Just like Hillary said, "you can't be neutral on Israel when it comes to Israel's security and survival". AIPAC's refusal to advocate hard on Pro-Israel policy and let the cards fall where they may - could very well spell the end of AIPAC. I am an AIPAC Club member and I was a delegate at the March DC Conference. Clinton, Kasich, and Cruz all got standing ovations. The fact that Trump did his homework, gave the best (rehearsed) pro-Israel speech that commanded 6 standing ovations was not an insult to Obama. Lillian Pincus called it an "Ad Hominin" attack on Obama. If that was the case, then Trump would have made critisisms that had nothing to do with Obama having big ears or small hands - which would be considered an "Ad Hominin" attack. Trump critisized Obama's undeniable hypocritical bad policy regarding Israel AND his horrible treatment of Israeli PM Netanyahu. If AIPAC is so handcuffed by their desire to appear bi-partisin gives Comngressmen a free pass on the hill to legislate anti-Israel policy - then what good is AIPAC?
Many people believe that AIPAC failed to stop the Iran deal because AIPAC thought that if they played softball with the Obama administration, he would throw Israel a bone and do "something" that would allow Israel and AIPAC to save face and accept the Iran deal. Instead of a bone, Obama threw AIPAC a hand grenade.
Furthermore, many of the leaders of the anti-Trump movement at the AIPAC conference are founding members of J-Street AND AIPAC. These people and organizations ( I am a reform Jew and I am ashamed of the position of the URJ), have no problem with J-Street being totally partisan AND anti-Israel, yet they demand that AIPAC be bi-partisan AND not allow AIPAC to use it's full influence to affect American policy towards Israel. This is so obviously hypocritical that it has infuritated a lot of faithful AIPAC members.
Lastly, there was a lot people on open conference calls before the conference who wanted AIPAC to use a Q&A of the candidates so that they would have hardball questions asked of them, rather than a speech where the candidates could say whatever they want to pacify the crowd (which is what we heard). AIPAC choose to allow the speeches and AIPAC's steering committee who handled the candidates FAILED to tell the speakers that critisim of Obama was "off limits". When Lillian Pincus verbally spanked the 18,000 delegates on the wrist for giving Trump the respect that his speech deserved, you could hear the whispers of everyone who clapped for Trump feeling personally insulted. The blame for Trumps comments were not on Trump because he t old the truth, it wasn't on the delegates because they agreed that Obama has been horrible to Israel....the blame lies at the feet of the organizers of this AIPAC conference for incompetency on a lot of levels.
Times have changed, and if AIPAC's leadership can't find a way to take advantage of it, they will find themselves with with 10,000 people next year at the conference - even with them paying for 5,000 college students.
Just for the record, I am not for any specific candidate other than I will vote Republican.
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