Adath Israel San Francisco | Modern Orthodox Synagogue in San Francisco | A Welcoming Shul and Jewish Community

AIPAC Policy Conference 2014

I just returned from the AIPAC policy conference in Washington D.C. There were more than 14,000 pro-Israel activists from all 50 states, ranging in age from 15 to 90!

The theme of this year’s conference was “I am pro-Israel. I am AIPAC”. The theme draws upon the fact that AIPAC, holds incredible meaning for people from all walks of life, since it is a diverse organization with representation from myriad religions and ethnicities. AIPAC prides itself on the ability to bring together Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Jews, Hispanics, African Americans and people of many other backgrounds under the umbrella of pro-Israel advocacy.

The leadership of all three major Jewish streams united on stage to emphasize the importance of Jewish unity when it comes to U.S.-Israel relations. This sentiment was strongly felt at a special rabbi’s lunch, were hundreds of rabbis from all denominations enjoyed each other’s company.

In addition to over 200 breakout sessions led by experts on the topics of; Iran, Israel, Palestinians, the United States, the Greater Middle East, and the U.S.-Israel relationship, the conference’s programming highlighted the many practical ways that a U.S.-Israel alliance is mutually beneficial, emphasizing shared scientific innovations, military marvels, medical breakthroughs, and humanitarian achievements.
The speeches by leading members of the Congress and Senate were suburb. We also enjoyed extensive presentations on the negotiations with Iran and the Palestinians by the Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry. One of the major highlights of the conference was the passionate address delivered by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
The conference concluded with all 14,000+ attendees converging on Capitol Hill to lobby our representatives and senators to support legislative initiatives on matters affecting the U.S.-Israel relationship and sanctions on Iran. Quite an experience.

To sum it up – it was an awesome, inspiring, exhilarating, educational, amazing three days. If you’d like to see for yourself what the conference was like please click here.

Believe it or not, now is the time to register for next year’s Policy Conference which will be held on March 1-3, 2015. AIPAC is offering a $200 discount for those who register through the shul by March 21^st. This means that the cost of the conference will be $399 - totally refundable up until Jan. 9^th 2015. Please consider joining me at next year’s AIPAC Policy Conference. I promise we will have a great time