"In the beginning, I believed in the Oslo accords,"
he said. "I had faith not in Yasser Arafat, but in
Yitzhak Rabin, whom I knew well." Wiesel referred
to his own refusal to meet Arafat, and said that the
Palestinian leader "came to Camp David with a
determination not to accept anything that would be
close to peace. And that has led me to the conclu-
sion that he does not want peace.
"What I say to you hurts me, pains me; I think
they don't want peace at all. It's not a matter of terri-
tory now; it's a matter of existence. They simply
don't want Israel."
Like Sharon, Wiesel focused on Jerusalem as a uni-
fy ing theme for Jews around the world, expressing
"anxiety for its future, but also an overwhelming sense
of gratitude for everything Jerusalem has given us, and
all it will continue to give us to the end of time."
Wiesel also warned against a rising tide of both
anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism "not only among
gentiles, but also (in) certain Jewish intellectual,
semi-intellectual leftist circles." He criticized the
"ashamed Jews" who criticize Israel's policies.
He charged participants to redouble their activism
on behalf of Israel. "It is not given to everyone to
make history," he said, "but it is incumbent on every
one of us to take part in it."
Pro-peace process activists were barely visible at
the policy conference.
Gilbert Kahn, a Kean University political scientist
who attended, said that conditions on the ground
"have created a situation where even those who were
the most supportive of the peace process have reached
a point where they're willing to say that until the vio-
lence ends, it is impossible to find anybody to talk to."
Differences over the peace process continue, he
said, but "it's more nuanced, quieter than in recent
years. There's a real desire to be helpful, and to pull
together. That's the real theme at this conference."

Rounds Of Applause

The real muscle flexing takes place at the Monday
night banquet, when the politicians who come to pay
homage to AIPAC are acknowledged in the AIPAC
"Roll Call."
This year's conference drew almost half the Senate,
101 members of the House and handfuls of White
House, State Department and Defense Department
officials, as well as ambassadors from around the
wo rld.
Secretary of State Colin Powell had a moment of
discomfort when he was introduced by AIPAC
President Tim Wuliger, who pointedly thanked the
former general for his recent comments before a
House committee identifying Jerusalem as Israel's cap-
ital.
Wuliger's introduction generated a standing ovation
— even though the State Department had already
backpedaled from Powell's comment.
Pressed on the AIPAC ovation for what amounted
to a faux pax by the secretary, State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher had a terse response: "I
don't have anything to say on that."
Powell did not mention Jerusalem in his speech.
The secretary won strong praise for his claim that
the U.S.-Israel relationship is "both deep and wide ...
based on history, on interests, on values and on prin-
ciple." He promised to "strengthen and expand our
valuable strategic cooperation with Israel so that we
can help preserve Israel's qualitative military edge."
He said the administration "will not strive for some
arbitrary measure of even:handedness when responsi-
bility is not evenly shared." But some critics said
Powell violated that promise when he did not pin the
blame for the current violence on the Palestinians.
"I was very disappointed that he never mentioned
Jerusalem, and that he used the term 'land for peace'
in the midst of this violence against Israel," said
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization
of America. "And there was this clear hint of even-
handedness that was very disturbing; he seemed to be
saying that both sides were responsible for the current
violence."
'But most AIPACers were pleased with Powell's
strong affirmation of the need for close U.S.-Israeli
relations, and his promise that "the United States
stands ready to assist, not insist" in its dealings with
Israel and the Palestinians.

What AIPAC Wants

AIPAC Director Howard Kohr, speaking to reporters
on Monday, laid out the lobbying priorities for the
group's Tuesday assault on Capitol Hill.
At the top of the list: foreign aid for Israel, includ-
ing the supplementary aid that Congress failed to
approve last year, and continuing sanctions against
Iran and Libya.
AIPAC lobbyists also want to give President George
W. Bush the message that "it's time to reassess the
relationship with the Palestinians," Kohr said.
But several of those issues could conflict with the
Bush administration's emerging policies.
And the pro-Israel lobby's strong emphasis on
maintaining sanctions on Mideast rogue nations
could clash with the administration's reassessment of
sanctions as a tool of foreign policy. ri

