Israel lobby’s costly demands on U.S. explored from multiple angles at #IsraelLobbyCon

Washington - Public opinion polls reveal Americans increasingly oppose U.S. politicians’ unconditional support for Israel. On March 2, just two days before the Israel lobby assembles in Washington under the banner of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), leading experts will once again convene at the National Press Club to explore and elucidate the costs of unconditional U.S. support for Israel, fact vs. fantasy, and better alternatives for America.

Key topics at the March 2, 2018 “The Israel Lobby & American Policy” conference (twitter #IsraelLobbyCon) include:

How does the Israel lobby influence American positions at the U.N.? What does the Trump administration’s official recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel mean for the future of the U.N.? How do other countries perceive the U.S.-Israel lockstep at the U.N., and Nikki Haley’s credibility, given her long-term cultivation by Israel lobby megadonors such as Sheldon Adelson? What is the long-term impact of Israel lobby NGOs active at the U.N.? How are they a “force multiplier” for Israel’s much smaller diplomatic mission? Why is the U.S. so isolated as it pushes one-sided pro-Israel policies at the U.N.? Why will this have to change? Ian Williams discusses “The Israel Lobby and the U.N.”

Christians, like most Americans today, haven’t always been Zionists. When and how did that change for evangelicals? Are evangelical Christians really in the driver’s seat when it comes to policymaking such as recognizing Jerusalem and moving the U.S. Embassy there, or is it really a result of the decades-long Israel lobby campaign? Since the 1960s AIPAC has heavily recruited major Christian denominations. In 1995 AIPAC and other Israel lobby groups along with the Moral Majority pushed the Jerusalem Embassy Act through Congress, and today are calling on the U.S. to recognize all of Jerusalem as part of Israel. But are non-evangelical Christian denominations turning away from such unconditional support of Israel? Thomas Getman discusses “When and How Did Evangelicals Become Zionists?”

Pro-Israel groups such as the Lawfare Center, Zionist Organization of America and Israel on Campus Coalition are pressing colleges and universities to silence Palestine scholarship, pedagogy and advocacy, fire professors who are critical of Israel, and to outright ban Students for Justice in Palestine on U.S. campuses. What threat does this present to academic freedom, student enrichment, and scholarship? What is the cost of fighting back?  Prof. Rabab Abdulhadi explains “How and Why the Israel Lobby Is Suppressing Free Speech and Academic Freedom on College Campuses.”

American media is in a feeding frenzy over allegations of Russian interference in U.S. politics. But is Russian interference the real story? How well have mainstream outlets covered ongoing heavy Israeli involvement, both covert and overt, in U.S. politics? Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, will look at the relative impact of “Israeli versus Russian Media Influence,” and argue that despite efforts by U.S. elites to shield it from scrutiny, Americans are more likely than ever to question Israel’s role.

Will Americans really be fined and jailed for engaging in economic boycotts? AIPAC and key politicians heavily funded by the lobby, such as Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), are determined to pass a law (as many states already have) targeting Americans who dare boycott Israel over its endemic human rights abuses. Lawyer and Prof. Noura Erakat explains the First Amendment implications, current legal battles, and “Why Anti-BDS Efforts by Israel and its U.S. Supporters Will Fail.”

Is there any discernable difference between the Israeli Right and Left? Is the Israeli Left just as nationalistic as the Right? What are the implications for the American Jewish community, particularly those who are “progressive, except for Palestine”? Does any meaningful Israeli faction oppose the siege on Gaza? Checkpoints? Nighttime abductions? Administrative detentions, dispossession and oppression inflicted on Palestinians? “The Dean” of Israeli journalism, Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy, probes “The Zionist Tango: Step Left, Step Right.”

“Is the CIA too close to Israel?” Why didn’t the CIA help the FBI solve the investigation into the diversion of U.S. weapons-grade uranium from the NUMEC plant in Pennsylvania to Dimona in Israel? Why did the CIA ignore the implications of Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty in 1967? What tradeoffs and sacrifices did counterintelligence chief James Angleton continually make to U.S. national interests as he maneuvered the CIA into a “special relationship” with Israel? Where is this clandestine relationship heading? How do Israeli views of the Middle East color “intelligence” shared with the CIA? Based on case studies from his new book, The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton, Jefferson Morley examines the mostly secret history of the “special relationship” between Israel and the CIA.

Does the U.S. unconditionally support a U.N.-designated apartheid state? The world applauded a detailed and frank 2017 U.N. human rights report, while Israel and the U.S. government, under pressure from the lobby, led an intense effort to condemn and censor it. Dr. Virginia Tilley, co-author of the report, discusses the massive Israel lobby efforts to both nullify the report and shelter Israel from further criticism over “The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia Finding of Apartheid in Israel.”

“Challenging the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act: Pushing Back Against Jewish Exceptionalist Politics.” Is anti-Semitism exploding across America, and in particular on campus? In November, representatives of AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Jewish Committee (ACJ) and Christians United For Israel (CUFI) all testified “yes” in support of a new federal law defining criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism. Dr. Barry Trachtenberg, who also testified at the congressional hearing, explains what is really behind the “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act and Free Speech on Campus.”

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson helped deliver, and later apologized for, the false pretexts presented to the world by the Bush administration to justify invading Iraq. Is history repeating itself as the U.S. builds up troops in Syria, renounces the Iran nuclear deal, increases sanctions and threatens military action against Iran? Col. Wilkerson answers the explosive question, “Is the U.S. ramping up its military presence in Syria and preparing to attack Iran for Israel?”

9/11 hijackers and plotters were motivated to attack the United States over support for Israel, the violence of the occupation and further colonization of, especially, East Jerusalem. Are one-sided, unfair and deadly U.S. Middle East policies in support of Israel creating a new generation of terrorists? What do Arabs think about the Trump administration recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the “Muslim ban” and growing alliances with Israel? Dr. James Zogby analyzes "Middle East Public Opinion and U.S. Regional Strategy."

Register online for the Israel Lobby and American Policy conference at http://IsraelLobbyandAmericanPolicy.org or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-israel-lobby-and-american-policy-2018-conference-tickets-38085388422

Students may apply for free tickets and stipends at http://israellobbyandamericanpolicy.org/Students_Stipends/

Members of the news media may apply for press credentials at http://israellobbyandamericanpolicy.org/Press_credentials/

Special hotel discounts and other travel information is available at http://israellobbyandamericanpolicy.org/Venue/

Ticketholders gain access to the exhibition hall, main ballroom for the program, and receive a box lunch and an invitation to a special post-conference networking mixer! Registration starts at 8AM, the program commences at 9AM, lunch is served midday and networking begins at 5PM!

#IsraelLobbyCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep).