Well, it’s that time of year again. AIPAC. A time for laughter and tears, intrigue and advocacy, Israel and America.
We’re here in Washington along with some 13,000 AIPAC participants, bringing you stories from the conference floor and looking at some of the bigger political issues that color this year’s confab. How do the experts think the next Knesset will shape up? How does sequestration affect aid to Israel? What about the supposedly controversial AIPAC resolution about military action against Iran? In addition to the long list of dignitaries and government representatives, who will be the surprise speaker at Monday’s gala?
And there are other pressing issues: How’s the food, for example? What happens when the break-out sessions end and the student delegates hit the bars? We’ll be there with flip-cams.
Check in with us today for our coverage and, for some background, check out Stephanie Butnick’s stellar piece about all the elbow grease that goes into putting on the AIPAC convention from a production standpoint–enough, it seems, to fill the Tidal Basin–as well as Lee Smith’s hard look at what the confirmation of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary and Iran’s march toward nuclear weapons says about the vaunted organization’s efficacy.
On tap today: Elliott Abrams, Dennis Ross, and Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren kick off the morning, and Sen. John Cornyn and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak headline the afternoon.
Stay tuned!
Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.