March 4-6, our Sinai Temple delegation of nearly 200 joined over 18,000 pro-Israel activists at the 2018 AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. Sinai delegates included students (Nazarian Teen Fellows), long-time temple members, young professionals and both Alice and Nahum Lainer School and Sinai Temple Religious School families. Sinai’s delegate of honor was an AIPAC newcomer, special friend and dear community partner, Pastor JP Foster of Faithful Central Bible Church. The overarching theme of the conference was the power of diversity and collaboration in support of Israel. AIPAC provided a platform upon which people of differing opinions and backgrounds found common ground in their passion and advocacy for Israel.
Per usual, AIPAC welcomed an impressive line-up of top level speakers including Senator Chris Coons, Ambassador David Friedman, Ambassador Nikki Haley, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator Bob Menendez, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Marco Rubio, Senior Engineer of Israel’s Iron Dome, Ari Sacher, Senator Chuck Schumer, activist Natan Sharansky, and many others. In fact, over two-thirds of Congress was present at some point throughout the conference! The U.S.-Israel experience was not complete without the friendly and oh-so lovable Israel Guide Dogs and, of course, an Israeli Medical Clown or two! An additional point of interest was speaker Ryan Holloway, a retired U.S. veteran, who, while not Jewish, spent significant time in Israel and developed a deep admiration and respect for the way the country treats veterans. With many Bruins in tow, Sinai was also proud to watch our neighbor, UCLA, accepted the Duke Rudman Campus of the Year Award.
Events like these are not only passion-filled and reinvigorating, but also crucial for the strengthened voice of Israel here in the U.S. Registration is already open for the 2019 conference, which will be held March 24-26, 2019. We expect the Sinai delegation to be bigger and better than ever. Click HERE to register at the highly discounted early-bird rate.
Interested in becoming more involved in Israel advocacy and programming throughout the year here at Sinai? Contact Rabbi Nicole Guzik at [email protected].
You may also view pictures from the conference (Taken by our delegates!) in our Facebook album HERE.
#AIPAC2018 #ChoosetoLead
