The main attraction of the three-day event was, of course, the gala dinner where Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke. Rae Abileah of CodePink, who had purchased a ticket to the conference but then received a certified letter saying that her registration had been cancelled, was nonetheless inside the dinner waiting for her moment. After the traditional Roll Call, the interminable reading of the names of the Congress members present – some 59 senators and 269 members of the House of Representatives – Netanyahu finally took the stage. “When the prime minister announced Israel’s commitment to defense, I could no longer remain silent.” Rae jumped up on AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr’s private table right next to the stage and opened a banner reading “Build Peace Not Settlements” while shouting, “Lift the siege of Gaza! No illegal settlements!”
Shortly after Rae was forcibly removed from the dinner, Joan Stallard, also of CodePink, unfurled a banner and shouted, “Stop the settlements!” Joan, who was seated a little too close to security, was quickly thrown to the floor and promptly removed from the dinner.
Following Tony Blair’s speech the morning of the third and last day of the conference, the AIPAC lobbyists made their way to Capitol Hill, where a reported 500 meetings with Congress had been set. We arrived early to beat the crowd and delivered thank you letters to the 36 members of the House who had voted NO on the resolution condemning the Goldstone Report.
“Netanyahu and the Settlements” had arrived by the time we finished and were there to greet the AIPAC lobbyists as they lined up to enter the Rayburn building. Holding a gigantic check made out for “Endless Illegal Settlements” signed by Barack Obama, we called out on the megaphone, “Bank of Israel, otherwise known as the United States Congress. Nothing is too much for Israel.” There were a number of groups of young people on the Hill the same day lobbying for education and jobs programs. As we passed, I told them, “Sorry, no money left for your school or jobs. Congress wants to give it to Israel.”
We then walked over to the Senate side of the Hill. Two senators, Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Charles Schumer of New York, had spoken the previous day at the AIPAC conference. Senator Graham quickly dismissed the pesky problem of East Jerusalem: “Jerusalem is not a settlement. No government in Israel will ever look at Jerusalem as a settlement! No government in the United States should ever look at Jerusalem as a settlement! It is the undivided capital of the State of Israel. It is the eternal home of the Jewish faith. And it is now time to move onto other issues.”
We paid visits to the offices of both Senators Graham and Schumer, as well as those of Senators Lieberman and Kyl. Donning tunics that said “Settler” and waving a flag that read “Mine,” we moved in, occupied the office, set up a road block and began moving the furniture around to our pleasing. Again playing the part of a Palestinian woman, I pleaded with the staff, who were, not surprisingly, alarmed at what was happening, for their help in removing the settlers from my family’s land. In three out of four cases we managed to secure a meeting with a member of the staff; at Sen. Graham’s office Capitol Police arrived and promptly removed us!
This year’s AIPAC conference couldn’t have been scheduled during a more interesting period, with unusually high tensions between the US and Israel. Holding signs saying “Israel Endangers Peace” during the Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing on March 16, we heard General Petraeus state clearly that “the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict foments anti-American sentiment due to a perception of US favoritism toward Israel.” On CNN recently, there has been unprecedented talk of an Apartheid state in Israel and calls for cutting off US military aid. And just one day before the AIPAC conference began, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon stated during a tour of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, “Let us be clear. All settlement activity is illegal anywhere in occupied territory and must be stopped.”
As much as AIPAC appears to be living in a bubble, it also seems unlikely that the US government, or the international community for that matter, will take a courageous stance and do what many Israelis have been asking: save Israel from itself. That’s why so many activists are now taking it upon themselves to lead the way by supporting the Palestinian call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Right outside the AIPAC conference the newly formed BDS group of the greater Washington area called on local residents to not buy Israeli products as a way to make a meaningful contribution to ending the Israeli occupation. And on March 30th, the second Global BDS Day, actions will take place around the world.
Invest in peace. Boycott Israel!
