Washington, D.C—Over 1,000 people participated in 400 meetings with 97% of the Senate and almost 80% of the House as part of the NORPAC mission to Washington, D.C. on April 30 to advocate for a strong U.S. – Israel relationship. The annual NORPAC mission brought together volunteers who were trained to present upcoming legislation affecting Israel in meetings with Congressmen and ask for their support.

Rabbi Menachem Genack of Englewood, Founder of NORPAC, said, “The message of 1,000 people in support of Israel is a great message to Congress—the anchor of support for Israel in Congress. There is sympathy for Israel across the board.”

NORPAC president Dr. Ben Chouake of Englewood addressed the group in a plenary session before the meetings began. He said that NORPAC was started to cultivate bi-partisan support for Israel and now there are few other issues that unite both parties. He also noted that there is no other issue that can get teens to wake up at 4:30 in the morning—the day begins with an early morning bus ride to D.C.

Chouake called Iran the greatest threat to Israel’s security and said if talks with Iran fail, additional strong sanctions coupled with a credible military threat will be necessary. He recalled President John F. Kennedy’s statement that diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for each other.

Democratic and Republican Legislators spoke about their support of Israel and the threats to its security. Speakers included Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), New Jersey State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D), Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), and House Foreign Relations committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY 16th District).

Senator Cruz said the issues weren’t partisan, but excoriated Secretary of State John Kerry for his apartheid remark and his “long series of damaging comments” about Israel. “Nobody wants peace in the Middle East more than Israel,” he said, “but it can’t be dictated and forced at the expense of undermining Israel.” He emphasized America’s friendship with Israel saying, “Israel is not what is wrong with the world; Israel is what’s right with the world. What is wrong is an administration that has lost sight of who its friends are.”

Senator Cruz noted the remarkable achievements Israel has made, including the development of a new gas field and its groundbreaking strides in missile defense. To illustrate, he mentioned a video that has gone viral of an Israeli wedding with the Iron Dome intercepting missiles in the background.

Senator Cruz said a nuclear Iran is the greatest threat. “Iran’s leaders are clear about destroying the great Satan (the U.S.) and the little Satan (Israel). In Texas, if someone tells you they want to kill you, believe them.”

Senator Menendez said he was the author of every sanction levied against Iran and emphasized that we must push back against Israel’s delegitimization. He condemned the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) against Israel and anyone who portrays Israel as an apartheid state. Senator Menendez emphasized Israel’s history and right to exist. “The Shoah is not the reason for the founding of Israel or its justification. There is no denying the Jewish people the right to exist in the homeland they have had had for thousands of years.”

In an interview with JLBC after the mission, Dr. Chouake said the meetings were successful in gaining support for the issues NORPAC presented. He said co-sponsors have more than doubled since the mission for a new piece of legislation recently introduced in the House: H.R. 4411 The Hezbollah International Financial Prevention Act. This bill will sanction foreign banks which do business with Hezbollah and satellite providers of its television station, al-Manar, a promoter of terrorism world-wide. It will be introduced shortly in the Senate.

Co-sponsorship gives added support to a bill, according to Chouake. “A co-sponsor has looked at the bill and made a decision. He is on board in the public record and will do more than just show up for the vote.”

Although action against Iran is on hold, NORPAC asked Senators to co-sponsor S.1881, The Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act, to ensure that there will be harsher sanctions enacted against Iran if an acceptable final agreement is not reached. Legislators were also asked to support the annual 2015 foreign aid bill including $3.1 billion in military assistance for Israel and continued funding for the joint U.S.-Israel missile program.

In addition to asking for support on upcoming bills, NORPAC asked legislators to speak out against the BDS movement. “We have members who are experts at tax law and they have told us court rulings on BDS are favorable to Israel. But this is a publicity war; we felt it was important to bring up to national leaders,” Dr. Chouake said. “If they haven’t heard it before, they will hear or read about it at one point, and we want them to talk from the bully pulpit.” To reinforce the message that BDS is different from legitimate criticism, NORPAC told Congress to use Natan Sharansky’s “3D” test to differentiate criticism from antisemitism. The 3Ds are: delegitimization, double-standards, and demonization. Dr. Chouake said there was a lot of enthusiasm and many legislators said they would speak out against the BDS movement targeting Israel.

With the mission coming right after Pesach, organizers had a challenging time. “Congress was just coming back after recess and responses for meetings came in at the last minute,” said Dr. Laurie Baumel, a resident of Teaneck and co-chair together with Dr. Richard Schlussel of Englewood and David Steinberg of Queens. Dr. Baumel had a hand in every aspect of planning the mission. She spoke at schools to recruit students and worked on expanding NORPAC’s geographic footprint—this year reaching out to other states, including Pennsylvania, Florida, and South Carolina. Using her scientific background, Dr. Baumel helped develop talking points for many of the technical issues. She said putting the groups together was an art and a science.

“We wanted to give children exposure, but not have them dominate a group. We wanted each group to have some adults with mission experience so they could take over if needed and some with less experience so they would learn. When I had to choose a leader in a group where I didn’t know anyone, I looked back to see who had been on several missions. We wanted to make sure people had a good experience.”

Despite the torrential rain, participants were happy they came. Rissi Zweig, a former Teaneck resident who made aliyah, was visiting family and took the opportunity to join the mission.

“I was very impressed, it was a fantastic process,” she said. “It’s the best thing for legislators to see young people coming. And it’s important for the kids to learn how to speak up for Israel.”

By Bracha Schwartz