20110527 jewishvoice

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Deuteronomy 32:1

M AY T H E E A RT H H E A R T H E WO R D S O F M Y M O U TH

May 27, 2011| 23 Iyar 5771

Vol. 7, Iss. 19

www.JewishVoiceNY.com

$1

CONFLICTING VIEWS PRESENTED BY NETANYAHU, OBAMA AT AIPAC 2011 BY TZVI ALLEN FISHMAN In a remarkable display of Jewish unity and love for the State of Israel, ten thousand people came together at the 2011 American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in Washington D.C., which ran from Sunday through Tuesday, May 22-24. In this historic gathering, supporters of Israel came to share, learn, discuss, and be part of the crucial political process of gaining congressional support for Israel. he policy conference this year could not come at a more tense moment in Israel’s history. Only four days earlier in a policy statement concerning Israel, President Barack Obama declared that Israel should start new negotiations with the Palestinian Authority utilizing the 1967 borders as a starting point. This statement was then followed by a joint press conference with statements by both President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Although this idea is nothing new, no President ever dared utter these words, and this statement sparked an intense reaction from Israel, the world Jewish community, as well as within the U.S. political arena. The AIPAC Policy Conference was thus transformed into a platform for explanations and clarifications by the Obama administration and responses and statements by the government of Israel. The conference hosted a fascinating procession of speeches. Arguably the most highly anticipated were those by President Barack Obama at the opening plenary of the Conference and by Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the Gala Banquet on Monday evening. In addition, top political figures such as the Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Democratic Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Republican Speaker of the

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Photo Courtesy of AIPAC

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that the State of Israel is rooted in ideas championed by the Jewish people, that all men are created in G-d’s image, equal, and all are entitled to justice. IN THIS ISSUE: FULL COVERAGE OF THE 2011 AIPAC POLICY CONFERENCE, AND ISRAELI PM NETANYAHU’S SPEECH TO CONGRESS.

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