Image by Getty Images

(JTA) — Two more Democratic presidential candidates are now on the speakers’ list at this year’s AIPAC conference, after the Israel lobby group allowed Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar to deliver video messages.

Four years ago, the group rejected an offer from Bernie Sanders to deliver a message by video during his first campaign for president. At the time, it explained that it had changed its rules to bar all video speeches that year.

But this year, with the major conference for Israel supporters coinciding with Super Tuesday, when 14 states hold their primary elections, only one candidate, Mike Bloomberg, had been confirmed to speak before Friday.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Sanders cited concerns about AIPAC when declining to speak, and Elizabeth Warren did not push back against a question that criticized AIPAC when she told an audience earlier this month that she would not be attending.

But Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg had explained that their busy campaign schedules had informed their decision not to attend. Meanwhile, Biden had previously said that he would be open to speaking but had not said whether he actually could.

An AIPAC spokesperson said the Super Tuesday overlap had made video conferencing an option this year but did not respond to questions about when the option had been made available to candidates.

The conference opens on Saturday night and is expected to draw nearly 20,000 people.

The post Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar to address AIPAC by video after organization departs from 2016 rules appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount