AIPAC, Purim And You
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
Sitting at the airport on my
way home from the AIPAC conference, I am surrounded by a large number of fellow
travelers, all of us vigorously exchanging ideas, thoughts and opinions,
all of us brimming with excitement spilling over from an incredible
gathering. More than 16,000 of us crowded
into the Washington Convention Center for three days, a fantastic event that
was amazingly well planned, organized and carried out. The program was incredible, the presentations
moving, the discussions and panels stimulating.
Of course the guest speakers
were the highlight of the whole conference, none more so than Israel's Prime Minister,
Binyamin Netanyahu, who without a doubt is one of Israel's best orators ever.
As always, we learned much
about technological and humanitarian innovations that Israel is so famous for,
but arching over the whole conference were two large themes: 1) The Iranian nuclear threat; 2) the
strained Israel-US relationship.
I am not sure that at the end
of three days, these issues were resolved.
The fallout from Netanyahu’s speech before Congress will continue to
resonate in the media for days, weeks and perhaps months. The elections coming up in Israel will be
viewed with a similar microscope. No
other country in the world is so watched and analyzed by so many people and
pundits than the State of Israel. A week
after the elections in Israel, the deadline in the Iran-US nuclear talks will
arrive, and once again the results will be discussed and scrutinized to no end.
One thing, however, remains
clear: Israel and the US remain close friends
and allies. This was Netanyahu’s third
speech before Congress. The only other
world leader who was similarly invited was Winston Churchill. And no matter who attended the speech today
and who conspicuously didn’t, the reception was incredible. Those who were there were not only supporters
of Netanyahu, not only those who relished what they perceived as a political
jab in Obama’s eye, but also those who understood the important, deep and
indestructible relationship that exists between Israel and the United States.
It isn’t only security issues
that unite us. It’s also economic and
technological ties. And above all, it’s
our shared ideals and values.
The close ties between America
and Israel were strained many times over the past few decades. President Truman was reluctant to recognize
the nascent State of Israel, yet the United States was the first country that
did recognize Israel, a mere eleven minutes after David Ben Gurion proclaimed
its Declaration of Independence. In 1956, 1967, 1973 and many other times the
United States criticized Israel for “intransigence.” An article published in Foreign Affairs spoke
of “The Coming Crisis in Israeli-American Relationships.” The author was George
W. Ball, and the article appeared in the winter 1979/80 issue.
And yet the friendship
flourished and the alliance has only grown stronger.
The current crisis will pass
like the others, not because it isn’t serious, but because there is something
that far outweighs the tensions and disagreements. And that is the understanding that Israel’s
existence represents, above all else, historical justice. The American people understand this. The Jewish state understands this.
What AIPAC showed all 16000 of
us is that Americans and Israelis—along with many of other nationalities—are
doing everything they can to ensure that Israel will survive despite the
enemies that surround it. The current hatred
shown Israel in many places around the world isn’t merely political; it isn’t
about “the settlements.” It isn’t about
the supposed mistreatment of the Palestinians.
It’s about the traditional, age-old hatred known as anti-Semitism. It’s a scourge we Jews know only too well.
This week we celebrate Purim,
an ancient holiday that celebrates our redemption from Persian persecution more
than 2000 years ago, when an evil man named Haman attempted to vilify us before
his king and wove a genocidal plan that would have made Pharaoh and Hitler and
countless other tyrants proud. Yet Haman
and all the others are gone, while we, the Jewish People, are still here. Our current enemies will similarly disappear.
But for those who expect divine
miracles, the Book of Esther has some serious lessons. Miracles may be ordained by God, but they are
carried out by human beings. Our current
enemies will fall as have all their predecessors, but not by any act of
God. It will take the resolve of all of
us, the dedication and hard work of each and every freedom-loving individual,
to ensure that the Jewish People and the Jewish State will survive.
AIPAC is one of our strongest
tools. Its reach and embrace extend
beyond nationality, beyond party lines, beyond color, race, creed or belief. Its goal isn’t only the survival of Israel;
AIPAC believes in the values that America and Israel share. Its aim is the preservation of human rights,
of freedom, of dignity and respect, indeed of humanity itself. That’s what 16000 of us cheered and vowed to
support as the Conference closed this afternoon. That’s what we couldn’t stop
talking about even as we boarded flights taking us back to our homes and daily
lives.
I have already signed up for
next year’s Conference. Won’t you join
me?
© 2015 by Boaz D. Heilman
