© REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWorkers prepare the stage at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, March 2, 2015.
AIPAC Tells Lawmakers It's Okay to Criticize Annexation
If you're a U.S. politician who opposes annexation, but has been waiting for permission from the biggest pro-Israel lobby group to actually criticize it, I have some good news for you: This week AIPAC announced that such comments were fine to make, assuming they don't go too far.
The
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
reported that AIPAC is providing lawmakers with this guidance over Zoom meetings and phone calls. The parameters are pretty obvious:
you can say annexation is bad, but you can't actually suggest conditioning military aid or holding Israel accountable in any way. "So far, the group has remained publicly silent about annexation," writes Ron Kampeas, "But in private, AIPAC is telling lawmakers that as long as they don't push to limit the United States' aid to Israel, they can criticize the annexation plan without risking tensions or a clash with the lobby group."
AIPAC has been dealing with a PR problem in recent years and this move should probably be understood in that context. A majority of Democratic voters
support conditioning aid to Israel,
more and more lawmakers skip their annual conference now, and Netanyahu's close relationship with Trump has further eroded Israel's brand.
Comment: These developments a measure of how badly Trump wants out of Afghanistan. 'Bringing the Troops Home' would be a big campaign selling point.