REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

WASHINGTON - "NOW is the time" was the theme of this year's policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The slogan had some of the 5,000 delegates thinking they had mistakenly walked into a National Organization of Women parley, but as it turned out, timing was an important factor at the event.

The trial of two former Aipac employees accused of passing along classified information is scheduled to start in late April, around the time when the organization's conference usually is held. But, sources close to the organization said, this year, scheduling constraints at Washington's convention center compelled organizers to hold the Aipac conference earlier than usual - avoiding the uncomfortable scenario of the event taking place as media coverage of the trial heated up.

As it turned out, the "timing was perfect," said Francine Lipstein, a delegate from Philadelphia.

The two ex-Aipac staffers - foreign policy and research director Steve Rosen and former Iran specialist Keith Weissman - are charged with unauthorized possession of national defense information and with passing it on to foreign agents - believed to be Israeli diplomats - and to the media. They were fired a year ago, weeks before the 2005 conference, which was abuzz with talk about the scandal.

The case did not cast a large shadow over the gathering, as it did at last year's event, but here and there delegates were discussing the open dispute between the two defendants and Aipac's leadership over covering Rosen and Weissman's legal fees. The two defendants reportedly say that Aipac is not providing enough money for their defense, as required by the organization's bylaws.

Some Aipac supporters, the Forward has learned, are discussing whether to privately organize a legal defense fund for the two men.

"If I had the millions of dollars they need, I would have given it to them, because I think it's a shame that they were left out to dry," Lipstein said.

Just as the delegates seemed less worried this year about the trial, they seemed more worried about developments in the Middle East.

Last year, Aipac leaders - together with keynote speaker Prime Minister Ariel Sharon - celebrated the Israeli leader's plan to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza as a move that could open new horizons for Israeli-Palestinian peace. This year, there seemed to be very little room for hope: Sharon is in a coma; Hamas is in the process of creating a militant Islamist government to rule the West Bank and Gaza, and Iran is inching toward a nuclear bomb while calling for Israel's destruction.

"Since last year, when we gathered together in this city, events have gone from bad to worse," said Howard Kohr, Aipac's executive director, addressing a record number of delegates during his opening night address.

Kohr's sobering speech was an exercise in Holocaust analogy. It was preceded by a short video bluntly comparing Iran to Nazi Germany and the Islamic Republic's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Adolph Hitler. "The parallels of the geopolitical climate of March 5, 1933, and that of March 5, 2006, are stunning in their likeness, eerie in their implication," Kohr said, adding, "Unlike the ominous days of the 1930s, this time we must not ignore the approaching thunder."

The quest by Hamas and Iran for power - as well as the riots of Muslims in France and the worldwide violent protests over the publication of cartoons of Muhammad - were depicted as signs of a growing threat from Islamic fundamentalism. Delegates burst out with applause when former Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle, known in Washington as the "Prince of Darkness," stated: "We are at a war not against terrorism but against Islamist extremism."

In past years, Aipac conferences celebrated Israel's military, economic, cultural and technological might, while underscoring its vulnerability in the face of regional threats. This year, there was very little celebrating. The focus was on the threats, on the dangers facing Israel and on Aipac's role as a bulwark to help fend them off.

Such a focus works best to rally and consolidate member support, said a former Aipac lobbyist.

"Nothing works better than gevalt," quipped the former Aipac staffer, using the Yiddish expression for alarm or dismay. This year was the largest Aipac conference ever. As was last year's and the year before. In the past five years, the number of people traveling to Washington to attend the conference has increased by more than 300%, according to Aipac statistics. Not surprisingly, the organization's leaders are already forecasting that next year's conference will set new records.

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