Top Israeli Analysts Brief AIPAC Members, Hill Staff

Two top Israeli analysts briefed AIPAC activists and congressional staffers this week on Israel’s ongoing defense operations in Gaza against the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hamas. Jerusalem Post Editor David Horovitz spoke with more than 800 AIPAC members on a conference call Friday. In a separate call earlier in the week, Avi Issacharoff, Arab affairs correspondent for Ha’aretz, briefed more than three dozen congressional staffers and think tank experts. Both speakers touched on a variety of issues surrounding Hamas’ rocket attacks and Israel’s response, including the origins of the conflict, Hamas’ role and Israel’s strategy and objectives. Issacharoff, who has reported extensively from Gaza over the years, told listeners that Hamas had deliberately provoked Israel into responding by hitting the Jewish state with renewed rocket barrages as a six-month Epyptian-mediated lull in fighting was set to expire.

 

San Francisco Events Draw Record Crowds

In a tremendous show of strength, nearly 5,000 AIPAC members and guests recently participated in three days of briefings and banquets with some of the most prominent figures shaping American foreign policy in the Middle East. The lunch and dinner sessions, held during the annual Bay Area membership events, featured keynote addresses by Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, former CIA Director James Woolsey and Ambassador Marc Ginsberg. There were also appearances by more than 100 members of Congress and state and local elected officials. AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr also took part in the program, leading a "YouTube Debate"-style discussion where members submitted questions via video before the event.

Nonproliferation Scholar Addresses Hill Staff on Iran

A leading arms control expert addressed some two dozen Capitol Hill staffers in the Capitol about potential U.S. options to stop Iran’s nuclear program. The briefing, sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a charitable foundation affiliated with AIPAC, featured Dr. George Perkovich, vice president for studies and director of the Nonproliferation Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Perkovich said previous dialogue efforts with Iran have failed becasue Iran has merely used the talks as a way to continue its nuclear program. Despite this, Perkovich said the United States and its allies should give Iran one final attempt to suspend its nuclear activities. Iran’s almost certain rejection of this in return for a package of incentives, Perkovich said, should compel the U.S. – working with its allies – to implement a tougher and more comprehensive sanctions regime.

NER Enters Digital Age

Beginning this winter, AIPAC’s bi-weekly newsletter on American Middle East policy, NEAR EAST REPORT, will be sent to AIPAC activists, members of Congress and Washington’s elite decision makers only via e-mail. NER serves as among the most trusted and valuable sources for analysis and information on American foreign policy in the Middle East. By ending the print version of the newsletter and sending NER solely through e-mail, AIPAC will be able to provide readers with more timely information in a manner that conserves resources and helps our environment. But don’t be left out. Print versions will no longer be mailed, click here to make sure we have the needed information to begin sending you NER electronically.