As the Ledger went to press on Tuesday, March 22, the 2016 American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference was just wrapping up.

But not before 18,000 of Israel’s strongest supporters had the opportunity to hear comments from four of the five Democratic and Republican candidates still in the race for the White House. Among the presidential hopefuls who accepted invitations to the confab only Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders – the only Jew in the race – declined.

The 9 most interesting things Hillary Clinton told AIPAC

By Uriel Heilman/JTA

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton addressed the conference on Monday morning. Here are the most interesting quotes from her speech.

On being America’s first female president: “Some of us remember a woman, Golda Meir, leading Israel’s government decades ago and wonder: What’s taking us so long here in America?”

On Yitzhak Rabin’s smoking habit: “Since my first visit to Israel 35 years ago, I have returned many times and made many friends. I have worked with and learned from some of Israel’s great leaders — although I don’t think Yitzhak Rabin ever forgave me for banishing him to the White House balcony when he wanted to smoke.”

Clinton will invite Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House: “We will never allow Israel’s adversaries to think a wedge can be driven between us. As we have differences, as any friends do, we will work to resolve them quickly and respectfully … One of the first things I’ll do in office is invite the Israeli prime minister to visit the White House.”

She slams Donald Trump (albeit not by name): “We need steady hands, not a president who says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who knows what on Wednesday, because everything’s negotiable. America can’t ever be neutral when it comes to Israel’s security or survival … Some things aren’t negotiable. And anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business being our president.”

Palestinian incitement must stop: “Palestinian leaders need to stop inciting violence, stop celebrating terrorists as martyrs and stop paying rewards to their families.”

The U.S. should maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge: “I believe we must take our alliance to the next level. I hope a new 10-year defense memorandum of understanding is concluded as soon as possible to meet Israel’s security needs far into the future … As president, I will make a firm commitment to ensure Israel maintains its qualitative military edge.”

Fight the BDS campaign against Israel: “Many of the young people here today are on the front lines of the battle to oppose the alarming boycott, divestment and sanctions movement known as BDS. Particularly at a time when antisemitism is on the rise across the world, especially in Europe, we must repudiate all efforts to malign, isolate and undermine Israel and the Jewish people. I’ve been sounding the alarm for a while now. As I wrote last year in a letter to the heads of major American Jewish organizations, we have to be united in fighting back against BDS.”

Why she supports the Iran nuclear deal: “Today, Iran’s enriched uranium is all but gone, thousands of centrifuges have stopped spinning, Iran’s potential breakout time has increased and new verification measures are in place to help us deter and detect any cheating. I really believe the United States, Israel and the world are safer as a result. But still, as I laid out at a speech at the Brookings Institution last year, it’s not good enough to trust and verify. Our approach must be distrust and verify. This deal must come with vigorous enforcement, strong monitoring, clear consequences for any violations and a broader strategy to confront Iran’s aggression across the region. We cannot forget that Tehran’s fingerprints are on nearly every conflict across the Middle East, from Syria to Lebanon to Yemen.”

A Purim shout-out: “On Wednesday evening, Jews around the world will celebrate the Festival of Purim, and children will learn the story of Esther, who refused to stay silent in the face of evil. It wasn’t easy. She had a good life. And by speaking out, she risked everything. But as Mordecai reminded her, we all have an obligation to do our part when danger gathers …”

Donald Trump unveils three-pronged Iran strategy

By Jacob Kamaras/JNS.org

In a much-anticipated speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference on Monday, Republican presidential primary front-runner Donald Trump said that dismantling the “disastrous” Iran nuclear deal would be his top priority as president. Trump also unveiled a three-pronged strategy for dealing with Iran, offering the type of detailed policy talk that many critics have accused him of leaving out of previous speeches.

“We’ve rewarded the world’s leading state sponsor of terror with $150 billion, and we’ve received actually nothing in return,” he said.

