Washington, DC—In a Verizon Center that is more accustomed to superstar athletes ripping ice hockey slap shots and draining basketball jumpers, Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley scored on pro-Israel and pro-Jewish points that repeatedly brought the enthusiastic crowd out of their seats for standing ovations rivaling those for any swish.
Pence’s speech rounded out the first day (Sunday) of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference. The conference drew over 18,000 delegates, including 4,000 students mostly from the United States, Canada and Israel, but from several other nations as well.
The day presented a groundswell of pro-Israel energy following the theme “Many Voices, One Mission.”
Many voices referred to the diversity of policy conference attendees, with Jews, Christians, whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics speaking during several of the many offered sessions.
On Tuesday, the delegates lobbied Capitol Hill. The basics for its lobbying efforts included countering Iran’s regional aggression, continuing to lobby for the support for security assistance to Israel and a robust foreign-aid budget, and to continue the fight against the delegitimization of Israel.
It was Pence who brought the opening day to a satisfying close for many. It was easy to tell that he felt at home on the AIPAC stage, talking of his 25-year friendship with the organization. Pence also didn’t miss an opportunity to include President Donald Trump in his spirited speech as a staunch supporter of Israel and the Jewish people.
“He’s a man of action,” Pence said. “For the first time in a long time America has a president who will stand with our allies and stand up to our enemies.”
Pence also referred to the recent rise in acts of anti-Semitism and how he was “never prouder” after President Trump spoke in condemnation of recent vandalism at a St. Louis Jewish cemetery. It was Pence himself who actually rolled up his sleeves, took a rake and helped clean up the damage at the cemetery.
He perhaps received his biggest applause when he said “America stands with Israel.” He talked of how his Christian upbringing “compels me to cherish Israel, and I pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
Pence also made mention of Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The mere mention of her name drew a rousing applause. “The United States will no longer allow the United Nations to be used as a forum for invective against Israel,” Pence said.
If there was any doubt that the Trump administration has brought new management to the United Nations, then Haley served notice to the world on Monday before a packed AIPAC speech, also at the Verizon Center.
“There’s a new sheriff in town,” the former South Carolina governor said to rousing applause. Of all the speakers of the second day of the confab, Haley received the loudest and most continuous applause. The audience spent more time standing and applauding than sitting during her 30 minutes of comments.
“I was confused when I first got to the U.N.,” she said. “I thought we’d be talking about ISIS and Syria. I didn’t expect an Israel-bashing session. But until you’ve been there and seen it, you can’t comprehend how ridiculous it is.”
Haley also hit on the U.S. abstaining on resolution 2334, last year’s U.N. Security Council Resolution condemning Israel for its settlements. She said the U.S. will never repeat what the Obama administration did with last December’s resolution 2334, causing anyone to question America’s support for Israel. Again, with each statement, the applause just grew louder.
“We had just done something that showed the United States at its weakest ever,” she said.
Haley talked about her goal to change anti-Israel bias within the U.N. She gave the example of her intervention that prevented Salam Fayyad, the former Palestinian prime minister, from becoming the U.N.’s envoy to Libya. And she spoke about how her protestations led U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to withdraw a report comparing Israel to an apartheid state. By the end of her speech at least part of the crowd was yelling “2020.”
Haley commented, “What I wanted to make sure was that the United States was leading again. I wear high heels not for a fashion statement. It’s because if I see something wrong, I will kick it every single time.”
The policy conference continued on Monday with a morning remote speech from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from his Jerusalem office. “Israel has no better friend than America,” said Netanyahu, again to an enthusiastic audience, “and America has no better friend than Israel.”
He encouraged the AIPAC delegates to assist him in preventing Iran “from ever developing nuclear weapons.” He also called for the utter destruction of ISIS.
Israel, he continued, is a global, technological power. “Israel,” said Netanyahu, “wouldn’t be the country it is without the steadfast support of the United States of America.”
“We teach peace to our children,” he added. “It’s time for the Palestinian Authority to do the same. The Palestinian Authority must recognize Israel as a Jewish state.”
By Phil Jacobs
