Dear Friends,
A few days ago I returned from the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington. The media has been filled with reports and interpretations of what has been said about Israel by American leaders. Pundits make their living by generating heat. I am more interested in light. I want to look clearly at exactly what has been said. Then I want to draw your attention to the genuine key issues.
AIPAC is dedicated to promoting the America/Israel relationship. At AIPAC we heard speeches from a broad range of American political leaders, including President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer. I also participated in lobbying meetings with Illinois Senator Mark Kirk and Sixth District Congressman Peter Roskam. In addition, I had individual conversations with senators ranging from Minnesota’s Al Franken on the political left to Texas’ John Cornyn on the right.
I am happy to report that all of the above American political leaders expressed complete devotion to the America/Israel relationship. American support for Israel is bipartisan.
Much has been made about President Obama’s reference to the pre-1967 borders in his May 19th speech at the State Department. The full phrase was “1967 lines with land swaps.” Identical language has been used by American leaders since the Israel/ Palestinian peace process began with the Oslo Accords in 1993. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used this phrase at AIPAC in March 2010. President George W. Bush used this phrase, as did President Bill Clinton.
In his speech at AIPAC on Sunday morning, President Obama went into detail about the meaning of “agreed upon land swaps.” He said:
“….since my position has been misrepresented several times, let me reaffirm what ‘1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps’ means. By definition, it means that the parties themselves, Israelis and Palestinians, will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967.
That's what mutually agreed upon swaps means. It is a well-known formula to all who have worked on this issue for a generation. It allows the parties themselves to account for the changes that have taken place over the last 44 years. It allows the parties themselves to take account of those changes, including the new demographic realities on the ground and the needs of both sides.
The ultimate goal is two states for two people: Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people, and the state of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people, each state enjoying self-determination, mutual recognition and peace.”
President George W. Bush in January of 2008 said the following during a visit to Israel: “Achieving an agreement will require painful political concessions by both sides. While territory is an issue for both parties to decide, I believe that any peace agreement between them will require mutually agreed adjustments to the armistice lines of 1949 to reflect current realities and to ensure that the Palestinian state is viable and contiguous.”
In 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “We believe that through good-faith negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines with agreed swaps.” She repeated those words to AIPAC in March 2010.
President Obama’s use of that phrase is, in truth, nothing new.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the AIPAC Conference on Monday evening and to a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday morning. I would urge you to watch a video of his address to Congress. It is a strong and clear presentation of his position which he delivers artfully. You will notice that three times he expresses his ideas by quoting President Obama. He does this to indicate the closeness of his positions to President Obama’s.
Other members of the Etz Chaim family participating in the AIPAC conference included Larry and Barbara Margolis, Jacob and Asher Margulies, Samantha Margolis, Ron and Bruce Weininger and Dan Krauss.
Next year’s AIPAC conference will be March 4-6th
We hope that more of our members will be able to join us for this exceptional event.
