House speaker Johnson, Senate leaders Schumer, McConnell to address AIPAC confab
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Top congressional leaders will address an AIPAC gathering currently taking place in Washington as ties between the Biden administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government appear to have hit a new low as the war in Gaza drags into its sixth month.
The over 1,600 AIPAC activists estimated in attendance will hear from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Charles Chuck Schumer and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell during the conference, which began yesterday.
Participants will also be lobbying for AIPAC-backed legislation on Capitol Hill, including the emergency funding proposal for Israel included in the supplemental, annual security assistance funding for Israel, the Iran Sanctions Enforcement Act and the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act.
“The priority lobbying message will be to House Republicans to urge their leadership to urgently pass a bipartisan emergency funding bill for Israel without conditions and that can be signed into law by the president,” says an AIPAC spokesperson. GOP lawmakers have blocked the legislation due to disagreements regarding Ukraine and immigration reform.
