Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will not be there, her senior adviser told JNS.
“Senator Gillibrand was not planning to speak at the policy conference and will not be attending,” said Glen Caplin. “As she does every year, she will meet separately with her New York constituents.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro are not slated to go to the conference, known as the largest annual pro-Israel gathering, reported the Associated Press.
Harris addressed the 2017 policy conference.
Sanders skipped the conference in 2016 as a presidential candidate. He reportedly offered to address the conference remotely, citing scheduling conflicts, but was denied by AIPAC. Instead, Sanders released a speech of what he would’ve said had he been in attendance.
Sanders’s policy director Josh Orton confirmed his upcoming absence, saying the senator is “concerned about the platform AIPAC is providing for leaders who have expressed bigotry and oppose a two-state solution.”
Citing a scheduling conflict, former Rep. John Delaney will not be in attendance.
“He’s attended the conference every year since he’s been in Congress, and he very much looks forward to being back next year,” deputy press secretary Ahmed Elsayed told the AP.
Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., who has formed an exploratory committee, also relayed via a spokesperson that he will not be at the AIPAC conference, reported The New York Jewish Week.
JNS reached out to the remaining candidates to see whether or not they plan on attending, but has not received comment. They include Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), former Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), author Marianne Williamson and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
US Vice President Mike Pence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are among the main speakers scheduled to address the conference, which take place from March 24-26, just weeks before Israelis go to the polls on April 9.
