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March 28, 2003/Adar2 24 5763, Vol. 55, No. 31
AIPAC refining pro-Israel message
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - For months, Jewish groups have been working tirelessly to separate the Iraq issue from Israel, lowering their voices of support for the war.
But next week, close to 5,000 pro-Israel activists - many of whom strongly support the U.S.-led war on Iraq and its benefits to Israel's security - will meet in the nation's capital for the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
It's likely that they won't want to keep quiet any longer. But the fact that the March 30-April 1 conference is taking place in wartime presents uncomfortable dilemmas about how to discuss aspects of the Bush administration's Middle East policy.
"I believe that we don't have to choose between being pro-Israel and being a patriotic American," said Amy Friedkin, AIPAC's president.
In a perfect world, AIPAC would highlight the role Israel has played in U.S. efforts against Iraq, and the job the United States has done to protect Israel from possible attacks from Baghdad.
In the real world, however, the United States has tried to downplay Israel's role - even keeping it off the list of countries in its "coalition of the willing" - to prevent a potential backlash from the Arab world.
Some figures have suggested that American Jews, and especially Jewish neoconservatives in the Bush administration, were pushing the country toward war.
As a result, many in the Jewish world have been trying to keep their support for the Bush administration's agenda, in Iraq and in Israel, to a whisper.
"The war inhibits your desire to want to trumpet the relationship at a time when the United States and Israel are downplaying it," said Doug Bloomfield, a former legislative director for AIPAC.
But conference attendees "can highlight common values and common issues," he said.
There also are questions as to how AIPAC will express its concerns about some aspects of administration policy.
There are grave fears in the American Jewish world about the White House's postwar plans, given Bush's recent announcement that he will present the "road map" for Israeli-Palestinian peace following confirmation of the new Palestinian Authority prime minister, which is expected shortly.
According to some reports, however, presentation of the road map may be delayed until after the end of the war in Iraq.
Many in the Jewish community feel the road map places too much pressure on Israel to make concessions without preliminary, reciprocal or irrevocable steps by the Palestinians.
But it's unclear how much criticism can be voiced, given the "rally around the flag" mentality at the AIPAC summit.
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