L’histoire de sa vie

Thirteen years ago, in March 2006, I, along with a small group of my friends, attended the AIPAC Policy Conference, in Washington, D.C. As we were in high school, AIPAC covered all the costs, including the "full Policy Conference registration fee, lodging, and travel." According to emails I have from that time, this included a hotel room at the Four Points Sheraton and round trip flights to Washington. I also recall quite a few meals, including a kosher filet mignon that at the time seemed pretty impressive to a Texas high schooler whose experience was that beef could be high quality or kosher but not both.

It was while I was eating that filet mignon, if I recall correctly, that Vice President Dick Cheney, keynote speaker at the convention, spoke passionately about the "war on terror," about Israel and America's connection as victims of terrorism (there was a lot of focus on 9/11 – less than five years had passed), and about the need to "oppose" and "defeat" what he termed the terrorists' "ambitions" – "to destroy Israel; to intimidate all Western countries; and to cause mass death here in the United States."

During this speech, there were several points where the ballroom erupted in applause. These usually focused on war ("war on terror", Ariel Sharon's war history, etc.) and Cheney played to this. His tone was stronger when discussing force, opposition, or "whatever means necessary." When at one point a mention was made of using diplomacy, I found that our table was one of the very few, far scattered, that thought enough about peace to applaud.

The theme of the convention was Iran, first and foremost. It was clouded in a phrase along the lines of "Now is the Time" but the pervasive discussion in every session, by nearly every speaker, in breakout meetings, and in so-called "policy discussions" was this: AIPAC wants to go to war with Iran. The loudest applause, the biggest standing ovation Cheney received was when he stated that any option was on the table to prevent Iran from getting the bomb. This is what the convention visitors were there for, this is what the discussions were about: War with Iran.

Iran was what we were instructed to talk about when meeting with US Representatives and Senators. I tagged along with a friend to the Illinois session – being not interested in meeting with Texas politicians who already were aching for more Middle East wars while we were already embroiled in two, I thought it would be more interesting to meet rising star and future President Barack Obama – and was soon struck by just how strong the AIPAC playbook is. Both Obama and Senator Durbin were present, as were a significant number of members of the House. A few members mentioned that they had canceled travel plans to their districts to meet with AIPAC. Some mentioned that their support of Israel was well-documented, that they were a friend of Israel and happy to call themselves a friend of AIPAC.

In the small room set aside for Illinois, we were not to mention war with Iran, but rather frame our concerns entirely in a "pro-Israel" message, crafted to ensure that when we mentioned the Iranian threat, it was with concern for the Democracy, for allies in the Middle East, and for the dangers of another nuclear power. Meanwhile, in the much larger room for Texas, where some of my friends were, they had different instructions: focus on the evil of Iran, the wickedness of the Muslim regime in Tehran, and the threat that it brings to the Judeo-Christian worldview. In Democratic Illinois, we didn't mention war or religion. In Republican Texas, both were critical talking points.

AIPAC, during the convention, didn't ask for a lot in the way of donations. There was some focus on the "highest supporting members," and a brief discussion of membership renewals, but most of the discussions about money were more subtle: a list of politicians who deserve your direct financial support or who don't, talking points to bring up when asked for donations by re-election campaigns, and the like. Representatives who were not present were discussed frequently as primary targets, while emcees would follow up some plenary speeches from sitting Congress members with phrases like "we're gonna make sure you keep your job!"

There was an overwhelming sense, which I heard spoken aloud in several breakout sessions: AIPAC owns these politicians. This is the lobby you disregard at your own peril.

In no session did I hear anything about actual Jewish concerns. On the contrary, one plenary speaker had this to say about her beliefs: "the Jews invented it… and we Christians perfected it!" She received a standing ovation.

During that convention, I learned that AIPAC is not a Jewish organization. And based on which Israeli politicians were dialed in via satellite phone, I learned that it's not even a simple pro-Israel organization. It's a pro-right-wing, Islamophobic, fear-mongering, war-mongering hateful lobby that uses money, power, and more importantly, its image as a Jewish group, to gain power and deflect criticism.