June 2009

Dear Friends:

Last month, for the fourth consecutive year, volunteers from among our synagogue's membership comprised a significant delegation that traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the Annual Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). As all such delegations do so, our delegation lobbied our elected officials in the House of Representatives and the Senate, exercising one of the great privileges that all citizens of our country enjoy, namely, to express directly to those whom we have elected to represent us in government our concerns and hopes regarding issues of importance to us and to our community, as constituents.

Of course, as representatives of the Jewish community attending the largest annual gathering in the United States of individuals committed to a strong relationship between our country and the State of Israel, and given recent, troubling developments regarding Israel's security, our lobbying efforts were focused exclusively upon those interests shared by our country and our homeland that are of immediate concern. We lobbied first and foremost in support of robust legislation that would severely hinder Iran's efforts to procure oil-refinement services and technology from companies outside Iran, thereby giving Iran one more reason to comply with the global community's demand that it cease immediately its development of nuclear technology. Iran has stated repeatedly both its intention to wipe the State of Israel off the face of the world's map and its urging to large gatherings to imagine a world without the United States of America. Amazingly, for all of Iran's progress toward the development of nuclear technology (and advanced ballistic missile capabilities), Iran still relies upon foreign resources to refine most of the petroleum that it produces for use by its own citizens. This should serve for all observers as more than a reasonable hint at Iran's lack of care to use its technological progress toward the betterment of its own citizens' lives and of the sinister purposes underlying its ongoing and rapid pursuit of nuclear technology. The legislation proposed by bipartisan leadership in the House and the Senate, and for which we lobbied, would deal Iran's economy a severe blow and, perhaps, awaken its fanatical leadership and its general population to the costs that they will endure if Iran does not comply with the will of the international community regarding its nuclear program.

We lobbied as well for the continuation of vital military foreign aid to Israel (the overwhelming majority of which is spent right here in the United States, bolstering our own aerospace and defense-related industries), encouraging our country to continue to support Israel's qualitative advantage militarily as it strives daily to defend itself against an array of enemies who seek its destruction. And finally, we requested that our representatives add their signatures to letters to President Obama, co-authored by leaders on both sides of the aisle in both the Senate and the House, urging the President to pursue only such a two-state solution to Israel's conflict with the Palestinians that would definitively ensure that the Palestinians formally and unequivocally acknowledge Israel's right to exist and endure as a Jewish State, and to ensure that all violence and incitement toward Israel, produced, conducted, or sanctioned (even by omission) by Palestinian institutions, officials, and media, cease entirely.

Together with over six thousand pro-Israel advocates, and in a respectful and dignified manner that reflected the meaningful relationships that have been built over decades by volunteer activists with elected representatives nationwide, our CNT delegation conducted its lobbying efforts. As numerous other delegations from around the country, we did so with a smaller group than last year or the year before, due to a number of scheduling conflicts in the month of May and given economic conditions in the months leading up to the Conference. However, the Ner Tamid community was nonetheless well represented and we participated in an enormously successful lobbying effort!

As always, the Conference featured an extraordinary array of speakers and presenters, including Senator John Kerry, Vice President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (via satellite), House Minority Leader Eric Cantor, Newt Gingrich, and numerous other distinguished leaders and academics. As well and also as ever, AIPAC's Annual Banquet, held on the final evening of the Conference, hosted dignitaries from most embassies in Washington, D.C. and the great majority of elected officials and some of their staff members serving in our nation's Capitol. All in all, the Conference served not only as an opportunity to make a significant difference in support of the U.S./Israel relationship, but also as a serious learning experience for all in attendance and an opportunity to develop meaningful connections with Jews and others of a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds who support this vital relationship.

Upon the conclusion of the Conference, our synagogue was able to procure a special dispensation from AIPAC to assist our membership in participating in next year's Policy Conference, scheduled for March 21st through 23rd, in Washington, D.C. AIPAC extended to us, for exclusive use by our synagogue-membership, 25 open registrations at the discounted registration price for next year's Policy Conference that was otherwise withdrawn at the conclusion of this year's Conference. This extension will remain available briefly - until June 15th - just over two weeks from now, after which the cost of registration will increase from the vastly reduced fee of $299.00 per person to amounts that will approach or exceed $500.00.

We sought this special extension to help to ensure that those among our membership who wish to participate next year can do so more affordably, and the initial response has been very encouraging. As the 25 spaces are being allocated on a first-come/first-serve basis, I urge you to please contact my assistant, Pat Richman, at your earliest convenience to place your name on the list of attendees who wish to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Pat can be reached via email at prichman@nertamid.com and by telephone at (310) 377-6986 x234.

In closing, please consider the following. There are different interpretations of the communication between the Obama Administration and the Israeli Government, as they both begin their tenures and forge a working relationship together. Some knowledgeable observers view differences that are emerging as minimal and insignificant, given the history and depth of cooperation and shared values held by the United States and the State of Israel, toward the mutual and shared benefits of both countries. Other informed sources are concerned by what they see and hear. However, as far as those of us who care for the special relationship between the United States and Israel, neither perspective changes what we must do, given the threats that Israel faces today. Why? - Because the bedrock of the partnership cherished by the United States and the State of Israel has rarely, if ever, been centered on the American Administration; rather, it has rather almost always seen its foundation among the American citizenship and, as a consequence, among our elected representatives serving in our Congress. Congress represents daily the perceived interests of the citizens of our great country. If we make our voices heard and our passionate feelings known to our elected representatives, they will not only continue to support and protect values that they know overwhelmingly to be true and enduring, but for which they will continue to depend upon us to represent as the concerns of their constituents.

So please become involved. Please take advantage of the opportunity to register through our office (as noted above) for AIPAC's Annual Policy Conference in March 2010. Far beyond the financial savings from which you will benefit, you will be part of the historic undertaking of securing our brothers and sisters in Israel. In this regard, let us always bear in mind that if we ever needed Israel, she would be there for us, with unceasing support and open arms; today, we need to do our part for Israel, and the greatest difference that we can make may well be in Washington in March 2010 and in our efforts leading up to our sacred and vitally important journey together.

B'Shalom - With Blessings of Peace and Wholeness,

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader