Unique Jewish model

This week, AIPAC will be celebrating two significant events: Its annual conference, and the withdrawal of the bizarre indictments filed against two of the pro-Israel lobby’s senior figures. Indeed, this is an opportunity to offer some words of appreciation and gratitude to this important organization.

The essence of AIPAC’s activity is to nurture the ties between Israel and the United States. It has been blessed with in-depth familiarity with both the American and Israeli administrations, as well as with thorough understanding of the components that make up the relationship between the two countries. AIPAC is sensitive and alert to any possibility of mishaps in the ties between the two states and undertakes great efforts to prevent them.

AIPAC has accumulated vast experience in mediating between the two administrations: Its secrecy, modesty, and conduct away from the public eye turned the organization into an intimate interlocutor and trusted confidante of leaders and public figures both here and there. The alliance between Israel and the US is the State of Israel’s most important diplomatic asset, and AIPAC has made a huge contribution in establishing and nurturing this alliance - for that, the people of Israel are indebted to it.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and we, his advisors, greatly cherished the organization and its leaders. We made sure to seek their advice before and after every meeting with the president; we asked for their opinion on most issues involving the two countries, and we shared with them any idea pertaining to the Israel-US ties. We felt indebted to them for their help.

In May 2005, the organization was about to hold its annual conference under the dark shadow of the investigation that was launched against it and its top figures. The embarrassment was great, and there were fears that many administration officials will opt to stay away from the event. The organization’s directors turned to me so that I would ask Sharon to determine, as was customary, which government minister will deliver the keynote address at the conference.

I asked Sharon, and he said that in light of the distress faced by the organization due to the embarrassing probe, it is very important that he, Israel’s prime minister, deliver the speech. We will travel especially for the conference, he said, and we will demonstratively stand by these wonderful people at this difficult time, so that everyone will see it and understand.

And this indeed happened: Everyone understood. Once Sharon’s arrival was reported, all the invitees confirmed that they will be arriving. When the conference started and Sharon entered the hall, thousands of excited AIPAC members stood up and cheered enthusiastically for long minutes.

AIPAC command respect worldwide thanks to its status as an effective and precious diplomatic tool for promoting the ties between a people in the Diaspora and a people in its homeland. In one of the intimate meetings held by Sharon with then-Russian President Putin, Sharon asked his host how the small Israel could help the Russian empire. The Russian president’s surprising answer, which was uttered with a little humor and plenty of seriousness, was: “Help us establish our own AIPAC, a Russian one, in order to create better ties between Russian expatriates and their homeland.”

We smiled. How can one explain that AIPAC is a unique Jewish product that cannot be imitated?