By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — One message came through loud and clear from all of the speakers and presenters at the 2015 AIPAC Policy Conference that Judy and I just attended in Washington, D.C.: no matter who heads the governments in Washington or Jerusalem, nor the temporal disputes that arise from time to time between countries, the long, strong, and committed U.S. – Israel relationship is unshakable.
The highly visible elephant in the room during the conference was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Iran to Congress and President Obama’s irate displeasure over it. On Sunday, United States U.N. representative Samantha Power and White House National Security Advisor Susan Rice hardly alluded to the fissure and took pains to reassure the audience that the United States has stood and will continue to stand firmly with Israel as she defends herself against her enemies and detractors.
They also said that the U.S. would choose “no deal” over a “bad deal” with Iran. They reiterated the U.S. commitment to Iran never obtaining a nuclear weapon. Power and Rice each received a polite reception.
On Monday morning, after standing in line for about an hour and a half to clear security, we heard the Prime Minister address the conference. If anyone thought that he would give us a taste of what he would say to Congress the next day, they quickly learned otherwise. Netanyahu gave a fairly vanilla-flavored speech thanking us for our support of Israel and went out of his way to praise President Obama’s support of Israel, including the additional funding provided to Israel for Iron Dome and other weaponry during her last war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu also said that his speech to Congress had nothing to do with politics. He believed, as head of the Jewish State, he had an obligation to express Israel’s concerns about the ongoing negotiations with Iran. Bibi was greeted by repeated cheers and standing ovations.
AIPAC is always careful to cultivate bipartisan support of Israel and this conference was no exception. Every Democratic Congressman or Senator was balanced by a Republican, often the two appearing side by side at the podium. Support of Israel is one of the few issues that the majority of our elected leaders agree upon.
On Tuesday, the last day of the conference, most of gathered in front of large television screens that had been set up throughout the convention center to watch the Prime Minister’s address to Congress. Netanyahu is a masterful orator and his address was met with overwhelming, though not unanimous, approval by the crowd.
How his speech will affect the current negotiations with Iran and how the United States public will respond to any final agreement that may be reached remain to be seen. Regardless, I hope that despite the disagreements between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, continued support for Israel will remain steadfast and bipartisan.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. You may comment to him via leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com, or comment on-line, per the instructions below.
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Let’s not be fooled. Obama, from his past actions, has proved that he will hold a grudge, and the damage he can inflict on Israel and America is breathtaking..
We have a run-a-way president that feels he has no restraint and unlimited power. Whether or not the world can escape his wrath remains our biggest problem. — Daniel Brodsky, Del Mar, California