Trump was the subject of much pre-conference debate regarding whether or not AIPAC should have invited him, due to his controversial policy proposals such as banning Muslim immigration. But he earned far more cheers and laughter than boos during his speech, resulting from his jokes, his stylistic choices such as the repeated use of the phrase “believe me,” and his well-known propensity to make sweeping declarations. He told the crowd that he was speaking to them “as a lifelong supporter and true friend of Israel, and a newcomer to politics, but not to backing the Jewish state.” He noted that in the spring of 2004, at the height of the violence of the second Palestinian intifada, he served as grand marshal of New York City’s Israel Day Parade.

“Many people turned down this honor” because it was a dangerous time for Israel and its supporters, said Trump, but “I did not.

I took the risk, and I’m glad I did.”

“But I didn’t come here tonight to pander to you about Israel,” he told the audience. Instead, Trump said he came to speak about future of America’s relationship with Israel, which he praised as “the only democracy in the Middle East.”

Trump said the Iranian nuclear deal “places limits on [Iran’s] military nuclear program for only a certain number of years,” but once that period expires, Iran will have a weaponized nuclear program “ready to go,” said Trump, noting that he would adopt a three-pronged strategy on Iran as president: standing up to Iran’s aggressive push to destabilize and dominate the region, dismantling Iran’s global terror network, and vigorously enforcing the terms of the nuclear deal.

“We must enforce the terms of the previous deal to hold Iran totally accountable,” he said.

Trump lamented that the nuclear deal is “silent” on the testing of ballistic missiles, a move Iran recently carried out in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. “Nobody has done anything about it. We will, we will,” said Trump, earning a standing ovation.

Trump also earned an ovation for saying, “President [Barack] Obama in his final year. Yay.”

“He may be the worst thing that ever happened to Israel, believe me,” Trump said.

Trump vowed to use American veto power in the United Nations to shut down an internationally imposed settlement for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Deals are made when parties come together, they come to the table and negotiate,” while each side makes concessions and gets something of value, said Trump.

“It’s really the parties that must negotiate a resolution themselves, they have no choice…the United States will be useful as a facilitator in negotiations, but nobody should be telling Israel” that it needs to abide by an agreement made thousands of miles away, he said.

Trump said that to make a good deal, you need two willing participants, and it is known that Israel is willing to negotiate a deal. He noted that former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak made “maybe even too generous” of an offer to the Palestinians at Camp David, only to be rejected by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, while former prime minister Ehud Olmert made an “equally generous” offer in 2008 but was rejected by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

As president, Trump said he would “meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately.” He said that in Palestinian society, “the heroes are those who murder Jews,” but that glorification of terrorists “will end and it will end soon, believe me.” He did not, however, offer details for how such incitement would end.

“What President Obama gets wrong about deal-making,” said Trump, “is that he constantly applies pressure to our friends, and rewards our enemies.”

“When the United States stands with Israel, the chances for peace really rise, and rise exponentially,” he said.

Trump also vowed to move the American embassy in Israel “to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem.” He has previously wavered on that issue. He ended his speech on a lighter note, expressing pride that his daughter Ivanka, who is married to Jewish real estate developer Jared Kushner, “is about to have a beautiful Jewish baby.”

“In fact,” Trump said, “it could be happening right now, which would be very nice as far as I’m concerned.”

Cruz vows to ‘unapologetically’ back Israel

(JNS.org) Speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference on Monday, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) said he “will not be neutral” on Israel as president, taking a swipe at GOP opponent Donald Trump’s past statements about being a neutral broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“America will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel,” said Cruz, who also mocked Trump’s use of the term “Palestine” in the preceding speech at the same AIPAC session. “Palestine” has not existed since 1948, Cruz said upon arriving on stage.

Cruz said America needs a president “who will be a champion for Israel,” noting his actions in the Senate such as staunchly opposing the Federal Aviation Administration’s 36-hour ban on flights to Israel during the 2014 Gaza war. Cruz recalled that at the time, he raised the question, “Did this [Obama] administration just launch an economic boycott against the state of Israel?” Ukraine, noted Cruz, had just seen a passenger airline shot down by a Russian missile but experienced no flight ban, yet Israel received such a ban when one rocket fell a mile from “one of the safest airports in the world.”

Offering specific on how he would stand with Israel as president, Cruz said he would rip the “catastrophic” Iran nuclear deal to shreds.

