When All That's Left is Aipac

March 17, 2006

I can't count the number of times I've heard supporters of Israel's peace camp in Washington grumble about Steve Rosen during the past two decades.

One of two ex-staffers of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who will go on trial next month for leaking classified information to Israeli diplomats and an American reporter, Rosen used to be one of Aipac's chief architects. He led its pitched, often misguided battles against any American criticism of Israel and any diplomacy that made demands of both parties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In one widely noted incident, reported in the Columbia Journalism Review and elsewhere, Rosen helped in the early 1990s to orchestrate the sacking of a liberal editor at the Washington Jewish Week, which was reporting with uncomfortable candor about Aipac and American Jewish critics of the Shamir government. He told another Jewish weekly that "keeping the paper in the hands of the 'alternative' crowd was unhealthy."

That was my crowd he was talking about, American Jews who believed the occupation was an intolerable moral and strategic burden to Israel and that Aipac often did not speak for them. So it was quite disorienting to find myself, at last week's Aipac policy conference in Washington, rooting for Rosen, his co-defendant Keith Weissman and Aipac itself.

The defendants' former employer has denied any knowledge of or connection to "Aipac-gate." But it's very possible that once the media start focusing on Aipac's inner workings in federal court, the organization - and therefore the entire pro-Israel community - will be on trial in the court of public opinion.

On the increasingly crowded antisemitic and anti-Zionist neighborhoods of the blogosphere, conspiracy theorists are seizing upon this case as further "evidence" that fifth columnists are subverting American interests for Israel's sake. It is wrong to dismiss these Jew-bashers as an irrelevant fringe. One out of three Americans thinks that Jews in this country put Israel's interests ahead of America's, according to an Anti-Defamation League poll. That percentage may well increase when the trial commences and accusations of "dual loyalty" wend their way into the media.

Those accusations are ridiculous, but the mere act of caring about Israel, and the spectacle of American citizens walking the halls of Congress to express views about Israel, could become suspect to more and more Americans. That should be worrisome to Jews who endorsed the Geneva Initiative as well as to those who back settlers in Hebron.

It is premature to circle the wagons and defend Rosen and Weissman. The precise nature of what they disclosed and the extent to which they violated standard operating procedure for Washington lobbyists is unclear. But anyone who wants to protect the ability and the right of Americans to advocate for Israel should hope that the defendants and Aipac weather the upcoming legal storm.

Wishing Aipac well for ideological reasons is a tougher challenge. For years, I was among those Zionist heretics who wanted to build an alternative to Aipac. Back when it was decidedly unenthusiastic about the Oslo peace process and at other junctures, I would have considered it good news for the group to lose much of its clout. It would be bad news if that happened now.

For one thing, some old distinctions have become a bit blurred, if not eliminated. My dovish friends who still consider Aipac an extension of right-wing Likudniks ought to shell out some money and attend its conclaves. They would discover that while there are many raucous voices who oppose the principle of any territorial compromise at any time, they are a distinct minority. Just as most Israelis now favor an eventual two-state solution and an end to the occupation, most people clearly endorsed that centrist position in the various forums I attended, albeit begrudgingly.

True, this crowd didn't exactly make it easy for me to feel at home. Their loudest cheers were for neoconservative heavyweights like Dick Cheney, John Bolton and Richard Perle. How could a liberal Democrat like me feel any commonality with Americans who adore those guys?

The answer is that the president of Iran has called for the extermination of Israel. His country is seeking weapons that will make that possible. And an Islamist group sworn to Israel's destruction has taken power in the Palestinian territories. As we grapple with these new challenges in the pro-Israel community, we are, all of us, united by utter bewilderment. No one here or in Israel has any good answers.

Aipac is pushing a bill that calls for the categorical isolation and punishment of anyone in the Palestinian Authority, even if they have no connection to Hamas. I'm persuaded by Jewish groups who say the bill goes much too far and that a more nuanced approach is needed to give Palestinian moderates a chance to take power. But those groups are also searching for ways to isolate Hamas and pressure it to either change its stripes or remain an international pariah. They share this goal - and uncertainty about how to achieve it - with Aipac.

Aipac also insists that the United States not let up on pressure that could obstruct Iran's path to nuclear weapons. The rhetoric on Iran at this conference was sometimes alarmingly bellicose. But I don't hear the opponents of a tough stance against Iran - especially leftists here and in Europe - expressing any worries about the possible existential threat to the Jewish state or the frightening arms race that other Islamic states will join if Iran does get nukes. It doesn't even occur to them to be concerned.

Aipac was created for moments like this. Founded in the early 1950s when Israel's continued existence was uncertain, for decades its blunt-edged lobbying style ensured that America's political elite did not ignore tangible military threats to Israel. That style may well be necessary again if the world finds excuses to let Iran and Hamas slide.

So this year, for the first time in my life, I decided to be counted among the throng at Aipac's gala banquet, where a roll call of politicians in attendance was intoned to demonstrate the group's influence. More than 5,000 people let the American government know that it should not turn its back on Israel or placate its enemies - a blunt, important message to send during this scary time for the Jewish state. Left-of-center Jews may disagree with Aipac on this or that policy issue. But we and Israel should be glad it is around.

Dan Fleshler is a board member of Ameinu and a media and public affairs consultant who has represented Jewish organizations.

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