-by Skip Kaltenheuser





The sixth annual conference on the Israeli lobby’s influence on American policy is being held on Friday, March 22nd at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.





I’m hoping that the mainstream media won’t hold to past form, committing media malpractice by virtually ignoring this important conference. It is the thinking person’s antidote to the AIPAC conference that follows in a couple days, where American political figures of all stripes will genuflect and kow tow to the far, farther and farthest right that runs Israel. After watching displays like that of then-US UN Ambassador Nikki Haley at the last AIPAC conference one could be forgiven for wondering if America’s Pledge of Allegiance has been rewritten to include a foreign country.





But decent MSM coverage would be a pleasant surprise. Fortunately you don’t have to be defeated by media suppression and filtering of The Israel Lobby & American Policy Conference 2019 . Friday, starting at 9am EST, you can watch the whole day conference if you go to the website of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Perhaps it’ll be accessible at the conference site as well.





And if you can’t catch it live, come back later and locate video, audio and transcripts that will later go online.





All the blather expressing Congressional and pundit shock at US Rep. llhan Omar’s revelation that there is gambling in the casino is a worrisome a sign that many of America’s leaders either haven’t learned their lesson or haven’t yet found their spine. Of course it’s all about the Benjamins, what kind of fools do politicians take us for? That, and fear of being labeled anti-semitic and of having the Benjamins start flowing to primary opponents. Direct all naysayers to this excellent Intercept piece that includes access to segments of a withering documentary on Israeli influence in Congress. In it, operatives describe the highly directed flow of Benjamins, and how to spin this and that to twist the truth to destroy their critics. That courageous documentary was done by Al Jazeera, and allegedly suppressed under pressure from Qatar, under pressure from Israel. But some brave soul galloped it out of the corral, and anyone working in Congress and in media who fails to watch it is a fool. Really, whatever your walk in life, it’s well worth your time.













America’s leaders and citizens will never have a clear perspective on foreign influence until they fully understand the role Netanyahu and his American neo-con confederates in the Bush administration, and sadly many of their enablers in media who continue to percolate up, played in promoting Bush the second’s ruinous invasion of Iraq. Don’t take my word for it, here’s Netanyahu pulling one of his cons, in 2002, performed for Congress and below is a segment focused on his promotion of the WMD con. Better pay attention, because many of the same minions who opened that Pandora’s Box are now hard at work pushing conflict with Iran, the octane of the Iran effort juiced up by their great pals in Saudi Arabia. They haven’t yet unleashed enough Hell in the world.













The conference will likely include some comment on the anti-BDS laws proliferating across America, which amount to nothing less than throwing America’s First Amendment under the bus on behalf of a foreign power. The Intercept has written excellent commentary on tangential issues, such as this piece on the latest disgraceful effort in Congress, and on this Texas preview of the Kafka-like application of such laws





A couple years ago I wrote this piece on the conference that included a personal experience in Israel, when the scales fell from my eyes, and I saw a disgusting racism at work at the highest levels of Israeli government in its effort to oppress and dehumanize Palestinians.





One matter I hope the conference addresses is American media’s averting its gaze from the systematic oppression of and violence toward Palestinian journalists. A recent UN report suggesting war crimes might have been committed against Gaza protestors, including the deliberate targeting of journalists, children and the disabled. Maybe this will get media and media organizations to throw some light on this. Or not.





But you can throw some light by tuning into the conference, and sending your preferred segments to those who care, or should.













Here’s the conference schedule:

9:00 AM- Dale Sprusansky: Conference Organizer Welcoming Remarks.

9:05 AM- Delinda Hanley: Why Talking about the Israel Lobby Matters.

9:15 AM- Walter Hixson: Israel's Armor: The Israel Lobby and the First Generation of the Palestine Conflict.

10:00 AM- Ali Abunimah: What does a Censored Undercover News Investigation Reveal about the Israel Lobby in America?

10:45 AM- Ideas Fair - Morning Break - Ali Abunimah book signing.

11:25 AM- Grant F. Smith: U.S. Foreign Aid and the Israeli Nuclear Weapons Program.

12:00 PM- James North: How the New York Times Rigs News on Israel Palestine.

12:30 PM- Lunch - Ideas Fair.

1:15 PM- Keynote: Susan Abulhawa: Israel: More than Apartheid.

2:00 PM- Panel: Fighting against Illegal Settlements and for Free Speech.



Martin F. McMahon: The Legal Battle for Justice Against Israeli Settlers and their American Financiers.

Saqib Ali: Why I’m Suing Maryland to Protect my Constitutional Right to Boycott Israel.

2:45 PM- Ideas Fair - Afternoon break - Susan Abulhawa book signing.

3:30 PM- Brad Parker: What Lessons can Activists Take Away from the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act?

4:00 PM- Panel: The Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR).



Paul Noursi: What is the VCHR?

James Metz: Why VCHR is Taking on the Virginia Israel Advisory Board.

Kathy Drinkard: How the VCHR is Preventing Israel Affinity Organizations from Politicizing K-12 Textbooks.

4:50 PM- Closing Remarks - Delinda Hanley and Grant F. Smith.