THE ISRAEL LOBBY & AMERICAN POLICY CONFERENCE 2019
Delinda Hanley:
We’d like to thank our incredible speakers who came from around the
world to talk about the Israel lobby.
We’re doing a little end-notes thing here.
Their talks will be available in the next edition of the
Washington Report, which is celebrating its 35th
anniversary with a new look and a new URL—washingtonreport.me.
Thank you, reporters, for showing up to shoot and write about this
newsworthy event. Thank
you to our hardworking staff, exhibitors and advertisers, as well as
this room full of attendees, including a record number of students
from across the country, diplomats and community leaders, as well as
the Delaware Neighbors Against the Occupation, who chartered a bus
to come here. Thank you
to our generous donors.
Without you, this remarkable day couldn’t have happened.
Finally, I’d like to remind you that this conference has been
dedicated to Washington
Report’s publisher, Andrew Killgore, who died
in December convinced that this conference would be a game changer.
To you, our audience, please make his hopes come true and
loosen the grip of the Israel lobby on American policy.
Thank you. Grant…
Grant Smith:
For those of you who stopped sending in question cards because some
of the speakers weren’t able to take those, don’t be gun shy.
Send some in.
Ilan Pappé and Clayton Swisher will try to answer as many as
possible.
I, too, would like to thank the donors—many giving $10, $15, $20
once they heard that this conference was coming, in addition to
those who gave much more.
I also applaud some grassroots organizations.
One of my favorites, Northfielders for Justice in
Palestine/Israel who have come here, very excellent work in my home
state of Minnesota. It
takes time and money for people to come here personally and be here.
Whether you’re a student, a retiree, or have a job/don’t have
a job, everyone who came here today did so because they care.
Next month, for those of you who keep asking me, IRmep will be
filing an appeal in our lawsuit to block U.S. aid to Israel over its
clandestine nuclear weapons program.
So I encourage those of you who want to follow that to sign
up for the email list at irmep.org.
There are representatives from many great organizations here today.
As we look around for coalition partners and worthwhile
projects to engage in—whether humanitarian relief, policy research,
grassroots action—I just encourage everyone to consider how your
work will challenge, end-run, and transcend the Israel lobby—the
biggest and longest running obstacle to peace in the Middle East.