Thousands of AIPAC Activists Lobby Members of Congress

6/16/2008

Summary:

In a resounding show of support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, 5,000 pro-Israel activists ascended Capitol Hill on June 4 and conducted more than 500 lobbying meetings with members of Congress and their staff.

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Full Text:

In a resounding show of support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, 5,000 pro-Israel activists ascended Capitol Hill on June 4 and conducted more than 500 lobbying meetings with members of Congress and their staff.

More than 1,200 students from some 360 colleges and universities also participated in the lobbying appointments. The meetings provided them with an invaluable opportunity to engage directly in the political process and prepare for future political activism when they return to their campuses.

The number of appointments—407 meetings with House members and meetings with all 100 Senators—marked the most lobbying sessions ever conducted during an AIPAC Policy Conference.

AIPAC citizen-lobbyists hailed from nearly every congressional district in the United States. Their lobbying meetings focused on the threat of Iran’s illicit nuclear program, the need to reinforce key principles for Israel-Palestinian peace, and the Jewish state’s ongoing need for critical security assistance from the United States.

Activists urged Congress to support the administration’s request of $2.55 billion in security assistance to Israel as part of the fiscal year 2009 budget, and to vote for the overall foreign-aid budget when it reaches the House and Senate floors.

The aid request reflects the first year of a 10-year plan to gradually increase U.S. security assistance to the Jewish state in order to meet increasing regional threats. American aid is essential in helping Israel face a potential nuclear-armed Iran, daily rocket attacks from Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip and a rearmed Hizballah in Lebanon.

Delegates also encouraged members in both chambers to vote for resolutions that call on the administration to focus on the urgency of the Iranian nuclear threat and to impose tougher sanctions on Tehran’s economic and petroleum energy sectors.

As Iran is still having some difficulty perfecting its nuclear technology, and has left itself extremely vulnerable to political and economic pressure, international sanctions remain the best nonviolent way to persuade Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The resolutions, introduced in the House by Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Mike Pence (R-IN) and in the Senate by Sens. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and John Thune (R-SD), urge the president to use existing authority to sanction Iran’s Central Bank as well as other international banks and energy companies investing in the country.

They similarly demand that the United States lead an international effort to increase pressure on Iran by curtailing the Islamic Republic’s ability to import refined petroleum products.

Since the lobbying sessions began, the House resolution has already received 170 cosponsors, while the Senate version has garnered more than 25 cosponsors.

In addition to the resolutions, delegates urged members to sign letters that reiterate Israel’s right to self-defense, call on the U.S. to stand strongly with Israel at the United Nations and urge the president to press Arab states to demonstrate support for Israeli-Palestinian talks.

The House letter was authored by Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). The Senate letter was authored by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

To date, the House letter has received more than 180 signatures, while the Senate letter has received more than 70.  •NER•

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