The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC opened its annual conference with an appeal for bipartisanship. “Bipartisanship is essential,” Michael Kassen, the board chairman of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, said Sunday in his opening statement to the conference, which drew a record 14,000 activists. “We must affirm bipartisanship in our own ranks if we want support…
(JTA) — The highlight of AIPAC’s year is the final day of its annual policy conference, when thousands of activists ascend Capitol Hill to lobby for the passage of the organization’s legislative priorities. But just three weeks before the conference, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is facing a dilemma: how to craft a legislative…
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee backed away from pressing for passage of an Iran sanctions bill at this time. In a speech Thursday on the Senate floor, sponsor Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said dealing with Iran deserved “a spirit of bipartisanship and unity,” and rejected bids to make it a partisan issue. “I hope…
Sanctions bill sponsor Sen. Robert Menendez addresses AIPAC annual policy conference, Washington Convention Center, March 5, 2013 / Getty Images Efforts to pass a new Iran sanctions bill have not only stalled in the Senate, but appear to be slowing even in the House. Perhaps predictably, given the focus on AIPAC as the primary driver…
Want to know who stands where on Iran sanctions? We’ve got the answer — at least for the 10 Jewish senators. Of course, it’s never quite that simple. See below for the fine print. Senators who had signed on as co-sponsors are listed as supporters of the bill. Senators who have spoken out publicly against…
Two top Obama administration officials urged Jewish groups not to back new Iran sanctions, calling them “dangerous.” The officials — from the White House national security team and the Treasury Department — spoke Wednesday with Jewish leaders in a call convened by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. JTA spoke with multiple…
The United States is prepared to move against violators of its sanctions against Iran, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. “Our enforcement of the sanctions regime will be as unflinching as ever, so any CEO, general counsel or businessperson who thinks now might be a time to test our…
Israel’s proposal that Iran totally dismantle its nuclear capacity in exchange for sanctions relief would likely lead to war, a top White House official said. The official, in a conference call Wednesday with think tanks and advocacy groups sympathetic to the Obama administration’s Iran strategy, outlined the proposal that the major powers will put to…
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