Last weekend I attended the AIPAC Policy Conference, in Washington, D.C., for the first time.
AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is an organization that strives to strengthen the bond between America and Israel.
The committee is host to an annual policy conference, where thousands of people, including students, congregate to discuss effective tactics and speak with members of the House of Representatives and Senate about legislation, among other topics.
This year was the biggest conference yet, with 18,700 people in attendance. IU had a delegation of 18 students in attendance, and I enjoyed the chance to learn alongside my peers, both from IU and otherwise.
There are also several keynote speakers. This year Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Gov. John Kasich, Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, via satellite, and Sen. Bob Menendez were present.
I was most impressed with Sen. Menendez and Gov. Kasich.
Going into his speech, I had no expectations whatsoever for Sen. Menendez. But the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was eloquent in his address and reiterated the need for a strong relationship with Israel, and the need to place further sanctions on Iran.
Gov. Kasich spoke in a similar vein. He was by far the most nuanced, experienced and sensible of the three remaining Republican candidates that spoke, and I was impressed with his address.
As the most moderate Republican left in the field, I think Gov. Kasich’s speech went a long way to improving his standing among the people in attendance.
Trump and Clinton drew mixed reviews from the crowd. However, I think they both did a poor job. Trump’s address had little policy substance, while my general distrust of Clinton made her remarks hard to buy into.
Trump attacked the Obama administration when he said, “Obama may be the worst thing to ever happen to Israel, believe me, believe me.”
The AIPAC leadership distanced themselves from Trump’s comments, and rightfully so.
The theme of the conference was “come together,” which created a positive environment for the attendees.
Trump’s comments were out of line and not indicative of the overall conference.
One of my favorite sessions of the conference was when House Republican Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy and House Democratic Minority Whip Steny Hoyer discussed the need for bipartisan support of a strong relationship between America and Israel.
With the conference maintaining a theme of “come together,” this sentiment truly resonated as a key for strengthening the bond between the two countries.
Although he was not a keynote speaker, I also had the opportunity to hear Sen. Marco Rubio speak, and he was outstanding.
This was a truly wonderful weekend. More than 4,000 students attended the conference. I had the opportunity to network with students from all over the country.
If anyone is interested in learning more about the U.S.-Israel relationship or AIPAC, we have a good resource on campus in the form of IIPAC, or the Indiana Israel Public Affairs Committee.
staranyi@indiana.edu
