Trump and Clinton address Israel lobby, but Sanders skips

US presidential candidates are expected to attend AIPAC's conference to compete over who can show greater support for Israel, but Trump and Sanders could yet be exceptions to the norm.

MENA

4 min read

The New Arab

21 March, 2016

Pledging support for Israel is a necessary ritual for mainstream US politicians [Getty]

In what has become an essential ritual in American politics, US presidential candidates will address the country's leading pro-Israel group to re-pledge support - and allegiance - to Israel.

But not all candidates will be present - Bernie Sanders is skipping the event - and one in particular, Republican front-runner Donald Trump, is causing some concerns among the pro-Israel constituency.

Bernie Sanders - the Vermont socialist senator who is trying to become the first Jewish candidate to win a major party's presidential nomination - is not addressing AIPAC.

It is not clear why the Democratic contender is giving the event a miss. Having offered to attend via video conference - and was turned down - he seems to be taking the middle ground between unequivocal support for Israel and the strong anti-Israeli stance demanded by many in his progressive base.

Meanwhile, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton will probably stick to well-known positions.

Clinton has a long history in the Middle East, including overseeing, as secretary of state, the Obama administration's first attempt to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace with former Senator George Mitchell as envoy.

Her stance against Jewish settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians has been criticised by some in the pro-Israel community, but she has been received warmly by pro-Israel groups in the past, not least because she has a track record of close support for Israel.

Trump's rhetoric against Muslims has atypically not translated into total identification with the right-wing government in Israel

Republican divergence

Trump's previous comments about Israel have created some anxiety among many who will attend the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference this week in Washington.

Trump's rhetoric against Muslims has atypically not translated into total identification with the right-wing government in Israel.

By contrast, Trump's Republican rivals, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich are expected to espouse standard conservative fare.

"Trump has said a lot of things about Israel over the years, most of it favourable but some of it more ambiguous," said Josh Block, a former AIPAC official who now heads The Israel Project, to AP.

"This will be an opportunity to address the ambiguity before a serious foreign policy audience."

AIPAC has delved into highly partisan political debates over issues of interest to Israel, most recently and notably the Iran nuclear deal, which it vehemently opposed.

In that, it is at odds with ardent deal supporters Clinton and Sanders.

Trump and Cruz have promised, if elected, to rip up the agreement.

Beyond that, Cruz has pledged absolute support for Israel, but Trump has been far from clear on how he would approach matters of deep concern to pro-Israel voters.

Unlike Cruz, the real estate mogul and reality TV star has not said he would move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a perennial Republican campaign promise, and, unlike Cruz, he has said he would be "neutral" as a negotiator in trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Twitter Post

On Middle East peace talks, Trump says: "You understand a lot of people have gone down in flames trying to make that deal. So I don't want to say whose fault it is - I don't think that helps."

He also put off calls to clarify his position on the status of Jerusalem.

Trump said on Sunday on ABC TV's This Week he would lay out his ideas for a peace deal in Monday's speech.

By contrast, Cruz is unabashedly pro-Israel and he called for Secretary of State John Kerry's resignation over what he considered anti-Israel bias.

"A Cruz administration will on day one recognise Jerusalem as the eternal, undivided capital of Israel, and the US embassy will be moved to Israel's capital city," Cruz says on his website.

Trump, on the other hand, has something of a chequered record with pro-Israel Republicans.

He drew boos last year from the Republican Jewish Coalition when he refused to take a stance on the embassy location.

The campaign battles will certainly continue, no matter what the candidates say at the conference. But Trump's speech, in particular, will be dissected for months to come for clues on his views.

AP contributed to this report