Lobbyist discusses American-Israeli relations

When questioning the loyalty of Congress to Israel, David Gillette uses what he calls the "three-in-the-morning test."\n"If you wake members of Congress up in the middle of the night from a deep sleep and ask them where they stand regarding Israel, the vast majority will say that they are very supportive," he said. "They realize that Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, has acted as one of our strongest allies."\nGillette, a senior lobbyist for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), discussed the state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since Sept. 11, and American efforts to broker a cease-fire between the two parties, at the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center Monday at 7 p.m.\nWhile there has been a dramatic change in the U.S. and other parts of the world since Sept. 11, the atmosphere in the Middle East has remained the same, he said.\n"Many things changed in the world after Sept. 11, but in the Middle East, not a lot has changed," Gillette said. \nHe explained that while Israel has been very cooperative with the U.S. in its war on terror, many other countries in the Middle East have not shown the same enthusiasm. \n"From Sept. 12 on, Israel has been a very staunch ally of the U.S. A relationship exists where if the U.S. needs it, Israel provides it, and vice versa," he said. "Shortly after the attacks, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave an order to Israeli intelligence to turn over all information that could help the Americans. When you look at the other countries in that region, it's business as usual. You don't have the full cooperation from them to move toward democracy and fight terrorism."\nGillette discussed the implications of the recent Israeli seizure of a ship in the Red Sea containing 50 tons of weapons that were on their way to the Palestinians. \n"As U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni was meeting with (Palestinian Chairman) Yasser Arafat, Israel seized these weapons, which are in violation of the Oslo Accords. There's no way Arafat did not know about the weapons shipment. While Arafat may be talking about a shift to peace, he does not have the courage or the will to actually do it," he said.\nGillette said Iran sold the weapons to the Palestinian Authority to gain power in the Palestinian territories.\n"In the past, the Iranians have sponsored terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad who terrorize Israelis," Gillette said. "By selling the weapons to the Palestinians, they wanted to gain a foothold in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to launch terror attacks against Israel."\nGillette pointed out that Arafat and the Palestinians still have not accepted Israel's right to exist.\n"Arafat has accepted the fact that Israel exists, but he has not accepted the legitimacy of Israel," he said. "Even when offered practically everything that they had been fighting for at Camp David over a year ago, the Palestinians were not willing to take it. Arafat has the power to exercise authority and disarm groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad."\nHe acknowledged that members of Congress are responsible for maintaining the strong alliance between the U.S. and Israel, and hopes that Representative Baron Hill can meet with students to discuss the issue.\n"It is Congress that makes sure our ties to Israel remain," he said. "Many congressmen in Indiana like John Hostettler and Baron Hill have been very supportive of the Israeli leadership."\nSophomore Yasmin Schnayer, co-chair of the IU chapter of AIPAC, said she hoped Gillette gave audience members a better understanding of the conflict in Israel.\n"I think most people are apathetic to Israel unless they have a stake in it," she said. "Most people have a bare minimum grasp on what's happening there. Hopefully, this can help change that."\nRabbi Sue Shifron, Hillel director, agreed with Schnayer and expressed that a knowledge of history is essential when analyzing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.\n"I think many students are not informed about events there, and the media doesn't always portray what happens accurately," she said. "If people want to understand the conflict, they have to look at Israel's history"