Diamond Summer Interns Participate in DC Retreat

Nearly four dozen Diamond Summer Interns, working at AIPAC offices across the country, gathered in Washington, D.C., to take part in this year’s AIPAC National Intern Retreat. The intensive three-day program featured addresses from Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic and Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. Interns also explored AIPAC’s history, methodology and current initiatives in a series of sessions led by AIPAC staff. The Diamond Summer Interns will reunite in Washington, D.C., July 19-22, when they host more than 400 campus leaders and political activists at this summer’s Saban Leadership Seminar. Learn more about the AIPAC Diamond Summer Internship program.

Campus Leaders Explore Israel with AIPAC

Forty student activists from thirty campuses recently visited Israel as part of the AIPAC Campus Allies (ACA) Mission, which has brought non-Jewish student leaders to Israel for the past five years. The students, who include 12 national leaders of College Democrats of America and the College Republican National Committee and 15 from Historically Black colleges and universities and Christian colleges, spent ten days learning about Israeli history, culture, and society, and exploring a variety of themes, including the U.S.-Israel relationship, Israel’s security challenges, and pluralism and co-existence.

Activities included a visit to the Knesset—where trip participants met with Ethiopian and Druze MKs—and to the U.S. Embassy for a special briefing. They toured Israel’s security frontier around Jerusalem with Col. Res. Danny Tirza, the IDF’s chief architect for the security barrier, and visited the Golan Heights. Participants toured an Israeli naval base in the port of Haifa to learn about U.S.-Israeli strategic cooperation. While visiting Nazareth, students engaged in an open forum with city officials about relations among the city’s Jewish, Christian, and Muslim residents.

San Diego to Host 2009 AIPAC National Summit

Pro-Israel activists from across the country will gather in San Diego this fall for AIPAC's premier foreign policy retreat, the 2009 AIPAC National Summit. This year's National Summit, to be held October 18-19, is geared specifically for the AIPAC's most generous contributors. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from leading statesmen and scholars and engage in thoughtful exchanges with America and Israel’s chief policymakers. Previous Summit speakers have included President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Nobel Laureate Eli Wiesel as well as many other top administration officials, congressional leaders, academics and political pundits. In addition, AIPAC Senate Club members will enjoy an elegant dinner the evening before the National Summit kicks off. Hundreds have already signed up. Register today.

Proliferation Expert Addresses Hill Staff on Iran

Arizona State University Professor Orde Kittrie addressed some 20 congressional staffers on May 18 about the importance and effectiveness of sanctions on Iran, particularly efforts to cut off refined petroleum to the country. Kittrie, currently a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, traced the history of previous Iran sanctions efforts in both America and Europe, noting that they have significantly slowed Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapon. Kittrie said that Iran’s need for refined petroleum constitutes its greatest vulnerability and that sanctions would force the regime to make a real choice between preserving its nuclear program and saving Iran’s economy. Kittrie added that past international sanctions were particularly effective against Libya and South Africa, though present efforts by China and Russia to stymie international sanctions on Iran have inhibited their potential efficacy. Kittrie’s presentation was sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, the charitable organization affiliated with AIPAC.