“Here are my words, [Iranian Supreme Leader] Ayatollah Khamenei: ‘If I am president, and Iran launches a missile test, we will shoot that missile down,” said Cruz, referring to the recent Iranian missile test included a missile inscribed with a threat to wipe Israel off the map.

“Either you will shut down your nuclear program, or we will shut it down for you,” said Cruz, further addressing Iran.

Cruz promised to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and to veto any U.N. resolution that imposes an Israeli-Palestinian conflict settlement on Israel.

“Indeed, I tell you today, I will fly to New York to personally veto it myself,” Cruz said, referencing the city that is home to U.N. headquarters.

“The way you avoid conflict is to stand up to bullies,” he said.

John Kasich touts Jewish ties

(JNS.org) Speaking at the AIPAC conference, Ohio Governor John Kasich used a significant portion of his speech to tout his ties to the Jewish community, including his relationship with the late Gordon Zacks, an influential Ohio Jewish businessman and Republican activist; his advocacy for the release of famed refusenik Natan Sharansky from Soviet prison; and his work on establishing the state of Ohio’s official Holocaust memorial.

“They told me it could not be done and I told them, ‘You watch me, it will be done,’” Kasich said of the Holocaust memorial.

Kasich called his support for Israel “firm, and unwavering for more than 35 years of my professional life.” The governor, who formerly served on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee for 18 years, noted that during that time “we assured Israel’s qualitative military edge by offering the initial $10 million” for the Iron Dome missile defense system.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in Congress about the Iranian nuclear threat last year, Kasich said he flew to Washington for the address to “show my personal respect to the people of Israel.” Now that the Iran nuclear deal is in place, Kasich has called for the suspension of U.S. participation in the deal due to Iran’s recent ballistic missile test, which he called a violation of the spirit of the nuclear deal and a provocation that cannot be ignored. If Iran further violates the deal, he said, “we must put the sanctions back on them.”

When it comes to foreign policy, Kasich said, “I don’t need on-the-job training [as president]. I will not need to learn about the dangers facing us and our allies.” He said his national security appointees “will work tirelessly with Israel” to counter Iran’s regional aggression. He lamented that the U.S. is “not part of this new web of relations” between Israel and Arab Gulf states, and that his administration would work to expand those ties as well as provide support to common American-Israeli regional allies such as Jordan and Egypt.

Kasich also vowed that his administration would work to eliminate all bigotry, including antisemitism, particularly in international bodies. He said he is “very concerned about rising attacks on Israel and Jewish students on our college campuses,” and that he would make sure students gain the tools to combat hate speech.

The governor called the current wave of Palestinian terror in Israel “the outcome of a culture of death that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its forebears have promoted for over 50 years,” slamming Palestinian school textbooks that are filled with “vile anti-Semitism,” PA stipends for imprisoned terrorists, and the Palestinians’ naming of public squares and streets after terrorists.

AIPAC president blasts Trump’s rhetoric about Obama, crowd’s reaction

(JNS.org) Lillian Pinkus, the new president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), on Tuesday morning slammed Republican presidential primary front-runner Donald Trump’s on-stage rhetoric about President Barack Obama the previous day as well as the AIPAC conference crowd’s reaction to Trump’s words.

Trump had earned a standing ovation on Monday for saying, “President [Barack] Obama in his final year. Yay.”

Without mentioning Trump by name, Pinkus said Tuesday that AIPAC takes “great offense” to verbal attacks that are levied against the president of the United States from the stage of the pro-Israel lobby’s annual policy conference.

“While we may have policy differences, we deeply respect the office of the president of the United States and our president, Barack Obama,” Pinkus, whose emotion was palpable, said.

“There are people in our AIPAC family who were deeply hurt last night,” she said, lamenting that “so many applauded a sentiment that we neither agree with or condone.”

“Let us close this conference in recognition that when we say, ‘Come ‘Together,’ we still have a lot to learn from each other, and we still have much work to do, because broadening the base of America’s pro-Israel movement and unity is our strength,” said Pinkus, mentioning this year’s AIPAC conference tagline.