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Meet a Charter Member of AIPAC

Stanley Tate, of Florida, remembers the group’s first ‘convention’

by
Marc Tracy
March 05, 2012

I’m kicking myself for not having taken a photograph, but yesterday I had the privilege of meeting Stanley Tate, of Miami, a charter member of AIPAC. Tate boasted that he is likely the oldest delegate and boasted also of the impressive volume of delegates Florida sent to the AIPAC Policy Convention this year.

The first AIPAC “convention” was in fact a luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City nearly 50 years ago, according to Tate. There were 36 people, including two women. Then as now, Tate was a builder in Florida; then as now, he felt it important that Israel be represented in a strong voice by American Jews who cared deeply about the country.

Tate told me that if I took care of myself, I, too, could still be returning to AIPAC Conventions at the age of 85.

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.