With less than 2 days to go, AIPAC still waiting to hear from Sanders

WASHINGTON — At noon on Friday, less than 48 hours before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference kicks off, Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders had yet to tell the pro-Israel lobby whether he would make an appearance.

While the Sanders camp initially responded with interest to an invitation to attend and address the confab, AIPAC was still waiting to hear from the Vermont senator, who is Jewish, as to whether he will travel to Washington and speak to the audience of more than 18,000 Israel supporters, an insider said.

All other presidential candidates have confirmed that they will address the conference, which runs Sunday, March 20 through Tuesday, March 22.

Sanders’s Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will address the crowd Monday morning, while the three remaining Republican contenders — real estate mogul Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich — are scheduled to speak Monday evening. Vice President Joe Biden will also speak.

The policy conference has made headlines recently over controversy related to the invite of Republican frontrunner Trump, which has stirred a heated debate in parts of the American Jewish community. Several rabbis are said to be planning to skip his speech, and some student activists have complained that AIPAC won’t let them protest his appearance. AIPAC has said publicly that all presidential candidates were extended an invitation, and noted that it has long maintained a policy of removing disruptive delegates.

Sanders has received pressure in recent days not to address the policy conference. More than 5,000 people have signed a petition orchestrated by anti-Israel activist Max Blumenthal urging Sanders to reject the invitation. Blumenthal’s father, Sydney Blumenthal, is a longtime confidant and adviser to Secretary Clinton, whose email correspondence with the Democratic frontrunner has been at the center of the controversy over her decision to use a private email server for official State Department communications.

Among the signatories of the younger Blumenthal’s petition are some prominent Sanders supporters, including musician and Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters.

Sanders, a Brooklyn-native and the first Jew to ever win a presidential primary, has been fairly quiet during the campaign regarding his views on Israel.

When he has expressed opinions and positions, however, they have been somewhat out of tune with AIPAC stances. He has spoken of a goal of less military and more economic US aid to Israel, vowed to be “evenhanded” in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and supported the Iranian nuclear deal, which AIPAC worked fiercely against.

Throughout his senate career, Sanders has a record of voicing both support for and criticism of the Jewish state, including condemning Israel’s military response to intensified periods of conflict while simultaneously defending the country’s right to exist.

Read: Where does Bernie Sanders stand on Israel?